ABOUT US
Portland Christian Network Services (PCNS) is creating the blueprint for its transition from North Portland Bible College. The goal is the growth and sustainability of PCNS. This transitional process will include assessing the needs of the Christian community, creating the plan, and carrying it out through non-academic training, partnerships, and the offering of matching grants. The Focus Group research method will be used to gather information necessary for program development from pastors, youth leaders (church and community) youths and young adults and other interested parties.
Building relationships while serving others.
The PCNS - NPBC Connection
Transition Story
North Portland Bible College (NPBC) was founded in 1982 and established itself as a distinctive place in the higher educational environment of Portland, Oregon. At that time, there were many, especially Black Americans, with limited opportunities and expectations for accessing a higher biblical education and training. NPBC soon became a viable and desirable access point for these students in pursuing a biblical education with its core values of accessibility, affordability, and cultural relevance in an urban setting. NPBC soon attracted a growing diverse student population. It served as a community Bible college, which included a two-year degree and various certificate programs for adults in an evening environment. For much of its thirty-year history, this distinctive positioning made the college viable.
North Portland Bible College had a significant impact on local churches of the community that were at the core of NPBC’s founding and early growth. NPBC students over the years have been prepared for ministries in their local churches and have created ministries in the community to meet crucial needs. NPBC offered an associate degree in Christian Ministry and various certificate programs covering a breadth of specialized emphases and leading to advanced studies through articulation agreements with Warner Pacific University and Multnomah University. On November 15, 2020 after fulfilling the vision from whence it was formed, NPBC transitioned into Portland Christian Network Services, which will continue the legacy of building relationships while serving others.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”
(1 Cor. 1:27, ESV)
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Testimonial
by Shannon VanHorn
North Portland Bible College (NPBC) and now Portland Christian Network Services (PCNS) can be summarized in one word, RELATIONSHIPS. NPBC was created and developed by a team of loving Christians who were dedicated to The Lord Jesus Christ, one another, the community of North Portland, and ultimately all of Christendom. Their passion for one another, their community, and their Lord affected all they did and all they said. As a North Portland Bible College Alumni, this aspect of the institution, its founding and how the network of relationships and relationship building has continued over several decades, has been the most challenging aspect of my education to imitate.
North Portland Bible College trained a generation of leaders, one individual at a time. Retired ministers, a retired hospital Chaplain, a retired overseas missionary, and a few ministers who were still serving made up the teaching staff. All my teachers at NPBC held degrees, some held doctorate degrees. Thus, they could have been working for good wages by teaching at more prestigious institutions. Instead, they volunteered hours in classes of 1-6 students. They worked not for wages, but out of love. They gave of themselves, hoping to see their students make positive and lasting impacts on a lost and dying world. My instructors at NPBC were often elderly and worked at this labor of love until their last days. To know any of them, was to love them.