Elevating The AG Bible College To A University: A Milestone Achievement By: Jacob N.B. Parley AGBC campus in Brewerville City

After many years of successful   preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the Liberian soil, one of the long awaited dreams of the Assemblies of God Church Liberia is at the verge of bearing great and remarkable fruits.  The AG Church is considered as one of the best Pentecostal churches in the world when it comes to propagating the words of God through a spirit-filled approach. Setting the discussions into motion, the author sees it quite expedient to take a vivid and chronological look at how news about the running of an Assemblies of God University in Liberia is spreading like a bush fire or being received.  The  idea being discussed through this medium  promises to be one of the best  decisions  in the existence of the AG Church, taking into consideration its effects on Liberia’s human resource development programs     through the transfer of knowledge and job creation, among other factors. The initiative will also play  a  pivotal role in   diversifying   programs at the then Assemblies of God Bible College situated in Brewerville,  especially  as the quest for  modern academia in post war Liberia  is  receiving considerable volume of emphasis.  From a chronological perspective, the AG Church came to Liberia in 1908, while the Assemblies of God Church in the United States of America was established in 1915.  Working out the simple mathematics with accuracy, we are seven years older than our colleagues in the United States.  I also want to believe that the Assemblies of God Church in the US is making a lot of progress at many levels. However, since I was unable to gather the needed statistics up to the completion of this article, I sincerely beg to withhold the argument for now until my subsequent publication.  Meantime, the Federal Republic of Nigeria is blessed with one of the best faith-based higher institutions of learning.  It is called the Covenant University and it’s owned by Bishop David Oyedepo (Living Faith Church). I am drawing in these lines because I strongly believe that Assemblies of God Church Liberia should by now be boosting about many of these tangibles, to include hospitals, conference halls, etc., which could be a form of giving back to church members through job creation.  However, there is a wise saying that says a journey of thousand miles begins with the first step.  Bravo to our visionary leaders for the worthy undertaking.   As mentioned from the genesis of this opinion, the faces of Liberians at home and abroad, especially members of the Assemblies of God Church have been beaming with smiles following last month’s pronouncement by the leadership of AGL that a full-fledged first class Christian university to be known as the Assemblies of God University (AGU) would begin official operations in Liberia in September this year (2024).   The launching ceremony of the University at the fall of April 2024, witnessed several statements from leaders of the Assemblies of God Church Liberia, including AGL General Superintendent Rev.Dr.Abenda F. Tamba and the President of the Assemblies of God University, Rev.Dr.Jimmy B. Kuoh. As it is often said that there is now easy way to success, I can deduce that the road leading to the realization of the dream has not been an easy one.  I strongly believe that reaching to this crucial stage of the process is based on several factors, with God’s divine intervention and direction being at the top.  No doubt, telling the story about this momentous development in the existence of the AGL may be incomplete without also counting the role of prayers, unity, determination and a team of visionary leaders of the church, current and past. For two scores, the Assemblies of God Church in Liberia has demonstrated its forte and value in providing what it takes   as far as the issue of contemporary tertiary education is concerned.  Bearing such in mind, it was not therefore surprising to some of us when, in January 2020, the Church passed a unanimous resolution at Zion AG Church, Upper Caldwell to elevate the AG Bible College to university level.  Records available to the author show that the resolution received overwhelming endorsement, taking into account the participation of approximately 600 churches at the gathering. Unfortunately, the euphoria which followed the passage of the unanimous resolution declined when COVID-19 hit Liberia. However, praise be to God that such an unexpected set back did not cause our visionary church leaders to sit back and allow this glorious opportunity   to be hijacked by the wind of uncertainty and subsequently eaten by the locusts.