Highest Enrollment Ever

Justice1976

Justice1976

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This is a subject I've seen posted several times. I made an observation that hard numbers from the church or college were always hard to get. I'm not sure why, but others haveHAC Caber 1983 Attendance.jpg agreed with me.

However, I came across a page in the 1983 yearbook, wherein it is stated that in 1982 2,272 students "matriculated." According to the Oxford English dictionary, that means to "be enrolled at a college or university."

I understand within the last year or two, officials from HAC have stated that its highest enrollment ever was around 1,700. If the number from the yearbook is to be trusted, I would add that I think the highest enrollment ever probably occurred several years afterwards, perhaps from 1985-1988.
 
4everfsu said:
If you had it all over to do again, would you attend HAC?
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That's an easy question for me because I wasn't going into full time Christian service. So, no. I had to start all over again when I graduated from HAC in 1981 and it delayed my professional progress. I was 17 years old when I made the decision to go to HAC. Once there, I was not going to quit.

However, I do believe in the divine hand of God in our lives. I grew up a lot in those years and that was necessary. I met one particularly great friend who remains today. It all worked out. I am most blessed. Glory to God!
 
4everfsu said:
If you had it all over to do again, would you attend HAC?
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NO! The only great thing I found there was my husband. We have some good friends from there but nothing spiritual was learned there. I'm not bitter or hate the place but its all about numbers how you dress no pants on women are allowed. They preached but lived ungodly lives.
 
First Baptist of Hammond was well-known for its stand against pants on women. I am under the impression that they no longer emphasize that stuff. The FBC-Hammond web site contains this statement:

"What should I wear? There is not a dress code at First Baptist Church for members or guests. Our ministry leaders and many of our church family dress in more traditional 'Sunday' dress; however, our main goal is that you would feel comfortable on your visit."​


Here is a picture from the official FBC-Hammond web site, showing congregants at the First Baptist of Hammond satellite location at 4850 N. Bernard, Chicago, which is considered a part of the congregation of FBC-Hammond, showing teenage girls wearing pants. If the ban on women's pants is not currently regarded as a Scriptural mandate, it might be difficult to make the case that it ever was a requirement of Scripture.

 
Sherryh said:
NO! The only great thing I found there was my husband. We have some good friends from there but nothing spiritual was learned there. I'm not bitter or hate the place but its all about numbers how you dress no pants on women are allowed. They preached but lived ungodly lives.
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Just think, Sherry...if you hadn't gone to HAC all those years ago, you might still be up in Michigan freezing your caboose off! ;)
 
illinoisguy said:
First Baptist of Hammond was well-known for its stand against pants on women. I am under the impression that they no longer emphasize that stuff. The FBC-Hammond web site contains this statement:

"What should I wear? There is not a dress code at First Baptist Church for members or guests. Our ministry leaders and many of our church family dress in more traditional 'Sunday' dress; however, our main goal is that you would feel comfortable on your visit."​


Here is a picture from the official FBC-Hammond web site, showing congregants at the First Baptist of Hammond satellite location at 4850 N. Bernard, Chicago, which is considered a part of the congregation of FBC-Hammond, showing teenage girls wearing pants. If the ban on women's pants is not currently regarded as a Scriptural mandate, it might be difficult to make the case that it ever was a requirement of Scripture.

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That's very interesting. It appears to me that "no pants" is still the code at the college, but I am impressed that they are starting to live in the real world now.

I have observed a good many ladies who attended the church and college in the past. Of the ones who left the Hammond area it seems a strong majority no longer adhere to the "no pants" standard. That includes some born with the Hyles moniker. I notice a few that will throw a skirt on over their Spanx!
 
My husband didn't like pants on women so I honored his request. He's gone now and yes I do wear pants and there is nothing wrong with it....
 
Sherryh said:
NO! The only great thing I found there was my husband. We have some good friends from there but nothing spiritual was learned there. I'm not bitter or hate the place but its all about numbers how you dress no pants on women are allowed. They preached but lived ungodly lives.
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I agree totally with this. The shallow theology and total focus on numbers and dress, music, hair styles, etc was overwhelming to the centrality of knowing and delighting in Jesus Christ.
 
Bob Jones VI said:
I agree totally with this. The shallow theology and total focus on numbers and dress, music, hair styles, etc was overwhelming to the centrality of knowing and delighting in Jesus Christ.
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Here's the deal: It's EASY to force conformity to a system with RULES. Do this and don't do that. So many demerits for this infraction or that. Any lame brain can force compliant people to follow rules, and there were a lot of lame brains charged with that task fifty years ago.

Conversely, it's very DIFFICULT to create an environment of cultivating a RELATIONSHIP with God Almighty, his Son and the Holy Spirit. And to be fair to HAC, not many Christian schools throughout the ages have been able to accomplish that. And I guarantee that I could find people living ungodly lives at any school you could mention.
 
