The school now known as Hobe Sound Bible College came into existence through a divinely-given concern for a Christian educational institution committed to the principles and standards of conservative Bible holiness.

Dr. Stephen D. Herron, the school’s founder and president for twenty-five years, had the vision for a conservative holiness school that would offer a quality education. In 1960 he approached Rev. H. Robb French and Florida Evangelistic Association, now FEA Ministries, about year-round utilization of their camp meeting facilities for a Bible college. FEA generously offered the grounds and facilities of Sea Breeze Camp for such a school.

At the camp meeting of 1960, an offering was taken to aid in launching the school. In September of that year, Hobe Sound Bible Institute welcomed its first student body, representing twelve states and Canada. The registration for the first year totaled twenty-four. From this unpretentious beginning, the blessing and leadership of God has brought the school to its present place of service in the holiness movement.

Every school is undergirded and motivated by a philosophy that is reflected in the character of its students. Hobe Sound Bible College is committed to a very definite philosophical viewpoint, which ultimately is theological.

We believe final, absolute truth centers in a Creator God. This truth is revealed in the Bible and in the created universe and is personified in Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God. Education is a Christ-centered, biblically-integrated process of developing spiritually, mentally, and physically.

The ultimate aim of life is not adjustment to the age but conformity to Christ. This objective is achieved by a disciplined life of sacrificial service, patterned after Him who pleased not Himself, who came not to be served but to serve and who gave Himself for others.

The mission of Hobe Sound Bible College is to provide a Christ-centered, Bible-based education in the Wesleyan tradition. We are committed to preparing servant-leaders who think biblically, live Spirit-filled lives, fulfill the great commission, and glorify God in all they do.

The core of the curriculum is the Bible—God’s inspired Word. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and education that becomes separated from this foundation begins to drift. It will not have a proper motivation, direction, or objective. In an age of shifting tides in educational philosophy, the Bible college stands upon the unchanging rock of God’s eternal Word. This means that not only is the direct study of the Bible the principal major study but also that all other studies are permeated and directed by the great eternal truth of God’s Word.

In a day of emphasis upon the moral education of a person, the Bible college can well lay claim to the worthiness of its educational program. Secular education is partial education and therefore inadequate. As Christians we are aware that human beings are more than brain and brawn. The education that ignores (to say nothing of denying) this essential being of man can hardly claim to be total education.

While providing training and equipment for service, the Bible college aims to prepare the person to live adequately and fully whatever may be his or her sphere of service. For one who is called of God into specialized service, such as a minister or missionary, a Bible college education is an imperative, and for one who proposes to live a dedicated life for Christ in whatever place he or she may labor, it will prove invaluable.