Alphacrucis University College (AC) is the largest self-accrediting Christian liberal arts college in Australia, as well as the official national training college of Australian Christian Churches (ACC), the Assemblies of God in Australia. The college was founded in 1948 with the vision of being a Spirit-empowered, church-planting, missions-sending, outreach-focused, distinctly Australian college that would contribute its efforts towards changing the world.
City Harvest Church’s School of Theology is now accredited by Alphacrucis, which brings theological teaching and qualification at SOT to a new level. Next weekend (28-29 September 2024) at the SOT Graduation ceremony, the church will celebrate its first batch of Diploma of Ministry graduates.
City News speaks with President of Alphacrucis, Professor Stephen Fogarty, 65, and Vice President and Provost of Alphacrucis, Rev Associate Professor David Perry, 42, to understand the validation and accreditation process of SOT, and why a theological college should always be well connected to a church.
CITY NEWS: Could you help us understand what validation is, what it entails, and why is it necessary?
PROF STEPHEN FOGARTY (SF): What we’re doing is, we’re allowing SOT to operate within our Australian accreditation. In Australia, we are a government-accredited organisation. We’re a university college that is fully self-accredited; which means, we have the freedom to design our own awards, with the option to adapt and change them along the way. So we’re very much like a university in our capacity to operate. CHC and SOT will essentially have the right to operate or to deliver the degrees that we agree upon. We’ll maintain a strong relationship with them, and help them to maintain the quality standards required for the accreditation. We’ll also provide whatever resourcing needed to bring up the quality of the faculty over time.
So, SOT will be able to issue the certificates from AC through SOT?
SF: Exactly right. Basically on the testamur, both AC and SOT, or CHC, will be there. Essentially, SOT will be a third party who’s in partnership with us, delivering the Word. So we’re not just saying yes, and we tick the boxes. We’re actually going to be quite organically connected to you.
So what are the factors needed for the validation?
SF: All important things. Basically, you have to make sure the facilities are good, and the students have a good learning environment and experience, and have everything they need. Secondly, you need to make sure that the faculty and the staff are appropriately qualified. You’ve got some stellar faculty that you’ve been bringing in for a while now, and you’re growing your own faculty. So we have no issue with that.
Beyond the facilities, there is also resourcing, like giving students access to books, journal articles, and online resources. Part of the agreement is that we’ll make available to the students a very extensive range of resources. They almost wouldn’t have to turn anywhere else to find material relevant to their assignment or to the subject. At the end of the day, you want to give the students every chance to succeed, and to do that, you’ll need to have the best faculty, the best student support, the best resources, and the best facilities you can put in place. And our observation of CHC and SOT so far has been outstanding.
REV ASSOC PROF DAVID PERRY (DP): We had some constructive meetings with Pastor Bobby (Chaw) and with Professor Doug (Petersen), and it’s been very interesting to hear the heart and passion behind what SOT does: theology for building up the church. We’re impressed by the content, by the list of faculty that’s been assembled, and by some of the students we’ve met. Probably our main contribution is to provide an accreditation structure within which SOT can operate using the content and the faculty that you already have so that when students finish, they come out with a Alphacrucis University College and SOT degree. It’s good to have something properly accredited, because when students finish their studies, and if they then decide they want to study somewhere else and they want their qualification to be recognised, the Australian Government’s accreditation is recognised anywhere around the world.
Are there other Bible schools or colleges in the Asia-Pacific region that have AC’s validation?
SF: In Australia, several very large churches and many smaller churches are working with us. In Asia, we deliver a programme in Baguio City in the Philippines, with a college called Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS). They do a double degree: Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Ministry.
AC runs its own classes and courses. How did AC come to be involved in validating other schools’ curricula?
SF: We have a mantra: “A college not connected to a church has got no future.” So for 20 or 25 years, we’ve been pivoting towards being well-connected with the church. It’s just been a natural evolution in our attempt to create a strong interface because churches have training needs and specific foci that they want to address. Over time, in response to that, we’ve first developed products, like certificates and requirements and even degrees that match those requirements, and then a way of working with churches, so that they can deliver courses in their own context. With ministry training, you really need the combination of a vibrant local church, as well as the academic material and rigour framework—both of those things done well and integrated well.
