HISTORY OF ERCC PASTORS’ COLLEGE OBI FROM 1948-2013
The ERCC Pastors’ College was as Hepburn Memorial Bible school
first at Kango in 1948 by the Sudan United Mission (SUM) which
later was known as Ekklisya Kristi a Sudan (EKAS), Ekklisya Kristi
a Nigeria (EKAN), Church of Christ in Central Nigeria (CCCN), now
The Evangelical Reformed Church of Christ (ERCC). The Evangelical
Reformed Church of Christ for the purpose of training evangelists
and pastors to reach the unreached. The school was started by Rev.
W. Desmond Douglas
who was actually the sixth field
superintendent of the Sudan
United Mission (SUM) a name
the church retained from 19161956. For an enduring legacy the
Rev. W. Desmond Douglas
started the school. The date of
commencement of studies at
Hepburn
Memorial
Bible
Training School (BTS) at Kango
was 1948 precisely 32 years after the church was established.
The administrative leaders of the school for this period were:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Rev. W. Desmond Douglas Head/Field superintendent of SUM
Mrs. Erid Douglas
Miss Joyce Radford
Rev. Hugh Graham
Mrs. Doraty Graham
1952 the School was moved from Kango to Alushi.
Teachers at Alushi were:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Mr Alan Adam
Principal
Mrs. Mavis A. Adam
Mallam Ambi
Mallam Kpandom Olaku
Miss Joyce Radford
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Teachers at Obi were:
a.
Mr. Alan Adam - Principal (The Adam children were Jennifer,
Sylvia and David).
b.
Mrs. Mavis A. Adam
c.
Pastor Mamman Audu
THE SEARCH FOR A PERMANENT SITE
The school is presently located at Obi district, a village the then
Lafia Division, now the state capital of Nasarawa State. Yet it did not
have its beginnings here. The search for a permanent location and
development for the school can be stratified into the stages:
1948-1951 KANGO
1952-1959 Alushi
1960-to date Obi
Obi area is part of the sedimentary basins of Nigeria that separates
the crystalline rocks of the basement complex into broad three
regions. The crystalline basement rocks occupy about half of Nigeria,
while the cretaceous to recent sediment cover the remaining part,
Obi is along Lafia- Awe High Way while the ERCC Pastors’ College at
the opposite of Local Government Secretariat on the way leading to
Assakio.
LENGTH OF STAY AT THE SCHOOL AND SCHOOL CURRICULUM
1948-1951
The need of the times warranted Douglas to commence with a
month’s course and later on a three month course in matters of the
Bible. When the church was confident that there was a bearing in
the Bible school, it was decided that the length of time in tutorials
was to be increased from three months. There is presently no
document to show how long the course took from then on or the
nature of the course in the early 50s. However the pioneer students
were Mr. Amwe and his wife Mrs. Anzazi, Mr. Joseph Amerikpa, Late
Mr. Esson and Mr. Yusufu Yasha.
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II. 1951-1957 ALUSHI
The eighth Field Superintendent Rev. Alan W. Adam and for the
first time, together with indigenous teachers,( Mallam Ambi and
Mallam Kpandam Olaku) steered the affairs of the
school which was now moved away from Wamba to
Alushi where the church had already established
the famous SUM Leprosy center.
By the late 50s the Bible school had a good
reputation within church ranks and many were
eager to have a more befitting arrangement. The
missionaries that established this school held on
basically to wholistic theology that embraced
working hard to make ends meet. The 1950s were
basically agricultural times with agriculture
forming about 99% of basic earnings. Since the
entire church was based on a philosophy of indigenous self reliance
(viz-a-viz other missions that based on foreign money and support),
the lands at Kango and Alushi did not support the rising population
of students adequately. Thus there was need to get more land that
students could have enough to farm and sustain themselves.
In May 1958, the church had changed its name to SUM to a more
indigenous one, EKAS Lardin Dutsen Mada. It was in this era too that
indigenous pastors began to be at the helm of affairs of the church.
