Statement of Purpose

Caribbean Nazarene College offers quality education in a Christian environment.

The College’s commitment to quality education can be seen in its emphasis of cultivating Christian leadership through academic excellence, spiritual development, community awareness, and steadfast loyalty to the principles of the Wesleyan holiness tradition in a Caribbean cultural environment.

The programmes are designed to prepare persons for pastoral ministries and religious education in the local church and to prepare persons who desire to serve as Christian leaders in the church, their chosen careers, and religious and business organizations.
The College also strives to encourage lifelong learning for those in leadership and to enhance the ministry of those that are already in ministry or in full-time career positions by offering seminars, conferences, and workshops.

BRIEF HISTORY

Raymond and Ruth Miller, veteran missionaries, founded Nazarene Training College. This institution began as part of the Trinidad District of the Church of the Nazarene, with invitations extended to the other two English-speaking Caribbean fields, Barbados and British Guiana. British Guiana had the honour of enrolling the first student on opening day – January 3, 1951.

At first, all students were enrolled in the Ministerial Diploma programme, a three-year curriculum compressed into two calendar years in order to meet the pressing need for trained pastors. Other three-year diploma programmes in Christian Education and Sacred Music and a two-year programme in Churchmanship were added in subsequent years.

In 1957, the College formed an Area Board and became an official school for Trinidad, Guyana, and Barbados. As the Church of the Nazarene expanded in the West Indies, other countries and districts sent their students.

Nazarene Training College, circa 1960.

In 1964 the college motto, “Our Utmost for His Highest,” was adopted; this was an adaptation of a title of a book written by Oswald Chambers. In 1974 the institution’s name was changed to Caribbean Nazarene Theological College. Also in 1974, the first Bachelor of Theology degree was granted through an affiliation with Canadian Nazarene College. In 1987 the Area Board became the Board of Trustees.

Caribbean Nazarene Theological College, 2001.

In 1996, the college was accredited by the Caribbean Evangelical Theological Association, which allowed Caribbean Nazarene Theological College to grant degrees independently. The programmes of study now consisted of Bachelor’s degrees in Theology or Christian Education, as well as Diplomas in Theology or Christian Education. In 2000, the Master of Arts in Counselling programme was introduced, followed by the Bachelor of Arts in General Studies in 2001.

In 2005 the institution’s name was changed to Caribbean Nazarene College. In 2007, the Bachelor of Arts in Social Work was introduced. In 2013, the college was accredited by the Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago.