After much prayer and planning, Bluefield College of Evangelism was chartered as a nonprofit religious educational institution on June 8, 1971.  The prior October 1970 had witnessed the establishment of Christian Acres, a Christian service camp, by the Christian churches/churches of Christ in the Bluefield, West Virginia area.  It was believed that a ministerial institution in Southern Appalachia would be a vital strengthening force for churches in the Restoration Movement in this area.

Bluefield College of Evangelism thus began with the vision of providing a practical education for various church-related ministries.  For several years Christian Acres Christian Camp, with chapel, classrooms, dining hall, kitchen, dormitories, and administrative buildings served as BCE’s first home.  Founder David Branholm served as BCE’s first president as the college began its first year with a student enrollment of twenty-three men and women on September 7, 1971.

By 1986 the college had outgrown these facilities and purchased property adjacent to Christian Acres where a single multi-purpose unit housed the chapel, administrative offices, classrooms, library, and kitchen/dining facilities.  Though this location provided a scenic mountaintop view for the college and of the surrounding Bluefield area, navigating problematic roads in the winter and visitor difficulty in finding the campus led to the decision to relocate the college.  In 2002 the college campus adjoining Christian Acres was sold to India International Research and Educational Foundation.

In December 9, 2002, BCE’s Board of Directors, in partnership with the Crossroads Church of Christ, purchased property and a former church building on West Lee Highway in Wytheville, Virginia, to become the college’s new location.  Joint sharing of the facility provides a worship auditorium, kitchen/dining in a fellowship area, library, classrooms, and administrative office space for both the church and the college.  Following the May commencement exercises of BCE’s class of 2003, the college’s campus was transferred to the Wytheville location where, as a subsidiary of the original college, the new name, Blueridge College of Evangelism, became official. 

The dreams of her founders continue to be realized as BCE’s program offerings have expanded to include a master’s degree and a leadership program, as well as extension and distance-learning.  Loving links have been built with the Christians in Southern Appalachia and with students from throughout the United States and around the world.