The first generation of Summit Pacific College was born in 1941 when Pentecostal leaders realized the need for a local biblical training center amidst unprecedented church growth and the restricted travel of World War II. With a mandate to serve the British Columbia and Yukon Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), the British Columbia Bible Institute was founded out of Glad Tidings Church in Victoria, BC. Revered Ernie Robinson, the church's pastor, served as the first president.

By 1951 the school had outgrown the facilities at Glad Tidings and so the campus of a former boys' school in North Vancouver was acquired. Summit first became a residential campus with this move, which continues to be central to our community identity today. As the school matured the training became higher-level, which was recognized in 1963 when the name British Columbia Bible Institute changed to Western Pentecostal Bible College. Moving in this direction, the four-year degree equivalent programs were added in 1967.

In 1974, a new campus was necessary to sustain the school's growth. A piece of land was purchased from the Fraser Valley Pentecostal Camp set in a mountainside on the outskirts of Abbotsford, BC. The expansive land continues to offer room for development as numbers grow, buildings are added, and opportunities abound.

In 1980 WPBC received accreditation from the American Association of Bible Colleges (now the Association for Biblical Higher Education) and the curriculum was extended to offer a full degree program, becoming the first Pentecostal school in Canada to receive accreditation and offer a bachelors degree. The school awarded its first Bachelor of Arts in 1982. In 1996, Summit expanded its academic program through an affiliation with Trinity Western University, enabling students to earn a university degree while studying in a bible college context.

Most recently, in 2003, the school determined that a name chance was relevant. The name Summit Pacific College was unanimously approved to reflect the school's distinct campus atmosphere on a West coast mountainside and the spiritual challenge of lifelong growth.

Today, Summit continues to be a forerunner in PAOC higher education. Summit's faculty offer a rich diversity of experience: authors and missionaries, counselors and pastors who are committed to investing in students as scholars, believers, and individuals.

While the name and location, buildings and faces of Summit have changed throughout 65 years, the mission has remained: equipping students to live out a dynamic faith as they serve their communities of influence.