Canby Bible College is closing after 22 years of ministry, Canby Foursquare Church announced Wednesday.
It was an announcement that CBC President and Canby Foursquare Senior Pastor Ron Swor said came with a “gut-wrenching sadness and heartache.” He, along with former Pastor Al Carpenter, founded the certified Bible college in 1998.
“Over the last several months, the Canby Foursquare Church Council and a CBC task force have prayed and carefully evaluated the future of the college, resulting in this very difficult decision,” Swor said in an email. “We remain committed to making disciples who make disciples, but the ways we do it will look different as we move into new and uncharted realities.”
Swor attributed the decision to the financial challenges that are pressing on all institutes and colleges across the country, as well as the changing landscape of higher education, an aging demographic in the Canby area and declining enrollment.
Efforts to promote the college in recent months have been undermined, Swor added, primarily due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The closure was “certainly not a leadership issue,” he said.
“I personally want to thank those of you who have helped lead CBC over the past many years: Al Carpenter, Dr. Jim Dodge, Dr. Jeremy Wallace, Angie Wiggins, Brigette Pulver, James Walton, Dr. Eugene Saunders and Dr. Dave Metsker,” Swor said. “You have led with excellence and dedication to Jesus and our community. Words will never express my deep, heartfelt thanks for your faithful service.”
Through the years, and thanks to the faithful support of the Canby Foursquare and greater Canby community, CBC has filled a unique niche that has set it apart. It has offered a two-year curriculum that covers a study of the entire Bible, as well as a one-year certificate that was added just last year.
CBC is the only church institute for which Life Pacific University straight transfer credits, Swor said, a testament to the high quality of its faculty and educational offerings.
