
Over the past forty-three years, thousands of students have asked the same question. Many of them made the choice and joined Canada Christian College. As of today, the College has graduated over 6,000 men and women who have been called to minister the awesome power of God to the hurting of this day. Now these graduates are blazing a trail as Achievers for Christ. Many are Pastoring large congregations and others are caring for a few souls. Canada Christian College graduates pastor five of the ten largest churches in Toronto and an alumnus leads one of the largest churches in the world, with 120,000 members.
Hundreds give hope to the hopeless as effective counsellors in clinics and centres. Many are working as worship pastors, musicians and others as Christian leaders in various parachurch organizations, feeding the hungry in missions, telling the Good News on television and radio, and teaching the Word of God in educational institutions.
Are you called to do the same? If so, then Canada Christian College is here to assist your development as an achiever for Christ. The College will help you realize your vision to become an Ordained Minister, Ordained Music Minister, Certified Teacher or Professional Counsellor.
In the 1950’s, Dr. Elmer S. McVety had a vision to see a College develop in Canada that could give aspiring young men and women a recognized degree and the appropriate training to be an achiever for Christ. Dr. McVety came from a long line of preachers. His father was a Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor, well respected teacher and dean of Winnipeg Bible College. His brother Ken was a famous missionary in Japan and brother Al, pastored some of the largest churches in Western Canada. Elmer’s brother-in-law was Billy Graham’s associate evangelist. Dr. McVety believed that Canada played a key role in world-wide evangelism but needed a world-class training institution to launch Canadians into the careers God had chosen them for. Dr. McVety prayed, sought God’s counsel, gathered together a group of qualified people to establish the College.
From the first day of classes in September 1967, the College was focused on producing effective Christian Leaders and it has not strayed from that purpose. The initial thrust was a Christian Arts program and Dr. McVety used the name Richmond College. Seven years later, the institution then launched the theology program with the name Canada Christian College. Richmond College offered arts programs at its campus on Steeles Avenue until 1981. The theology and counselling programs continued to thrive in Canada Christian College and the necessity for larger facilities arose. The College then moved to the University Campus in Toronto with facilities at 455 Huron Street. God continued to bring more and more students so a larger 50,000 square foot campus was acquired in Etobicoke. This facility could not contain the sustained growth. Therefore the College purchased its present 110,000 square foot campus at 50 Gervais Drive in Toronto.
Today, Canada Christian College is one of the most recognized Christian Colleges in Canada. It is led by Elmer’s son, Dr. Charles McVety and it enjoys record enrolment, fabulous faculty and many new programs to meet the challenges of today. The College is leading the nation in defending marriage, biblical morality and Christian leadership.
Canada Christian College has as its purpose, the training of men and women to become servants of God. By communicating the Word of God, our graduates become incarnate bridges between the message of the Gospel and the contemporary world. Although the presentation of theology has changed from generation to generation, the truth which theology has sought to communicate abides forever.
It is this truth which we at Canada Christian College seek to preach, teach and apply to the hearts of men and women for their salvation. Therefore, we hold the following principles of theological education to be essential.
The Gospel is the essence of the curriculum. The belief that in Jesus Christ, God’s nature, purpose and activity are supremely revealed, that God is at work redemptively in the world, that all men everywhere are sinners in need of redemption, that the study of theology is not for its own sake but is climaxed, not with a religious problem solved, but with a doxology to God and a commitment to mission—these are the fundamentals which constitute the foundation of our curriculum.
In other words, the central aim of the curriculum is to aid the student in understanding the Gospel, to deepen his commitment to it, and to encourage him to communicate it to others in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Of course, a first requirement of those who would be servants of the Gospel is a living, personal faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Canada Christian College is committed to changing the world with the Word of God through graduates in worldwide ministry, motivated by love for God and compassion for people.
We exist to train and equip students for a powerful and effective ministry as servants of Jesus Christ in evangelistic, pastoral, counselling, teaching and cross-cultural ministries around the world.
It is the goal of Canada Christian College in its theological program to embrace all aspects of the student’s life: from his daily devotional habits to his learning in the classroom. A theological education is more than lectures heard, books read and assignments completed.
It is also worship in the chapel, private devotional life, interaction with teachers and fellow students. The College, therefore, is concerned with a biblical education that addresses itself to the whole person.
The Bible is the Word of God, the only rule and standard according to which all dogma should be judged. It is essential, therefore, that the Minister of the Gospel should have a thorough knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, be able to interpret them correctly, and be able to proclaim the Christ to whom they bear witness. Consequently, the Bible occupies the central place in the curriculum of the College.
A Theological education demands an earnest, thoughtful and disciplined approach to the Scriptures and the accumulated experiences and wisdom of the Church. While we acknowledge the fact that theological knowledge is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end and does require intellectual integrity and responsibility.
Furthermore, it calls for an eagerness to seek out the truth and a willing submission to the discipline of study.
Our curriculum at Canada Christian College is directed toward individuals who will be ministering to people. If the Gospel is, in fact, the expression of the redemptive love of God, and if the Gospel is essentially communicated through a relationship with a person before it can be fully appreciated and accepted, some people will never know or experience the love and forgiveness of God until they first observe and experience it through us. Therefore, a theological education must help to prepare the student to be sensitive to the needs of others and to teach them to give themselves to the meeting of those needs.
