EPIC Bible College and Graduate School

From Dr. Ronald W. Harden, President

Wonderful EPIC community,

            “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it! “

          I pray many blessings on you this Lord’s Day. I woke up early , today, thankful for the opportunity to praise Him and to get a chance to communicate with you all that God is doing here at EPIC. Just so you know, to be in compliance with the current Public Health Code Order for “Staying at home” , our on-campus classes will operate in a lecture format through the Zoom video conferencing system accessed directly through your already existent Populi. Everyone received full instructions late Saturday evening to your epic.edu student and staff email ( attached below). ( Note: All official communications have been and will be sent to your epic.edu email.). In addition many of you have already received a personal call from Pastor Daniel Harden , our Director of Enrollment and Marketing with those later in the week receiving one tomorrow .  For some time, we have been developing several ways to address the ever changing ways the virus is affecting our society. Our IT/Computer and Academics Departments have done excellent research and hard work to find a very trustworthy and effective way to address how to serve our on-campus classes  lecture delivery. As a result, we have invested heavily in the Zoom system so that on-campus students will be able to fully interact with their instructor as well as fellow students in real time as they receive their professor’s live lectures at  the same time as their regularly scheduled class times . Nothing else changes in the on-campus classes, except for the delivery of the lecture method that will be to your home or wherever you will have your connection to the Internet to access Zoom. All other assignments will still be turned in through Populi and you already have access to Populi. (I am also STOKED about other ways that Zoom will help build greater community within our EPIC family of staff, students, alumni and friends of EPIC around the world!

          For those online students here in the USA and around the world, you will have no difference whatsoever in your classes, you will continue now to the end of the quarter just as you have been with your online instructors.

          As stated in the Sacramento County Public Health Order, EPIC qualifies as an “essential business“ . Please see here the statement for coverage for employees coming to and from EPIC:

“Educational institutions—including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—for purposes of facilitating distance learning
or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible.”

          Communication with your advisor, instructor, financial aid, academics, or the library ( library@epic.edu ) just for help with the electronic versions and databases available on the http://epic.edu/academics/library . There will be NO BOOK CHECKOUTS , as per Health Office recommendations. These contacts will be the same as always through your EPIC email for best responses. There have been GREAT responses already to the many onsite students our IT/Computer Department have personally called and walked thru the dynamic Zoom conferencing platform. 

            In addition, our Campus will be staffed with a smaller number of employees onsite from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday to help students on the phone, by email, or live chat that may have questions. To keep in the parameters of the Order, all doors will be closed to outside entrance for anyone , and there will be no students allowed on campus, only some staff members. Some staff members will also be working on their phones and computers from their homes and will still have access to their Populii and emails. If you are unsure where or to whom to send your email, please send to contactus@epic.edu and our staff will route it Accordingly.

            We are so blessed by the Word of God through Facebook Live ( search : Ronald W Harden or EPIC BIBLE COLLEGE  ) that has been ministered in all 8 chapels last week ( Friday 10am is always Prayer Chapel) , Mon-Fri 10am-10:30am and repeating Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs 7:45pm-8:05pm , as well as the anointed time of worship and the Word for our regularly scheduled Christian Life and Ministry class on Fridays from 10:40am to 12:30pm. PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE TO WATCH ANY AND ALL OF THESE FACEBOOK LIVE CHAPELS AND CLM CLASSES, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT ENROLLED IN THEM. GOD WILL USE THESE TO KNIT US TOGETHER AND KEEP OUR COMMUNICATION CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.

          I am so proud of ALL my EPIC Family for how well we are all adapting to this new normal for now , God is SO GOOD! I look forward to the time we will all be together again to have an EPIC handshake and fellowship. Please be assured of our continuing prayers for you, your precious family, and this great work that our God has called us to!! “ I believe YOU are EPIC!” 

In Jesus’ love,

President Ronald W.Harden

May God also bless America and all the world!!!