Alaska Christian College Readies for Classes

Alaska Christian College (ACC) is readying for its first class in the fall of 2001, said Keith Hamilton, president and founder of the new institution. The school will offer a one-year discipleship curriculum for full-time students. Hamilton, formerly the associate pastor to students at Arvada Covenant Church in Arvada, Colorado, also announced that Mark Hill will be the school's director of admissions and ministry.

A graduate of Covenant Bible College (CBC) and Alaska Pacific University, Hill also studied at Regent College in British Columbia, Canada. He and his wife, Joanna, are currently in Nome, Alaska, where Mark is program director at KICY Radio.

The Alaska Christian College mission is "to prepare young people for whole-life discipleship, which is accomplished through learning, building, and serving," Hamilton said. He hopes the initial class at ACC will include 30 students, a majority coming from rural villages in Alaska. A year ago, six native Alaskans participated in a three-month pilot project sponsored by ECCAK as part of an evaluation and formation process.

"We have had a lack of native leadership in the rural areas of Alaska and that all changes with ACC," said Hamilton. "Starting in the fall of 2001, our first class of students begin an adventure of preparation to be disciples. Our Bible curriculum, missions emphasis and Christian formation will send prepared students throughout the world."

The idea of a place to train, disciple and educate multi-ethnic students in Alaska has been a vision of ECCAK for five years, said ECCAK Regional Director Paul Wilson. Youth ministry specialist Ron Hutchcraft believes the unique setting will be beneficial for native peoples in a state that has few post-secondary educational outlets. "The vision for ACC is the piece that has been missing for native peoples not only in Alaska, but for the entire country," he said.

For more information on Alaska Christian College, contact Hamilton by telephone at 303-514-8903 or by email at KJHAMILTON@aol.com.

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