Current State of HAC

[DrHuk&Duck]

I hear you!

My daughter was able to take advantage of my Hazelwood benefits for Texas veterans. It pays tuition and fees at any Junior College and Texas State University. She went to Junior College for a few semesters and then transferred over to Stephen F Austin State University to complete her degree in Communications. Her mother was living up in Nacogdoches at the time so she stayed with her which saved a good bit of money. She ended up alright with a good head on her shoulders. The "Woke Worms" didn't eat into her brains too badly and we got most things sorted out now.

I would avoid debt at all cost! If you did have to finance anything, I'd strongly recommend a vocational or technical school where your daughter could first attain marketable skills that would get her hired and then take advantage of the "tuition reimbursment" programs that many employers offer these days. Seems to me she could get her LVN or even a CNA and get hired by a large hospital or medical group and from there, continue on with a BSN/RN. Something to think about anyway.

PCC is a little different though. Colleges like HAC and WCBC are strictly "Bible Colleges" specifically intended for ministry or Christian education and has little to no value outside of their "IFB World." PCC is actually a "Christian University" now offering degrees for secular occupations plus they are accredited as well.

Glad your kids could use your vet benefits. I didn’t realize that was possible unless the vet was deceased or something similar. That’s good to know for my sister’s kids down the road.

I agree about PCC. I have a few questions about PCC, but I’ll place those in the PCC forum. Not sure if anyone on here went to PCC or not, but it’s worth a try.

 

[Sherryh]

This is just my thoughts if I were going to college I would attend PCC or Liberty . You are going to do well .

 

[ALAYMAN]

Glad your kids could use your vet benefits. I didn’t realize that was possible unless the vet was deceased or something similar. That’s good to know for my sister’s kids down the road.

I agree about PCC. I have a few questions about PCC, but I’ll place those in the PCC forum. Not sure if anyone on here went to PCC or not, but it’s worth a try.

Pretty sure that abcaines went to PCC.

 

[abcaines]

Pretty sure that abcaines went to PCC.

I was stationed in Pensacola in the Navy and attended the Campus Church while I was part of the Missions to Military outreach on the bases.

I was not an enrolled student but I was very involved with much of the ministry going on there. I worked closely with Jim Schettler while he was youth pastor... Dr. A.A. Baker was my Sunday school teacher... I personally knew and was known of by Dr. Horton. So, I'd say I was about as familiar as a non-student could be with that institution.

The outreach of both PCC and MTM, (not a PCC ministry but endorsed by them at the time) was very foundational for me as a new believer and much of what I am today comes from what I learned there.

 

[Still There]

Does anyone on the forums know anything definitive about the long-term stability of Hyles-Anderson College?

I ask because an acquaintance told me several months ago that the enrollment numbers stand somewhere between four-hundred (400) and four-hundred-and-fifty (450) students.

Is this true? If so, is such a decline sustainable for more than a few years?

I just posted something about that. Yes, 400 students attend.

 

[Sherryh]

Many parents like and trust Wilkerson. They also still agree with the philosophies that are taught and practiced there.

I lost respect for him when he honored the pastor from California .

 

[GeneFrenkle]

When the new church building was being built, I thought they should have built on the college campus instead. I get that the Chicago bus ministry might have suffered, but the church and college would have been more sustainable in the future.

 

[qwerty]

I remember Bro. Hyles talking about what his thoughts were in a Wednesday chapel one time. It was primarily about the church growth, his days as pastor, etc. He was not for a new building in Hammond. If I recall correctly, he would do a second service on Sunday first. If a new building was needed, it would be South of 30, likely at or very near the College. If he could no longer run the church, he would retire and teach full time at the college. Honestly, was a very hopeful message and put a good perspective on things and the future of the ministry there.

 

[Justice1976]

I remember Bro. Hyles talking about what his thoughts were in a Wednesday chapel one time. It was primarily about the church growth, his days as pastor, etc. He was not for a new building in Hammond. If I recall correctly, he would do a second service on Sunday first. If a new building was needed, it would be South of 30, likely at or very near the College. If he could no longer run the church, he would retire and teach full time at the college. Honestly, was a very hopeful message and put a good perspective on things and the future of the ministry there.

I have heard from another person who spoke with Bro. Hyles some years before he died who said essentially the same thing as you stated. I think the knew that Hammond was a dead metro area and that moving south made the most sense.

If Jack Schaap had chosen that path, rather than to build the monstrous new auditorium on Sibley Street, I believe the church would be much better positioned today. I believe much is still owed on that building.

It may have been that the "Chicago" bus ministry would have come to an end. It probably will have to be ended eventually. If so, FBC could become a viable, large church with an adjunct college of some sort. It appears to me that FBC is truly just another good sized church now -- not anything extraordinary as it was in the Hyles years. But trying to support that huge complex in Hammond and a college campus 20 miles away seems much like an anchor around its neck and probably impedes either the church or the college from flourishing. It's a ministry model badly in need of re-evaluation in order to survive.