90th Anniversary of Northwest University (Kirkland, Washington)

This Week in AG History–August 17, 1952

By Ruthie Edgerly Oberg
Originally published on AG News, 15 August 2024

One of the core reasons for the foundation of the Assemblies of God was to provide places of training for ministers and missionaries. What began as Bible institutes soon became Bible colleges, and, today, many are universities. Some of these institutes were established by local churches and some by Assemblies of God districts.

One of those early district schools, now Northwest University, began 90 years ago in Seattle as “an agency to supply candidates for the ministry to our churches and on the mission field.”

In 1928, at its ninth District Council, J.S. Secrist presented the idea of a training institute for the Northwest district, which was comprised, at that time, of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the adjacent territory. It was not until 1933 that the idea was formally adopted.

About the same time, a young Norwegian immigrant and North Dakota minister, Henry Ness, moved his family to Seattle to pastor Hollywood Temple (now Calvary Christian Assembly). Upon passage of the resolution to form the institute, Ness offered his church for the district school and was appointed as its first president. The school opened on Oct. 1, 1934, with 18 students but grew to 48 by the end of the first year.

The first teachers were ministers and lay people from the Northwest district, most of them serving as volunteers. Under Ness’ leadership, the school developed adequately by 1945 to receive endorsement by the Veterans Administration, opening the door for returning servicemen to enroll under the GI Bill.

By 1947, the school had grown enough to add a fourth-year course of study and began operating on a collegiate level. In 1949, C.E. Butterfield, a pastor from Everett, Washington, was appointed president, and the school changed its name to Northwest Bible College, to reflect its broader course offerings. In 1952, the Montana district joined in cooperation with the Northwest district in supporting the college, making it a regionally sponsored school.

In response to the increasing demand for young people to receive a broader education within a Pentecostal environment, a junior college of liberal arts was added in 1955. By this time, over 2,400 students had passed through the doors of Northwest College, still housed primarily at the Hollywood Temple church.

With this rapid growth, it was evident that the college must have its own facilities. In 1952, a campus expansion fund was begun with a beginning balance of $112.41. However, when the city of Seattle announced in 1955 that the new I-5 freeway would be built right through the middle of the church and campus property, the situation became urgent.

Butterfield began looking for property and set his eyes on a now-defunct housing project that was built at the beginning of World War II to house workers employed at the nearby shipbuilding facility in the Houghton neighborhood of Kirkland, Washington. Believing that God wanted the college to have this property, he made an offer, but was rejected.

However, by 1958, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare needed to relinquish control of the property. Remembering Butterfield’s earlier offer, the governmental department determined to give the 22-acre property to Northwest College as an outright grant. They also offered the school the option to purchase vehicles and building supplies on the property at a fraction of the cost. The college was able to purchase an additional 12 acres for $30,000 and the new campus was dedicated in 1959.

With the additional growth made possible by the new campus in Kirkland and the additional liberal arts offerings, Northwest Bible College was renamed Northwest College of the Assemblies of God in 1962. When D.V. Hurst began his 23-year presidency of the school in 1966, he significantly improved the networking of the school and many more students outside of the geographical northwest began attending school in Washington.

In 2001, Northwest granted its first master’s degree under president Don Argue. Its name was changed to Northwest University in 2005 and is currently under the leadership of Joseph Castleberry. Today, it continues to serve the Assemblies of God as a regional school under the cooperative control of the Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Northwest, Southern Idaho, and Wyoming districts of the Assemblies of God.

Read a 1952 history of Northwest University on page 7 of the Aug. 17, 1952, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel.

Also featured in this issue:

• “The Error of Balaam” by Ralph Hornby

• “Assignment Korea” by Fred Jarvis

• “Charlie Lee’s Testimony”

And many more!

Click here to read this issue now.

Pentecostal Evangel archived editions courtesy of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.