Every student must see the responsibility of relating the Gospel in its entirety to the lives of people in the everyday world. Therefore, supervised field experience in some aspects of communicating the Gospel must become an integral part of the student’s theological education as well as his personal Christian growth.
Canada Christian College has established standards of conduct, which are intended to create a Christian learning environment. Admission to the College is limited to those who agree to comply with these behavioural expectations which apply to every student. All members of the community are responsible to:
It is recognized that not every student will have personal convictions wholly in accord with the following application of these standards. However, all students are responsible to:
Academic council - Hearing Appeal.
Canada Christian College has established standards of conduct, which are intended to create a Christian learning environment. Admission to the College is limited to those who agree to comply with these behavioural expectations which apply to every student.
In situations involving suspected violations of the Community Covenant and/or policies and guidelines of the College, students can expect a fair and reasonable response from the College. Minor violations will be processed by the Administration. Major violations will result in a hearing with the Academic Council and one appeal. Possible actions taken by the College may result in the following but not limited to:
Probation - the student remains enrolled with the understanding that further violations of Community Covenant and/or policies and guidelines of the College would likely result in suspension.
Suspension - an involuntary separation of the student from the College for a specified length of time. Parents of students under 21 years of age are notified and a temporary record is kept with the student’s transcript.
Expulsion - a permanent separation of the student from the College with a permanent notation on the student’s transcript. Parents of students under 21 are notified.
Graduation Refusal -if a student practices conduct in violation of the Community Standards the Academic Council may refuse to graduate the student.The College reserves the right to impose probation, suspension or expulsion upon students for cases of plagiarism.
Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies is fully recognized degree granting institution.
Canada Christian College owns permanent facilities at 50 Gervais Drive, Toronto, Ontario, CANADA. Many Evangelical Churches are in the area and welcome students. Transportation to and from the College is excellent. The Gervais Drive campus is an excellent facility with 110,000 square feet of floor space which includes faculty offices, classroom facilities and support services including the school library and a bookstore. The students also have a recreation and study area adjacent to the library. Larger and smaller classes are held in a number of comfortable, well equipped classrooms. A private counselling area is used for both academic and personal interaction. The college plans to rapidly develop this field of study which is so vital to maximize ministry.
The College recently completed a state of the art audio recording studio. Here promising young artists can get their chance to record their musical talents as well as learn the intricacies of audio engineering. With the explosion of Christian Radio stations nation wide, greater opportunities are available to skilled audio technicians and producers. These new stations also give greater exposure to talented musicians once they have had the opportunity to record their productions.
The 10,000 square foot College library consists of over 15,000 volumes of books, mostly specializing in Theology and Psychology and other pertinent subjects; also a large number of periodicals, pamphlets and curriculum teaching materials for Christian education. The library also has computers to access the vast research opportunities available electronically. In addition, we have a collection of over 200 video taped lectures including some of the greatest sermons of Bible teachers and preachers of our day.
An on-campus Christian bookstore is open five days a week supplying textbooks and other Christian literature, music and gift items. The students will also find a large selection of Bible commentaries and other important study materials for their own library. This readily accessible service promotes deeper involvement in reading, and the study of the Bible, and the best Christian literature.
Canada Christian College students also have the unique opportunity to develop their skills in its new broadcast quality television production studio. Here they can learn everything related to video production from camera operation to computerized editing and compositing.
Not that long ago, Canada saw the birth of its first Christian Television Station. As religious stations spread across Canada, the opportunities for trained, experienced television producers will increase. Students have the opportunity of gaining practical experience working on the set of Word TV, a weekly news commentary broadcast nationally on three networks.
With its completion and official opening in early 2003, a state¬of-the-art auditorium, seating over 2,500 people and with a superior sound and lighting system, has greatly improved the ability of Canada Christian College to spread the Word of God. The addition of this facility enables the College to host large scale conferences, concerts and praise and worship meetings.
The cafeteria is open 12 hours a day serving a wide variety of full meals and snacks. In addition to serving the students daily dinners, the staff caters full banquets for special occasions in the 400 seat lecture hall.
Canada Christian College is blessed with vibrant students. Although all the “mainline” denominations are represented, many of the students come from smaller Evangelical groups. Approximately 90% of our students are Canadians; however, we also have students from several other countries. The Department of Immigration inspects our College and has approved our programs and facilities for students from abroad. Students have come from the United States where approval has been granted to the College by the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs for the training of eligible veterans. Many foreign students returned to their respective countries with added strength from their theological training and with new vision and expertise in various Christian Ministries.
Recently, a record number of students have registered in our Theological classes. These students are of high calibre and have great potential for future effective ministry in keeping with the thorough training we are providing for them.
The faculty, staff and student body of Canada Christian College are united in their adherence to the biblical faith of historic Christianity.This faith is summarized in the following doctrinal statement. Each faculty member of the school is required to sign this statement annually indicating that he or she continues to adhere to these convictions withoutmental reservation. Students are also required to sign this statement as part of the admissions process and again atthe time of their graduation.
I want to speak about the praise and worship degree that is going on here at Canada Christian College under the direction of Dr. Gordon McKinnon. This is the place where you as a worship leader or as a musician can come and get really truly grounded in the things that are necessary for you to become an effective and a powerful worship leader. I just praise God for the excellent work that is going on here. You can be a part of what is going on not only here at this college but even in your community, you can raise the level of the praise and worship experience. God bless you. I recommend this college.