Barclay College

Barclay College was founded by Quaker settlers in 1917 and welcomes students from all evangelical faith traditions who seek a solid biblical foundation for their lives and vocations. Here the focus is on "... Preparing students in a Bible-centered environment for effective Christian life, service, and leadership." Our current degree programs include Bachelor degrees in Youth Ministry, Pastoral Ministry, Music Ministry, Bible/Theology, Missions, Psychology and Family Studies, Sports and Recreational Leadership, Bi-Vocational Missions, Christian School Elementary Education, and Business Administration. The Barclay College School of Graduate Studies offers a Master of Arts degree in Transformational Leadership. Because of the favorable student to faculty ratio (11:1) and a student population of 250, there is a strong sense of community on campus and students receive individual attention from professors. At Barclay College you are an individual with a name, not just a number on a spread sheet.
Faculty at Barclay College offer students rigorous, scholarly training that informs both mind and spirit. Nearly all faculty have held successful tenures in their field of study and are gifted practitioners. Professors at Barclay genuinely care about their students and spend time with staff and students outside of the classroom because of their commitment to the value of community. Barclay College is truly a rare find.
We believe that these aspects make Barclay College a model of academic excellence. Haviland is a small town and often becomes a place where students can come and experience a uniquely transforming encounter with God. Distractions commonly associated with college life are not present and there is time to seek God and grow in a daily walk with Him. Spiritual stretching and growing happen on a daily basis in classes, chapel services, extra-curricular activities, and student life and community.
As Bernard of Clairvaux said, "There are those who seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge; that is curiosity. There are those who seek knowledge to be known by others; that is vanity. There are those who seek knowledge in order to serve; that is love." At Barclay College you will learn to serve God and be equipped to serve and love those in the world around you.
History and Background
Barclay College traces its beginnings to 1917 when the Board of Trustees of the Friends Haviland Academy founded the Kansas Central Bible Training School in a new building near the academy. The academy had opened in 1892 and was the first secondary school in Kiowa County, Kansas. Born out of a desire for a strong evangelistic emphasis, the college immediately became a center for the training and preparation of pastors and missionaries.
In 1925, a two-year junior college course was added, and the name was changed in 1930 to Friends Bible College to more fully reflect the growing mission of the institution.
By 1968, supporters felt the purposes of the college would best be served by emphasizing the four-year institution. They consequently closed the academy and junior-college programs and embarked on a vigorous effort to secure necessary faculty and facilities. This effort resulted in widespread support from the community and the college constituency and received general recognition in 1975 with the granting of full accreditation by the American Association of Bible Colleges (now the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges).
In the Spring of 1990, the college adopted its current name in honor of the first Quaker theologian, Robert Barclay. For a more detailed description of Barclay's rich history, contact the college to receive a copy of "Lighthouse on the Prairie", written by Haviland resident and former president Sheldon Jackson.
Statement of Faith
The Holy Bible
We believe that the Holy Scriptures were given by the inspiration of God; that there can be no appeal from them to any other authority whatsoever; that they are fully sufficient to make one wise unto salvation through faith that is in Jesus Christ; that the Holy Spirit who inspired the Scripture must ever be its true interpreter as He works through the disciplined and dedicated minds of those within His Church; that any professed guidance that is contrary to these Scriptures must be counted as a delusion.
God
We believe in one God, revealed through the Holy Bible in the person of Jesus Christ; that He is both the creator and preserver of all things visible and invisible; that He alone is worthy of worship both now and forevermore; and that in the unity of the Godhead there exist three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, inseparable in divinity, power, glory and eternity.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ to be the only begotten Son of God; that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; that He is the express image of the invisible God; and that He combines within Himself both the nature of God and the nature of man in one perfect and indivisible personality; fully God and fully man.
We believe that He was crucified as an atonement for the sins of the whole world, making provision whereby humanity could find the forgiveness of sins and the power for a new life and be brought back into a perfect relationship with the Father.
