Nazareth Evangelical College is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christianity, Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for C ...

located in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The language of instruction is Arabic. The college offers graduate and undergraduate degrees and provides a number of other education services to the local community.

History

''Nazareth Evangelical College'' has its origins in two Bible colleges: ''Galilee Bible College'' (GBC) and ''Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary'' (NETS). ''Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary'' (NETS) was founded in 2007 by the Scottish missionary-scholar J. Bryson Arthur and his wife May, originally with the name ''The Nazareth Center for Christian Studies''. ''Galilee Bible College'' was founded as an Israeli branch of the West Bank Bible college '' Bethlehem Bible College''. All courses were taught in Arabic. With the departure of NETS's primarily Western staff in 2013, NETS was handed over to entirely Arab leadership, turned into a purely Arab-language institution, and was merged with GBC to become ''Nazareth Evangelical College'', Israel's only theological seminary dedicated to serving the country's Arab evangelical minority in their own language. The merger took place in partnership in 2014 with the '' Association of Baptist Churches in Israel'' (ABCI), '' Bethlehem Bible College'' (BBC), and the ''Convention of Evangelical Churches in Israel'' (now called the ''Synod of Evangelical Churches in Israel'').

Academics and programs

Nazareth Evangelical College offers a ''BA in Biblical Studies'' and an ''MA in Leadership & Christian Ministry''. Both degrees receive their accreditation through ''Bethlehem Bible College'', which is accredited by the ''Middle East Association for Theological Education'' (MEATE), '' Asia Theological Association'' (ATA) and the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

. NEC has also started an ''International Study Program'', a series of courses and excursions designed to help develop relationships with international partners and share something about the unique Palestinian-Israeli evangelical context to visitors interested in deepening their understanding of the region. Currently on offer are a series of lectures on different facets of the local context and a combination of these lectures with a tour. In addition to an extensive English language theological library, NEC now hosts the largest Arabic-language theological library in the country.

Approach

NEC subscribes to an

statement of faith.

References

External links

NEC website

NEC on Facebook

The Dwight Baker Library

Nazsem, the NETS blog

NETS at Academia.org
{{authority control Christian universities and colleges in Israel Educational institutions established in 2014 2014 establishments in Israel Evangelical seminaries and theological colleges Seminaries and theological colleges in Israel Education in Israel Christianity in Nazareth Protestant universities and colleges in Asia