It was formed to provide biblical and theological training for students interested in working in mission, evangelism, and church education ministries. In 1970, RBC became a four-year Bible College. Since its founding, the school has remained loyal to its purpose of providing a biblical education from a Reformed perspective and preparing its students for a variety of opportunities of service. The college operates under the jurisdiction of a Board of Trustees. The student body of Reformed Bible College represents a variety of cultures.
Students come from the United States and Canada, and many other nations of the world.
For many years the college was located on the grounds of a former estate in a residential section of Grand Rapids. In 1988, RBC sold that campus to neighboring Aquinas College, purchased a twenty-eight acre parcel of land in northeast Grand Rapids, and constructed new facilities. In 1990 the college moved to its new campus along the East Beltline.