Nazareth Evangelical College is an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exp ...

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

located in Nazareth,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. 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 Bethlehem Bible College is a Christian evangelical college, founded in 1979 in Bethlehem, under Israeli military occupation. It was created to prepare Christian leaders to serve Arab churches and society in the Holy Land. It trains students to mode ...

''. 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), ''

'' (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 Asia Theological Association (ATA) is a Christian organisation of seminaries in Asia. It is a member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education. The headquarters is in Quezon City, Philippines. History ATA was formally es ...

'' (ATA) and the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

. 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