Mid-Atlantic Christian University is an undergraduate institution of Christian higher education whose mission is to impact the world by transforming ordinary people into extraordinary Christian leaders.
Churches of Christ in Eastern North Carolina in 1948 were so short of ministers that most had preaching only one or two Lords days each month. It was not unusual for one minister to serve four or even six churches, preaching for each church once per month, whether on the Lord's Day morning, afternoon, evening or on Saturday night. A sizable proportion of the men, although dedicated, had no Biblical college preparation. To answer this need, Roanoke Bible College was conceived during early 1948.
The motto chosen was_A New Testament School—Set for the Defense of the Gospel (Phil. 1:16 ASV). Leading this effort was George W. BonDurant, employed as evangelist of the Roanoke District Churches of Christ. Mr. BonDurant and his wife, the former Sarah Presley, had been instrumental in 1937 in organizing Atlanta Christian College in Georgia, where he had served as president and she as dietician, and both had taught until moving to North Carolina. Mr. BonDurant became the president of Roanoke Bible College (RBC). A Certificate of Incorporation was received on September 10, 1948.
In 1979, Roanoke was accredited by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (now renamed the Association for Biblical Higher Education). President BonDurant retired in April 1986, and William A. Griffin was appointed the second president. In 1999, Roanoke was accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 2005 Eastern Christian College (ECC) in Bel Air, Maryland, closed. RBC received some funds, students, trustees, staff, library holdings and equipment from ECC. Mid-Atlantic holds the academic transcripts of ECC students and they are invited to participate in the activities of the University.
President Griffin concluded 20 years as Roanoke's president on June 30, 2006 and D. Clay Perkins, Ph.D., became the third president on July 1, 2006. After two years of deliberation and research, and in consideration of the desired vision and future for the College, the Board of Trustees decided to change the name to Mid-Atlantic Christian University in March of 2009. In Fall of 2010, the university reorganized its academic structure into two schools: School of Undergraduate Studies and the School of Professional Studies. The University withdrew from the Association for Biblical Higher Education in 2011 in order to focus upon its relationship with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
