Crandall University in Moncton, New Brunswick, and Acadia Divinity College (ADC) in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, have announced plans to cooperate in offering a unique educational opportunity to undergraduate students.  This partnership will allow a student to enroll simultaneously in an Acadia University Bachelor of Theology (BTh) program while completing a Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), or Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree at Crandall University. Both degrees can be completed concurrently in four years or four and a half years.

‘The Acadia BTh equips students for diverse forms of leadership in the Christian community. Learning about the Bible, Christian thought, and service will enable graduates to make a difference in the world’, says ADC President, Dr. Harry Gardner.

The Acadia BTh program will include courses in areas such as youth and young adult ministry, children’s ministry, cross-cultural mission, and worship.  Practicum experiences will allow students to focus their studies in an area of particular ministry interest. Students will also have an opportunity to complete an international short-term experience as part of their program.

 ‘This program combination is unique in Canada and will help students grow personally and spiritually. It will benefit churches and ministries where graduates serve as laypeople, and will encourage some students to undertake further preparation for full-time ministry,’ notes Crandall University President, Dr. Bruce Fawcett.

 This new initiative is made possible in part through a generous grant from the Atlantic Baptist Foundation which provides seed money to help launch the program.

Stairs to lead Crandall-Acadia Partnership Rev. Dale Stairs has been appointed to serve as the Director of the new Crandall-Acadia Bachelor of Theology Partnership.  Stairs, who will begin service in September 2013, will spend the first year designing and promoting the program to prepare for the first class of students who will be admitted in September 2014.

Stairs, who currently resides in Saint John NB, is an alumnus of both Crandall University and Acadia Divinity College, and he is completing a PhD at the Free University of Amsterdam. Stairs is a former youth pastor and pastor, and he currently serves as Director of the Youth and Family Ministries department for the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches and also as Director of the Youth and Young Adult Program at ADC. He has provided leadership at the national level through volunteer service with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and at the international level through the Baptist World Alliance. Dale and his wife, Twila, with their three children will be relocating to the Moncton NB area.