History of Briercrest

Briercrest Bible Institute opened its doors on October 19, 1935, and 11 students enroled. A rented house served as dormitory, classroom, and office for the school. Mr. Hildebrand was principal and Mrs. Annie Hillson, Mrs. Isabel Whittaker, Jean Whittaker, and Margaret Rusk helped with teaching and administration. Donald McMillan joined them in the second term as assistant principal. By January 1946, the student body had grown so much that the school rented all the available space in Briercrest, including the disused Yale Hotel. About six months before the end of the war, knowing that enrolment would go up when the soldiers returned home, Mr. Whittaker said to Mr. Hildebrand, 

Henry, from all I know, an airport is what we will need after the war. Let us pray that God will give one of them to us.

Mr. Whittaker used his experience in business and politics to arrange the purchase of Royal Airforce Base #33 in Caron for $50,000—five per cent of its value. The new facility was dedicated on July 1, 1946, and the incredible task of converting the airbase into dormitories, classrooms, offices, and staff housing began.

Briercrest Christian Academy opened in September 1946, and a grade school also began that year. Enrolment grew in all of the schools and many new buildings (named after the pioneers who helped build the ministry of Briercrest) were constructed to accommodate the growing student body. 

The late 1960s were hard times for the schools as enrolment declined for five consecutive years; the farm economy was in recession and even Christians seemed to question the value of Christian education.

In the early 1970s, the schools began to recognize the need for academic credibility. Briercrest became a candidate for accreditation with the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (now the Association for Biblical Higher Education) in 1973, and earned full accreditation in 1976. Substantial investment was made in the library and the number of books grew from 9000 in 1971 to over 30,000 volumes in 1985 (and 70,000 today). In 1979, a distance learning program was launched.

The Whittaker dorms were dedicated on October 21, 1973 in honour of Mr & Mrs Whittaker who were instrumental in the founding of Briercrest.

The Archibald Library was dedicated October 20, 1974 in honour of Mr Archibald and his wife Wilhelmena.

In 1982, the name Briercrest Bible Institute was changed to Briercrest Bible College. The Seminary began in 1983 and by 1985, faculty members had an average of 8.6 years of post-secondary training. All of these developments were coupled with aggressive expansion of academic programs. College enrolment grew significantly from 285 in 1970 to 775 in 1985.

The H. Alvin Memory Centre was dedicated on October 4, 1981 in honour of Mr & Mrs H. Alvin Memory.

The Swenson Educational Wing was dedicated on April 27, 1985.

The Hildebrand Chapel was dedicated on April 23, 1988.

Doug Little Crossroads are dedicated in memory of Doug Little on April 17, 1999.

Since then, Briercrest has continued to pursue academic credibility and program quality in all three of its schools:  the Seminary, the College, and Briercrest Christian Academy.

Our mission statement is:

Briercrest is a community of learning that calls students to seek the kingdom of God, to be shaped profoundly by the scriptures, and to be formed spiritually and intellectually for lives of service.

Evangelism and mission outreach have always been central to the life and training of Briercrest. From the first year, staff and students have gone out from Briercrest to bring the Gospel to the nations. Our first alumni missionary, Reg Glen, was both a member of the first graduating class and a faculty member. He and his wife, Kay, sailed for Southern Rhodesia, Africa, in October 1941.

Throughout our history, we have had six presidents: Henry Hildebrand (1935-1977); Henry Budd (1977-1990); John Barkman (1990-1996); Paul Magnus (1996-2004); Dwayne Uglem (2004-2013); and Michael Pawelke (2013-present). Sinclair Whittaker served as president of the board until 1950. These leaders represent our schools' rich heritage of staff and faculty who give their lives in service to God through Briercrest. There are far too many to name here, but we are so thankful to God for their sacrifice and their service.

As we move into the future, we are confident that God will continue to bless the ministry of Briercrest. We thank Him for the opportunity to provide students with spiritual and academic formation that equips them for lives of service to God and to others.