The 2012-2013 academic year at Life Pacific College (LPC, also called LIFE Bible College) was not easy. Staff realignments, a presidential transition and academic adjustments stretched faculty, staff and students throughout the spring and summer months.
But all that is behind as classes recently resumed in San Dimas, and the call to “Dream Big” was evident around the campus.
Colorful banners wave in the fall breeze, beckoning students to a new day. Rocking chairs sporting the “Dream Big” moniker have been popping up everywhere—a tangible and figurative place of refuge for passersby to imagine what God has in store for their lives and for this institution of Christian higher education, faithfully serving The Foursquare Church since 1923.
Things look so good, in fact, that LPC President Jim J. Adams, Ed.D., sent an email to trustees celebrating the 120 new students this fall, representing a 30 percent increase over projections and 25 percent more than fall 2012.
On-campus, traditional student enrollment for the fall semester has leveled off at 330, according to Angie Richey, M.Ed., M.A., vice president/enrollment management and assistant director of Emmaus Road Counseling Center. “This is the highest traditional undergraduate enrollment since the 2006-2007 academic year,” she adds.
By way of comparison, LPC’s total dorm capacity is 337 students, and classrooms can accommodate a total of 437 students. LPC currently has approximately 600 students in all programs, including traditional and non-traditional online programs.
Among the many reasons to “Dream Big,” LPC has announced that students will be able to earn new degrees with majors in human development/psychology (2014), business administration (2014), and worship arts/media (2015). The new offerings will be in addition to existing majors in biblical studies and transformational ministry.
Administrators suggest that offering the new majors makes room for LPC students to discover their God-given gifts and passions, and to graduate with a degree that best suits the individual. Further, they assert these new majors will prepare students for ministry, specialized fields and graduate education.
“Our new majors signify more than expanded options,” says Sam Rockwell, supervisor of Foursquare’s Gateway District and chairman of the LPC board of trustees. He is convinced these new majors represent depth and breadth in the school’s commitment to prepare students for life and ministry. “We are ‘speaking into’ these areas of life with a unique intellectual and prophetic perspective,” he adds.
Foursquare General Supervisor and Vice President of U.S. Operations Tammy Dunahoo concurs, adding that LPC is providing opportunities for students to be educated in areas that can fund their ministries, as well as opening missional doors for church “outside the box.” LPC students can “Dream Big” because, as she contends, “We are staying true to our core focus of training leaders for a lifetime of ministry.”
As classes resumed this week, President Adams emphasized the need for students, faculty and the entire Foursquare family to “Dream Big,” citing the apostle Paul’s words from Eph. 3:20-21: “God can do anything … far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us” (The Message).
The college’s Fall Preview Weekend is coming up Oct. 3–5. Visit the LPC website to learn more.
By: Rod Light, an ordained Foursquare minister, educator and communications coordinator with Foursquare Missions International
