A creed is a statement of one’s belief. Many churches have adopted the Apostles’ Creed. Others use the Nicene Creed. There are other good, biblical creeds. When it came time for Bob Jones College to state what it believed, Jones, Sr. was leery of adopting any existing creed. He wanted the school to be non-denominational—a place where all Bible-believing Christians would feel welcome. Adopting an existing creed could alienate people from churches using a different one.

The solution was to write a creed stating “the fundamentals of the Christian faith” upon which “all Bible believing Christians could agree.” He asked Sam Small, a fellow evangelist and a journalist, to write a creed that met those criteria. On the back of an envelope, he did.

The inspiration of the Bible, the fact that God created humans, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the fact that His death and bodily resurrection provide atonement for sin, the new birth, and eternal life to believers are essential Christian doctrines.

Some lament that other Biblical truths are not in the BJU Creed. But the Creed was intentionally minimalistic. It was not intended to be a catalogue of Bible doctrines. Its purpose was to identify fundamental beliefs that all true Christians must accept.

The Creed Plaque at the entry of the Founders Memorial Amphetorium

The Bob Jones College charter contains the Creed, and then states, “This charter shall never be amended, modified, altered or changed as to the provisions hereinbefore set forth.” Harvard, Yale, Furman and many other schools were founded to train Christian leaders but fell from that purpose within their first 100 years.

BJU and BJA have maintained our founding principles because the Creed is part of the school’s culture. The faculty annually sign the Creed. Reciting it in Chapel may seem like vain repetition, but drilling in the Creed’s basic truths has been a vital part of keeping the school spiritually on track for 100 years. ​

More about BJA's founding - ​

Original BJC Charter recently found -

Previous BJA Centennial Stones -

BJA Founding

Original BJC Charter

BJA Stones