By this time the more than three decade old church was growing in
terms of coverage of area and was structured in what was known as
Gunduma. Thus the church just prior to the Nigerian independence
was structured in six regional administrative units:
Gunduma Eggon
Gunduma Kanje
Gunduma Lafia
Gunduma Mada
Gunduma Randa
Gunduma Wamba
Administration of the Gunduma Bible Schools
Each Bible school was run by its Gunduma which was its proprietor
with the sole aim of training evangelists and preachers within a
period of two years.
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These were all under the General Church Council known as the
Lardi.
Each of the Gundumoni had a Bible school that was run for two
years:
Gunduma Eggon: Bible School Kagbu established in 1955
Gunduma Kanje: Bible School Kanje
Gunduma Lafia: Bible School Murya
Gunduma Mada: Bible School Ancho
Gunduma Randa: Bible School Randa
Gunduma Wamba: Bible School Kango
NEW VISION
Apart from the need for more land for sustenance, these Bible
schools provided a further reason for making Hepburn Memorial
more developed. For there was the need for further training of senior
evangelists and missionaries. Thus it was envisioned that such a
school as Hepburn Memorial would provide the training for
evangelists, catechists (in the contemporary polity of the church,
this category of clergy is no longer in ERCC) and missionaries. Thus
it came to be that those who graduated from the Bible schools would
go to Hepburn Memorial for further training, a practice that would
commence from 1960 till thirty years later. With this vision in mind
prayers and talks gave rise to a committee set up for the purpose of
finding adequate land and providing the framework for a befitting
school.
The members of the committee which consisted of the cream of the
church both from the era of SUM and Lardin Dutse Mada. The
members were: Pastor Abimiku Azazu, who later on in 1971 would
be a Reverend and the 13th chairman of the church. Pastor
Mamman Audu was another member of the important committee
who would emerge in 1965 to be the third indigenous chairman and
the 12th chairman of the church. Others were Husaini Udu, Mr.
Griland and Mr Allan Adam (the eighth chairman of the church). It
was these great leaders that negotiated, and acquired the vast piece
of land that Hepburn Memorial presently occupies, now called ERCC
Pastors’ College Obi.
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III 1960: OBI- PERMANENCY
By this year, Mr Alan Adam had completed his tenure as chairman
and available to kick start Hepburn Memorial in 1960 when only few
staff houses had been built and students after admission had to
build their own accommodation. The buildings were built according
to the architecture of those times: mud buildings.
The students of the 60s, that is,
the first to commence studies at
Obi where the school took
permanency 16 with males who
went along with their wives; a
practice still adhered to till
date.
The chronological chart of the Heads of the Institution from its
inception i.e. 1948-2013
The school has been based with great leaders since its inception up
to date. Some of them are now resting with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Some are alive but retired from active service. While some are still
living and serving, praise be to God.
They are as follows:
1.
Rev. W. Desmond Douglas
2.
Rev. Hugh Graham
3.
Mr. Alan Adam
4.
Pastor Cecil Webber
5.
Rev. Mamma Audu
6.
Rev. Dauda Mangai (Rtd)
7.
Pst. George D. Mbazhi
8.
V. Rev. Umaru Akuadne (Rtd)
9.
Rev. Yakubu Anto
10. Rev. John Y. Adze
11. V. Rev. Gabriel G. Dogo
12. Rev. Solomon Tigga
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1948-1949
1950-1951
1952-1963 (late)
1963-1969
1969-1976 (late)
1977-1978
1978 July – Dec 1978 (late)
Feb.-Sept. 1979
1979-1982
1983-1984 (late)
Jan. – June 1985
1985- 1989
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Very Rev. Joel A. Galadima (JP)
Very Rev. Luka Kpaji (Rtd)
Very. Rev. Elisha Gambo
Very Rev. Yohanna Y. Angolo
Very Rev. Tanimu A. Kpandom
1990-1993
1994-1997
1998-2002
2003-2007
2008-Date
VISION
The college desires to be an excellent, conducive place of learning for
the training of Pastors to evangelize and propagate the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ in Nigeria and beyond for the transformation of
the lives of people.
MISSION
Our mission is to promote pastoral teaching in its wholistic
approach through collaboration, capacity-building and advocacy
with church and member organizations for effective pastoral work
and transformation of the lives of people to the saving knowledge of
God through Jesus.
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