If you have the college by itself, it can get a little bit academic. Academics can be very interesting, but can also be rabbit holes where you can lose track of the mission of the church. So it’s just been a natural evolution over a period of time. We’ve got a lot of validation from the Australian government, a lot of freedom to operate and to do things that other colleges can’t do.
That’s a lot of favour.
SF: It’s wonderful, it really is. We’re unique—a unicorn at the moment in Australia. We’re the largest Christian higher education provider and Christian university college in Australia, and we’re the most advanced in terms of accreditation. And we work with most of the significant churches in Australia, who want to do something similar to what CHC is doing with SOT.
DP: And as Steve said, it’s recognising what we can contribute and what the church can contribute. We’re a Pentecostal college. We bring that ethos and heart to education, which works well when we’re working with a church like CHC. But obviously, our focus is academic. We want to be connected to the church, but we will never have the opportunity for practical ministry in the culture that a church like CHC has. We can bring the accreditation, we can bring the curriculum, the syllabi, the academic aspects; but we need to work with really influential churches, who can bring that culture out and give students opportunities to outwork what they’re learning.
Tell us, how did AC get connected with SOT? How did that come about?
SF: From my perspective, it’s simply to do with Professor Doug (Petersen) and Professor Byron (Klaus). Byron and I have known each other for a very long time, perhaps 25 years or more. He’s a friend, and in a sense, my mentor in my position as the leader of this college, because he was previously the leader of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, the preeminent AOG institution in America.
When they were contemplating how they could help SOT get an appropriate accreditation, Byron thought about us. I think that’s the initial seed of it. And then as Byron, Doug, and others investigated further, they felt like AC is able to offer the framework that SOT needs. It’s personal for me; everything we do is based on relationship. And this is a classic example, where someone who’s known someone for a long period of time, and saw that they might be able to meet this need here.
It seems like it’s also God’s timing. CHC is in a season of deepening its Pentecostal foundation, holding a summit last year with global Pentecostal scholars. It was definitely an eye-opener for our church members.
SF: That’s a good one! I think there’s a serendipity about it; God orchestrates things. Our vision is to be a global Christian university, transforming neighbourhoods and nations. That’s a preposterous vision, unless we partner with significant churches and other groups around the world. In working with you (CHC) here, it fulfils our vision.
On our first visit to SOT, we both commented that we haven’t been in many environments where there’s so much hunger, where students just want to receive. It was really inspiring. And to hear Pastor Kong and Pastor Bobby share about their desire to bring theology into the church—I think that’s reflected in SOT because you can see that in the heart of the students.
DP: The enthusiasm and the vibrancy of worship was wonderful.
Prof Stephen, you’ve been called the poster boy of ecumenicalism by the Sydney Morning Herald. How do you see Pentecostal theology helping to shape the unity of the church as the body of Christ?
SF: Well, theology is faith seeking understanding and application. That’s what we’re doing. Pentecostals have been fabulous in leading the world in praise and worship, in evangelism, in faith, believing God for miracles and all these things. We’ve been very active and very pragmatic in a positive way. But we’ve had to sustain ourselves in ministry over a long period of time. If a church movement is going to maintain that sense of call and purpose and vision, it needs a deeper, richer theological framework within which to do that.
So Pentecostal theology is a journey. We’re not trying to create a rival academic theology to all historic theologies that exist; we’re trying to understand what God is doing in our midst. And the emphasis is very much on the Spirit, because the genius and the driver of genuine Pentecostal activity is the leading of the Holy Spirit and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. So Pentecostal theology or Christian theology is Christocentric—it’s about Christ.
You spoke a bit about living by the Spirit, and you’ve pioneered three churches. How do you encourage churches and believers to begin, and to sustain, leading a Spirit-filled life?
SF: Well, the components for a spiritual life are pretty similar. We’ve got to find that reflective space where we hear the voice of the Spirit. So, Christian ministry is pretty simple: hear the Spirit, and do what He tells you. If I were pastoring a church at this point in time, I’d be trying to make sure that the worship and praise are very vibrant, very open, creating those moments where the Spirit comes in. I’d make sure my teaching was not too academic, not too dry, and not too vague. I’m very much focused on the New Testament. I always preach out of the New Testament, and as you preach out of the New Testament, you’re going to run into the influence of the Spirit. In my opinion, the church exists in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The unity of the church is the result of the presence of the Spirit; the effectiveness of the church is a result of the gifts of the Spirit; the capacity of the church to get on with each other is a result of the fruit of the Spirit. So everything about the church is an outworking of the influence of the Spirit, through gifts, unity, direction, vision.