Sherryh said:
My husband didn't like pants on women so I honored his request. He's gone now and yes I do wear pants and there is nothing wrong with it....
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I come from an IFB family and my mom didn’t wear pants when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. She also thought it was silly and unnecessary, but she went with my dad’s wishes and that of the culture of the church we attended (though this wasn’t the case for many women even then). My mom is around 70 years old now and she does wear pants now, although never to church.

I always affiliated the no-pants rule with IFB, but truthfully, I think it was more of a social norm issue with these IFB presidents and pastors. I’ve heard my grandfathers (born in the 20s and 30s) comment that they never saw a woman wear pants until they were grown. These leaders of Bob Jones, Hyles, PCC, etc., were all childhood products of the old rural South and grew up in a time when women didn’t wear pants. In some rural areas of America, particularly in the Bible Belt, it was considered taboo for women to wear pants even up to the 60s and 70s (and I’m not even speaking of the Christians). I think it’s difficult to shake off the norms of how you were raised, but very easy to find Bible verses to back them up. In sum, I just think these guys didn’t like change and carried their childhood norms a generation or two past its expiration date.
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I come from an IFB family and my mom didn’t wear pants when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. She also thought it was silly and unnecessary, but she went with my dad’s wishes and that of the culture of the church we attended (though this wasn’t the case for many women even then). My mom is around 70 years old now and she does wear pants now, although never to church.

I always affiliated the no-pants rule with IFB, but truthfully, I think it was more of a social norm issue with these IFB presidents and pastors. I’ve heard my grandfathers (born in the 20s and 30s) comment that they never saw a woman wear pants until they were grown. These leaders of Bob Jones, Hyles, PCC, etc., were all childhood products of the old rural South and grew up in a time when women didn’t wear pants. In some rural areas of America, particularly in the Bible Belt, it was considered taboo for women to wear pants even up to the 60s and 70s (and I’m not even speaking of the Christians). I think it’s difficult to shake off the norms of how you were raised, but very easy to find Bible verses to back them up. In sum, I just think these guys didn’t like change and carried their childhood norms a generation or two past its expiration date.
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well said I don't wear pants to church.
 
abcaines said:
Funny... I had been out of IFBdom for a dozen years when I started with Calvary Chapel. It still took a few years with CC before I was comfortable wearing SHORTS to church.
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Only way I would attend a church today if I can wear my cargo shorts during summer, winter cargo pants
 
DrHuk&Duck said:
I come from an IFB family and my mom didn’t wear pants when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. She also thought it was silly and unnecessary, but she went with my dad’s wishes and that of the culture of the church we attended (though this wasn’t the case for many women even then). My mom is around 70 years old now and she does wear pants now, although never to church.

I always affiliated the no-pants rule with IFB, but truthfully, I think it was more of a social norm issue with these IFB presidents and pastors. I’ve heard my grandfathers (born in the 20s and 30s) comment that they never saw a woman wear pants until they were grown. These leaders of Bob Jones, Hyles, PCC, etc., were all childhood products of the old rural South and grew up in a time when women didn’t wear pants. In some rural areas of America, particularly in the Bible Belt, it was considered taboo for women to wear pants even up to the 60s and 70s (and I’m not even speaking of the Christians). I think it’s difficult to shake off the norms of how you were raised, but very easy to find Bible verses to back them up. In sum, I just think these guys didn’t like change and carried their childhood norms a generation or two past its expiration date.
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I think there's a lot of truth in your observation. However, I grew up in the deep south in the sixties. Pretty much all of our mothers of the time were born in the 1920s or early 30s. Every one of them that I knew wore pants (perhaps not to church), except my mother and I don't think it was a religious thing for her, perhaps more cultural. I never heard a preacher down there preach against women wearing pants until I heard Jack Hyles in the early 70s. The preacher at out church didn't see anything wrong with it, except he didn't like for women to wear pants to church, in the holy sanctuary. But if you were picking okra out of the garden, it was perfectly fine. He was a man of many contradictions -- just like a lot of the people I met up in Hammond 🤭
 
Justice1976 said:
This is a subject I've seen posted several times. I made an observation that hard numbers from the church or college were always hard to get. I'm not sure why, but others haveView attachment 7490 agreed with me.

However, I came across a page in the 1983 yearbook, wherein it is stated that in 1982 2,272 students "matriculated." According to the Oxford English dictionary, that means to "be enrolled at a college or university."

I understand within the last year or two, officials from HAC have stated that its highest enrollment ever was around 1,700. If the number from the yearbook is to be trusted, I would add that I think the highest enrollment ever probably occurred several years afterwards, perhaps from 1985-1988.
Click to expand...
Someone told me they had less than 400 in the 2024-25 school season.
 
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