We believe that He arose from the dead and then ascended to the right hand of God. He is now making intercession for us and will come to earth again to receive His Church unto Himself and to judge the world in righteousness.
Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit to be the third person of the Godhead, proceeding from both Father and Son, but equal with them in authority, power, and glory. He convicts the world of sin, imparts life to the penitent believer, sanctifies the child of God, and enables one by His indwelling presence to love God supremely.
Humanity
We believe that God created humans in His own image; that they enjoyed unbroken fellowship with their Maker; and that their whole life is centered in the person of God. We believe that humans fell from this original state by an act of transgression; that in this fall they suffered the immediate loss of their perfect relationship to God, making self the center of life; and that in this act they suffered immediate spiritual death. In this disposition to sin, all people are born. We own no principle inherent naturally in people by which they may be saved, except by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as a provision for all humanity.
Salvation
We believe that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the direct and immediate agency of the Holy Spirit, a person may be recovered from the fallen state through divine enlightenment, forgiveness of sin, regeneration and sanctification of affections, and the final glorification of the body; that in this life a person may love God with all one's heart, soul, mind, and strength; that one may live in victory over sin and enjoy unbroken fellowship with the Father; and that once more one's whole life may center in and revolve around one's Creator and Father.
We believe sanctification to be both a crisis and a process. As a crisis, sanctification is accomplished by the baptism with the Holy Spirit in the life of a dedicated and believing child of God, in which the heart is cleansed from an imperfect relationship and state. As a process, sanctification continuously disciplines the life into paths of holiness. We believe that the baptism with the Holy Spirit (entire sanctification) is the work of God's grace by which the affections of people are purified and exalted to a supreme love of God, and the believer is empowered to witness to the living Christ.
We believe that, by the grace and power of God, through faith in the crucified Christ, the believer is assured of eternal life with the Triune God, and that no power on earth or in heaven can sever that relationship against the will of the believer. We believe, however, that by willful choice a child of God can return to that sinful state from which he or she had been lifted. Such apostasy destroys not only his fellowship with God, but also the eternal life with which he had been endued, so that for him remains only the eternal death of the unbeliever. However, such is the grace of God that, so long as life in the body remains, the prodigal may, through repentance, confession and renewed faith, return to "the Father's house" and be fully restored to eternal life and fellowship with Him.
The Church
We believe that all those persons who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior are born again into His kingdom by the Holy Spirit. These constitute the Church universal of Jesus Christ. This Church we believe to be spiritual in nature, universal in scope, holy in character, and redemptive in her life and purpose.
We believe that wherever two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, He is truly present in the person of the Holy Spirit and that such an assembly is a local church, the visible expression of His body, and the Church universal.
We believe that every believer should be attached to the local and visible body of Christ, being fitly framed together with others into a holy temple in the Lord and built for a habitation of His Spirit.
Christian Work
We believe that in the church, the believer is committed to both the worship and the work of God. This work involves not only personal righteousness as the fruit of a new life, but also the ministry of evangelism and teaching. The commission of Christ for every believer involves the stewardship of the kingdom, which it is fulfilled only by faithful service in and through the fellowship of His Church. This work is continuous until Christ comes again calling the Church unto Himself. We believe that all Christians are called upon to witness by word and deed within a sinful world, not returning evil for evil, but, like Christ, demonstrating love, forgiveness, and the way of peace.
We believe that in the fellowship of His body, the Holy Spirit gives to every member gifts of ministry to be exercised for the mutual advantage of every other member in the body, and for the influence of the Church upon those outside. There is a ministry that is such a gift given to certain ones whom God calls and ordains for leadership in His Church.
Resurrection and Judgment
We believe in the second coming of Christ: that at His coming the dead shall be resurrected, some to everlasting glory and others to everlasting shame; that we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive recompense for the things done in the flesh. The judgment of the blessed shall be life everlasting in heaven, and the judgment of the lost life everlasting in hell. Judgment is in the hands of our compassionate Redeemer, who does all things after the counsel of His wisdom, love, and holiness.