Take the Spirit away from the church, and there’s nothing left.
Could you share one powerful way that God has used AC?
SF: At this moment in time, the head of the Assemblies of God in Great Britain is a graduate of our college. The former head of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand is our graduate. Several of the leaders of the Australian Christian Churches to which we belong, they’re our graduates. The head of the Sri Lankan Assemblies of God is our graduate. So our graduates are all over the world, making a significant impact for Christ, and that’s our most substantial contribution.
The fact that we are a Pentecostal college is quite significant, and we are the preeminent Christian college of our time in Australia, which is quite unique because normally, the academic institutions are Anglican or Presbyterian. And that goes back to my predecessor who was my first pastor. He believed that God called us to be a Christian university in 1996, and so we’ve essentially been pursuing that to this time. When I look at our evolution, it’s quite remarkable. I would say it’s miraculous to get from what we were, a very small—100 students or thereabouts—ministry training college, to a university college with a very broad range of offerings, both horizontally and vertically, with many degrees, Master’s degrees, Doctoral degrees, and almost 4,000 students. And we have influence, public presence in our nation, in the name of Jesus Christ. So I think institutional advancement has been a major contribution to the church, aside from our graduates.
Prof David, as VP and Provost of AC, you’re in charge of teaching and leadership. What is the first thing you say to all your theology undergraduates?
DP: Because of our history, and because we’re so closely connected to the church in Australia, I would always say that theology has to connect to the church. The risk of academic work generally is what happens off to the side can become a critique of the Church; which is not our heart or not what we want to do. So we always say, as you’re learning, as you’re exploring theology, Biblical studies, there’s a context for that. It’s always thinking about how we can contribute to, and help to edify the church. An example of that would be my research, which was in Pentecostal Spirit baptism. Having grown up Pentecostal, my heart was thinking, how can I help the church have theological confidence in the experience of being baptised in the Spirit? That’s the heart of the college—how can we help people have confidence in their faith and in their understanding of Scripture, so that they can go out and build the church?
You also have a heart for higher education, since you have a few leadership roles in that sector.
DP: My primary role is in AC. Steve has been our president for a long time. He does a lot of work in terms of building us externally, connecting with our key churches, trying to make sure we’re sustainable long term in terms of fundraising and other things. My job is to manage things internally, that’s my main focus. But yes, I do have some other roles in relation to higher education within Australia. So I chair one of the peak bodies (Australian term for an advocacy group or an association of groups with allied interests), which is Independent Higher Education Australia, a collection of colleges around the country offering higher education. But my primary role is still with AC.
Related to these other roles, why is higher education so important in your opinion?
DP: First of all, I’ve experienced personally the benefit of being involved in higher education. I grew up in church and I always felt like a sense of calling that God wanted to use me in education. So I experienced firsthand the blessing of going through Bible college, and then going on to further studies. Once you’ve experienced that, and you know how enriching it can be—not just to get more knowledge, but to actually deepen your faith, understanding, and confidence in what you believe— you’d want everybody else to experience that. I feel a sense of calling to the college. Steve mentioned our 15,000 to 20,000 graduates around the world. It’s incredibly fulfilling to know that you’ve played a part in helping those people to build their own confidence and their faith. That, to me, is the value of higher education. It’s not about getting the certificate at the end—although it’s nice, that’s not the goal. The goal is to actually help people build confidence in illustrating their faith.
Where do you see the future of AC, maybe in the next few decades or so?
SF: We’re a university college that wants to be a university. This just means we need to produce a more substantial volume of research than we do at the moment. So I want us to grow. We have 4,000 students, and I think we should grow to about 10,000 students over the next five to 10 years, with significant presence all around Australia, and significant partnerships throughout the world, particularly in Asia. We want to fulfil our vision to be a global Christian university, transforming neighbourhoods and nations. I think we will also contemplate what other fields that we might offer, such as Christian-based studies in law, government, health sciences, and medicine. So we discuss those things all the time, and we haven’t made a decision. But we contemplate how we can look like your university here in Singapore, but be distinctively Christian.
