Wesley College (Mississippi)

Infobox_University


caption =Wesley College logo
name =Wesley College
established =1944 - Dallas, Texas
1972 - Moved to Florence, Mississippi
affiliation =Congregational Methodist Church
affiliations =The Association for Biblical Higher Education; National Christian College Athletic Association; Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation
type =Private Bible college, Co-ed
president =Lance Sherer
city =Florence
state =Mississippi, USA
coor =
campus =Rural 40 acres
free_label = Sports teams
free = Wesley Warriors
website = [http://www.wesleycollege.edu/home.html www.wesleycollege.edu]

Wesley College (also known as Wesley, WC,) is a private co-educational Bible college located in Florence, Mississippi. Founded in 1944.

Wesley is a conservative Bible college in the Wesleyan Arminian tradition. Wesley was founded by the Congregational Methodist Church. Today, it is a rapidly growing institution with a diverse student body representing over eighteen different denominations.

Wesley offers programs of study in 3 academic divisions leading to Bachelor's degrees, and program certificates. Academic programs available at Wesley include bachelor's programs in Biblical Literature, Christian Education, Missions, Pastoral Ministries, Christian Counseling, and certificate programs in General Education, and Ministerial Studies.

History

In 1905, the Congregational Methodist Church founded its first college, "Atlanta Bible College."

In 1912, financial difficulties and internal problems forced the closing of the college.

In 1944 the college was reborn as "Dallas Bible School" with Otho Jennings named the first Superintendent. In August of the same year, W.E. Bruce was tabbed to replace Jennings, and would hold the position until 1953.

In 1953 the Congregational Methodist Church acquired Westminster College in Tehuacana, Texas, from the Methodist Protestant Church, and relocated the school there, adopting the name.

In 1972, property was acquired in Florence Mississippi and the college was relocated to newly constructed facilities. In 1976 the name was changed from Westminster College to Wesley College, which it maintains today.

The college has had many ups and downs through its modern history. With the election of a Wesley College graduate as President of general conference of the Congregational Methodist Church in 2002, there has been renewed interest in moving the college forward. In 2004, Lance Sherer was hired as president of the college and began to rapidly move Wesley toward an institution-wide shared vision of providing services to men and women within the framework of a Christ-centered educational program. This vision sees Wesley as a growing institution offering a Christian education that is relevant in all areas of life.

Wesley specializes in preparing students for ministerial work, seminary studies, post-graduate studies, and core courses in a Christian environment that are widely accepted at other institutions for transfer. Students often take their core courses to other colleges and universities where they complete their degrees in fields not offered at Wesley, and Wesley students have gone on to receive post-graduate educations at Universities as prestigious as Yale.

Campus

Wesley is composed of a singular campus of approximately 40 acres. There are five buildings including the main academic building, men's and women's dormitories, the gymnasium (home to the Wesley Warriors of the NCCAA), and the College library which is housed in the Congregational Methodist Headquarters building.

The center of the campus is marked by a quadrangle where students are routinely seen studying or lounging, and a large gazebo. Wireless internet is available all over campus.

Athletics

Wesley's athletic teams are known as the Wesley Warriors.

The school fields a men's basketball team and a women's volleyball team in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA)'s Division II South Region

Men's basketball

Historically, Wesley has had a competitive program, winning a national title in the late 1990s under then Head Coach and current Athletics Director William "Junior" Devore. Extraneous issues led to the program being dismantled a short time later. Wesley's men's basketball program was resurrected in 2003 after a period of several years of inactivity, and now plays in a larger division and at a higher level than ever before. Head coach Josh Sherer now has the Warriors fielding a winning program that is not only competitive in the NCCAA, but is able to play competitively against teams from the NAIA and NCAA.

In 2005, the fledgeling NCCAA program attained a top five ranking.

In the fall of 2006, Wesley posted historic first time victories over NAIA member Belhaven College, Tougaloo College, and NCAA Division III top 25 ranked Mississippi College.

The Wesley Warriors were ranked #1 in NCCAA division two for most of the 2006/2007 season, and entered the national tournament as the #1 seed, losing to the eventual national champion in the semifinals.

The Warriors were the NCCAA 2007 Regional Champion and NCCAA 4th Place National.

External links

* [http://www.wesleycollege.edu/home.html Official web site]
* [http://www.congregationalmethodist.net Congregational Methodist Home Page]