West Coast Baptist College

West Coast Baptist College is an independent Baptist Bible college in Lancaster, California, offering graduate and undergraduate degrees. West Coast opened in 1995 and is a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), having been awarded Candidate Status on October 27, 2015; then approved for Accredited Status on April 18, 2019. This accreditation is not retroactive to those who graduated prior to 2015.

History
In July 1986, Paul Chappell became the pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church in Lancaster, California. In 1988, the church raised an initial $50,000 for the down payment on the first twenty acres of property located on the east side of town. In 1995, Paul Chappell and Lancaster Baptist Church approved the beginning of West Coast Baptist College. West Coast Baptist College started with Paul Chappell, John Goetsch, and Mark Rasmussen.

In December 2014, the administration of West Coast Baptist College announced their intention to apply for national accreditation with Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. On October 27, 2015, West Coast Baptist College was awarded candidacy status as a Category III institution by the TRACS Accreditation Commission. On April 17, 2019, the institution was awarded accredited status by the TRACS Accreditation Commission, and was affirmed 10 more years of accreditation on October 24, 2023. This accreditation is not retroactive to graduates prior to 2015 and cannot be used outside of the approved TRACS Christian college list. Many colleges and universities within the United States do not accept TRACS accreditation and will not allow credits to transfer.

Academics
West Coast Baptist College is a fundamentalist Bible college focused on training students for ministry. The school offers a Bachelor degree of Religious Education with concentrations in: Pastoral Theology, Church Ministry, Evangelism, Missions, Ministry Leadership and Administration, Office Administration, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Church Music, Music Education, Biblical Counseling, and Visual Arts.

Campus
The campus of West Coast Baptist College contains seventeen major buildings extending from Lancaster Boulevard to Avenue J, and are shared by both Lancaster Baptist Church and Lancaster Baptist School.

Beliefs
West Coast is an Independent Fundamental Baptist Bible college. West Coast Baptist College believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God preserved for the English-speaking people in the King James Version. WCBC rejects all other translations of the Bible. It also believes in the deity of Jesus Christ, salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone, and the worship, fellowship, and service of the local church.

Athletics
West Coast Baptist College is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association. The college has intercollegiate men's basketball and women's volleyball

Campuses

 * Main Campus (4010 E Lancaster Blvd. Lancaster, CA)
 * Online

Controversies
West Coast Baptist College has taken a public stand against abortion in all forms. Their doctrinal statement states "We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life." In September 2021 the college campus hosted a anti-abortion event featuring Kirk Cameron.

In addressing homosexuality, Executive Vice President, Dr. John Goetsch preached a message at WCBC stating "There is no place for crude or vile attitude toward those living in this sin." He also said "Every person on this planet deserves respect and dignity". Pastor Steve Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, argued strongly that Dr. Goetsch's position was too accepting. In their doctrinal statement, WCBC says "any relationships or activities involving homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgenderism, pedophilia, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, or pornography are sinful." Yet, everyone deserves respect and dignity.

In early 2013, Jeremy Whitman, who had been a youth pastor, personal assistant to Paul Chappell and a pillar of Lancaster Baptist Church since the early 1990’s, had a mental health crisis deemed by Lancaster Baptist Church to be caused by his “spiritual struggles.” The church and pastoral family continued to “support” Jeremy, although that support has never been fully revealed. It is unlikely Jeremy received proper mental health treatment for the behavior and personality changes he had begun to exhibit, although "Biblical counseling" was offered. On January 19, 2014, Jeremy shot himself and another man in what is believed to be some type of dispute over a romantic partner. A blog post was released by Pastor Paul Chappel a few days later stating the church had done all they could to support Jeremy, yet that support was never specified.

Michael Zachary was accused of having non-consensual sexual activities with male students on campus. This was not the first accusation against him, as there were also accusations from Golden State Baptist College where he worked prior to coming to West Coast Baptist College. There is no confirmation of whether he ever took advantage of minors, and no police reports were ever filed, it can easily be assumed that cases were settled out of court and quickly swept under the rug. The accusations against Michael Zachary go back to the early 1990's when he worked in small private Christian schools and Hyles Anderson College. He "resigned" from West Coast Baptist College after allegations of grooming and sexual misconduct were revealed to the public.

Athletics
WCBC has a men's basketball program and a ladies volleyball program. They are a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) and Pacific Christian Athletic Conference. In the 2007-08 season, the West Coast Baptist College athletics received notoriety from the local newspaper. They followed their journey winning season to the national finals. In 2011-2012, they won the NCCAA Regionals against Portland Bible. In February 2012, they defeated Korea University 105-101.