For new and returning students...hope you are as excited as we are about your arrival on campus! An awesome 2010-2011 academic year is being prepared for you.

Before you leave your families and get settled in to your new "home away from home," please take some time to check out two very important documents that will be helpful to you in the months ahead.  

Visit www.nyack.edu/cs, where you can download the Nyack College Events Calendar 2010-2011 and  the Nyack Student Handbook 2010-2011.  New policies and procedures you should be aware of are included there.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. We look forward to seeing you soon!

2010 is the year of jubilee for Alliance Theological Seminary (ATS) and the cause for celebrating 50 years was raised a notch when the New York State Board of Regents approved the seminary’s Doctor of Ministry degree program this month. This is the first doctoral degree offered by Nyack College/ATS and the first doctorate offered by an educational institution of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. 

“I believe Dr. Simpson would be proud,” declared Dr. Michael Scales. In his announcement to the campus community, he said, “Our perseverance, endurance, and persistence finally win. More importantly, God blesses us with a favorable ruling in HIS time! The Board of Regents approved the charter and master plan amendments. This means we have proven to be "institutionally ready" to offer a doctorate and secondly, that the specific D.Min. is approved.” 

With campuses strategically located in Nyack and New York City, Scales pointed out, “This is a major step in our God-given goal to become New York's Christian university. And a Christ-centered university in New York is a Christ-centered university to the world!”

Dr. Elias Dantas is the Director of the D.Min. in Christian Leadership in the Global Context, which will be offered exclusively at the Rockland County, NY campus beginning  January 2011. Prior to his ATS appointment, Dr. Dantas was the associate pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in California. He has a vision for the church and a vision for how ATS might by used by God to fulfill it.

“We want to build churches that are with the community, not just in it,” Dantas says. “We’re becoming a country of foreign born people. We need to help leaders minister in an urban context.”

The opportunity to help churches do that is part of what drew Dantas to ATS. The native Brazilian has always recognized the importance of creating a church with a global mindset. At ATS, that global mindset permeates everything. It reflects the vision and mission of The Christian and Missionary Alliance.

The ATS program seeks “to integrate the practice of ministry with a theological and biblical base.”  Prospective students interested in the 36-credit, three-year program, should contact the Office of Admissions for details on the application process by phoning 1.800.541.6891 or emailing admissions.ats@nyack.edu.

Dubbed "America's Lead Worshiper," recording artist, songwriter, and author, Dennis Jernigan will lead a worship seminar at Nyack College on Saturday, September 18, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The event will take place in Pardington Hall, 45 South Blvd. on the Nyack, NY campus. The community-wide praise and worship event is open to the public.

Songs by the Oklahoma resident such as "You Are My All in All," "Nobody Fills My Heart Like Jesus," "Thank You," and "We Will Worship the Lamb of Glory," are sung around the globe. His work ranks in the Top 100 on the Church Copyright Licensing (CCLI) charts for songs most performed in churches.

Jernigan has released over 20 full-length CDs, multiple songbooks, and folios, and has authored more than five books, including his two most recent, A Worshiper's Guide to the Holy Land, What Every Boy Should Know, and What Every Man Wishes Hhis Dad Had Told Him. His newest 15-song CD, Kingdom Come, is available now in retail outlets.

Admission is $20.00 per person. Free admission only for Nyack College students with I.D. For more information on this event, contact Nyack's Office of Spiritual Formation at 845.675.4455.

Walk into any Barnes & Noble or Borders Bookstore and...well, the book neatly line the shelves--all categorized and alphabetized. But imagine the process of getting a bookstore consumer-ready and consumer-friendly. That's the yeoman's task being accomplished by five Nyack students assisting the owners of Old Cancun Christian Bookstore.

As they battle fatigue and a few inconvenient minor injuries, Team Cancun (pictured above) invites you to check out the bookstore's website they set up at http://www.libreriaunidadcristiana.com. Read about their challenges and their triumphs at http://www.nyackinmexico2010.blogspot.com www.nyackinmexico2010.blogspot.com.

Faculty advisor for the group, Prof. James Muckell, will take another team to Mexico in January 2011 to continue the service-learning work that Nyack has established with an orphanage there. He hopes to have a large enough student group to assign a crew to follow up on the tremendous groundwork done by team leader Carolina Simbana with Piero Gorriti, Farrah Michael, Stephanie Azevedo, and Gavin Penny.

Pray for their endurance to continue the painstaking work and for safe travels as the group will head home next week.

When people ask, "What did you do for your summer vacation?" five Nyack College students will answer, "Went to Cancun!" Of course, most of us will immediately think 'fun in the sun.'  While there will be opportunities for that, Professor Jim Muckell's business and accounting students--Stephanie Azevedo, Piero Gorriti, Farrah Michael, Gavin Penny, and Carolina Simbana--are on a much weightier mission.

Accompanied by Prof. Muckell earlier this week, the students headed for a dream service-learning project in Mexico, where they are helping to computerize the Old Cancun Christian Bookstore and also developing its website. The Youth With a Mission (YWAM) facility in Cancun will be their home base until the end of the month.

The venture began with the students researching available software packages for Spanish-speaking Christian bookstores as well as for tools to construct a bookstore website. Through the efforts of Dr. Gordon Boronow, a Nyack economics professor, the project was funded by the Titus Foundation. Additional funds were secured when another Nyack accounting student, Carlos Florentin, shared with his father the need for finances. 

Check out their blog:  http://nyackinmexico2010.blogspot.com, and stay abreast of their progress. Keep Team Cancun in your prayers!