The Nazarene Educational Journey

1921	Established as the Calgary Bible Institute in Calgary, AB.
1927	Relocated to Red Deer, AB. and renamed the Alberta School of Evangelism
1929	Renamed Northern Bible College and new campus constructed.
1940	Conferred degrees in theology. Renamed Canadian Nazarene College (CNC).
1961	Relocated to Winnipeg, MB.
1973	Became an Approved Teaching Centre of the University of Manitoba.
1994	The Board of Governors decided to relocate CNC to Calgary, AB.
1995	Classes began in leased office space in downtown Calgary.
1999	Accredited as a university college. Renamed Canadian Nazarene University College. (NUC).
2002	NUC enters a joint venture with CBC/CTS.
2007	NUC and AUC form a single entity called Ambrose University College

Educating young men and women for service in the church and in overseas mission fields has always been an important emphasis for The C&MA in Canada and The Church of the Nazarene in Canada.

The C&MA’s commitment to higher education dates back to the vision of its founder, Dr. A.B. Simpson, who established North America’s first Bible school in New York. This educational emphasis resulted in the addition of two educational institutions in Canada during the 1920s.

A fuller expression of these values led to the founding of Canadian Bible Institute (CBI) in 1941, with an initial class of 50 students meeting in the lower auditorium of the Alliance Tabernacle in Regina, Saskatchewan. Under the direction of the first president, Rev. Blackett, CBI commenced its primary task of training men and women for worldwide ministry and Christian living.

Nazarene higher education in Canada traces its roots to the Calgary Bible Institute, which was established on January 3, 1921 in the basement of the Calgary First Church of the Nazarene, with an initial class of 29. In 1927, the school relocated to Red Deer, under the leadership of Rev. Charles Thomson, where it became known as Alberta School of Evangelism, and then Northern Bible College (NBC).

The purpose of the school was to provide a stream of workers for the Nazarene churches in western Canada and overseas. An accredited residential high school was also established to serve Christian families in rural communities.

In 1940, NBC changed its name to Canadian Nazarene College (CNC) and in 1957, WCBI became Canadian Bible College (CBC) of The C&MA. Both institutions persevered and became established with purposebuilt facilities and the accreditation of Bachelor of Theology degrees. Canadian Theological College (CTC) was formed in 1970 as a graduate school of theology and a sister school to CBC, changing its name to Canadian Theological Seminary (CTS) in 1982. Both CNC and CBC/CTS fulfilled their mandates of training workers for ministry and soon alumni from both campuses were serving across Canada and around the globe.

The Alliance Educational Journey

1941	Canadian Bible Institute (CBI) is established in Regina, SK.
1949	CBI is chartered by the Saskatchewan government and called Western Canadian Bible Institute (WCBI).
1957	WCBI is renamed Canadian Bible College (CBC) of The Christian and Missionary Alliance.
1970	Canadian Theological College (CTC) is established.
1982	CTC is renamed Canadian Theological Seminary (CTS)
1989	CTS is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools.
1999	CTS–Langley is established as part of the ACTS consortium of seminaries at TWU in BC.
2000	The Board of Governors decides to relocate the campus to Calgary, AB. CTS–Toronto is established.
2002	CBC/CTS enters a joint venture with NUC in Calgary.
2003	Campus is relocated to shared Calgary facilities with NUC.
2004	Alberta’s Minister of Learning, designates AUC as an institution that may grant Bachelor of Arts degrees.
2007	AUC and NUC form a single entity called Ambrose University College

As the new millennium dawned, the paths of CBC/ CTS and CNC converged in an unprecedented way. The goal of both institutions was to provide trained workers for the church and mission fields. However, the pressing need for a Christian-based alternative to public universities could not be ignored.

The next phase of maturation saw both CBC/CTS and CNC develop relationships with Canadian universities for the purpose of expanding offerings beyond Bible and theology into the arts & sciences. In 1960, CNC was relocated to Winnipeg to become the official school of The Church of the Nazarene for all of Canada. CNC also became an approved teaching centre of the University of Manitoba. In that same decade, CBC/CTS developed an educational relationship with the University of Regina.

During the 1990s, the desire to create a university built on a foundation of Christian character formation was translated into action by Dr. George Durance, President of CBC/CTS, and Dr. Riley Coulter, President of CNC. It became obvious that the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan would not support a process for accrediting private institutions in arts & sciences. As a result, both presidents and their boards looked to Alberta, where legislation existed to accredit Christian university colleges.

CNC relocated to Calgary in 1995, became a university college in 1999, and changed its name to Nazarene University College (NUC). In 2000, CBC/CTS made the same decision to move to Calgary.

President Durance immediately met with the administrators of the local Christian post-secondary institutions to affirm his desire to cooperate with them. As the conversation continued over the course of several months, it became clear that the affinity between CBC/CTS and NUC should lead to an educational partnership.

In 2003, CBC/CTS moved to Calgary, joined NUC on their downtown campus, received provincial accreditation in 2004, and adopted the name Alliance University College (AUC).

In May 2007 AUC and NUC became a single entity, Ambrose University College, the official Canadian school of both the Christian and Missionary Alliance and the Church of the Nazarene. Ambrose also serves the wider Christian community.