Alliance Theological Seminary
ATS Mission

Because ATS is the official seminary of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the seminary supports the historic mission and message of the Alliance. ATS is located in a multicultural environment, with an urban involvement, and emphasizes a cross-cultural nature to its programs so that the best possible training ground for missions and ministry is provided to meet Alliance objectives.

Our Process

We recognize that forming effective ministers of the gospel is a process. ATS takes students through a three-phase formation sequence in the following way:

  • The Person Phase develops lifestyles, habits and understanding of the Bible in the student's life and contemporary setting.
  • The Church Phase clarifies the nature and mission of the church and helps the student define his or her call to ministry.
  • The Ministry Phase helps students apply what they've learned and adds skills to help them focus toward specific vocations

Our Model

ATS blends the concepts of the church with social science and practical training in preparing men and women for service. We prioritize the following objectives in our professional degree programs:

  • Knowledge and methodology in biblical studies, theology and social sciences.
  • Competence in ministerial skills, including evangelism, church planting, preaching, administration, counseling and interpersonal relationships.
  • Proficiency in cross-cultural communication, both in North America and around the world.
  • Cultivation of a deep personal and corporate piety. 
  • Practical training through internships and ministry experiences
Identity and Affiliations
In addition to ATS' mission to serve the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the seminary is fully accredited by the Association of Theological School in the United States and Canada and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.  ATS operates under the charter of the Nyack College Corporation.  The Board of Regents for the State of New York empowers the Corporation to grant the Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), and Associate and Bachelors degrees (see the Nyack College catalog for a description of its programs).
    
ATS History
ATS has its historical roots in the work of its founder, Dr. Albert B. Simpson, who pastored in New York City and founded two organizations, one a deeper-life fellowship and the other a missionary-sending agency, that would later merge and become a missionary denomination.

Dr. Simpson organized a training school for missionaries in New York City in 1882. The school moved to the village of Nyack, New York, in 1897 and in time became Nyack College. Before ATS became a seminary, it was first known as the Jaffray School of Missions (1960) to better train prospective missions candidates in the interdisciplinary studies of theology and social sciences. It was then redesigned in 1974 to include the preparation of students for North American ministries, and became the Alliance School of Theology and Missions.

In 1979, the Master of Divinity program was initiated, and Alliance School of Theology and Missions became Alliance Theological Seminary. Increased course offerings and additional faculty have enhanced the seminary's commitment to the worldwide evangelistic task of the church.