Mujeres de HACE is a women’s leadership program that empowers high-potential Latina professionals, at or above manager level with demonstrated potential to reach serve in executive roles. Mujeres de HACE reaches individuals who “succeed professionally and thrive personally by providing insight, access and professional development in an effective manner: individualized, culturally relevant curricula and via collaboration, mentoring and powerful relationships that continue beyond completion of the program.”

Kathia was also named this year to the third annual “40 under 40” list of Negocios Now, recognizing the leadership of young Latinos in the Chicago Area. Negocios Now is the only digital business publication in the state of Illinois that reaches more than 15,000 Latino entrepreneurs and business leaders. The 2017 "40 Under 40 List" was celebrated earlier this month at the popular Chicago venue, Latinicity.

The conference will open March 15 at 7:00 p.m. with ATS alumnus Rev. Dr. A.R. Bernard, (MPS ‘06; M.Div. ’09; D.D. ’09); senior pastor of Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, speaking on “Passing the Baton of Holistic Ministry to Future Generations.” Pastor Charles Galbreath (NC, ’06 and ATS ’09), senior pastor of Clarendon Road Church in Brooklyn, will be a conference panelist on Friday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m. 

Participants can send RSVPs and inquiries to LPACLEGACYCONFERENCE@gmail.com. Ticket information is available here.

Rev. Dr. Raymond Rivera, pastor of Sanctuary Church and conference co-organizer with Dr. Bernard, welcome the community to this interfaith gathering to “discuss, reflect and act on what the face of holistic ministry will look like for future generations.

Saturday, March 17 will conclude with a dinner and special musical guests.

Critic Anthony Rodgers cited student conductor, Stephanie Fisher and the performances of Chenee Campbell, both seniors and Chris Anthony, a 2017 alumnus. Referring to the internationally acclaimed soprano, Rodgers writes, “Battle appeared to understand and value the talent in the choir, sometimes pausing to make eye contact and smile at a performer after a reading or looking out into the audience, smiling and shaking her head in wonderment.” About the quartet that showcased three Nyack performers, he called their rendition of a traditional hymn “some of the tightest harmonies of the evening.” Other Nyack performers included Nicole Vega, Andre Rogers, Kalia Baptiste, Jazmen Reyes, Prof. Willana Mack, Prof. Cliff Smith and Prof. Darryl Jordan.

Read the review in its entirety.

Nyack School of Music concert and recitals are held on both the Rockland County and New York City campuses.

Don’t you want to know?

You can learn about undergraduate, graduate, doctoral programs offered in the classroom or online—in New York City or Nyack.

Come visit us—for a weekend, a day, or an evening!

The Creative Arts Coordinator for Spiritual Formation and advisor for the Nyack College spoken word group, Loud Mouths, Emmanuel is a 2016 alumnus of the Master of Divinity program at Alliance Theological Seminary. He also earned an undergraduate degree in biology from New Jersey Institute of Technology. His initial intention was to pursue research in genetic engineering, but he says, “God had different plans.”

“My father was preaching at a service one Sunday,” he explains, “and an idea suddenly came to me: What if I rewrote biblical stories as fairy tales for kids to understand?” The rest is history.

“The Book of Elyon” can be purchased on Amazon. Though copies of the book will not be available the night of the event, Emmanuel is happy to autograph books for people who buy copies online and bring them to the event. 

Read more by Emmanuel Pierre on his blog.

Students will perform with faculty members Dr. Kenote, flute; Dr. Tammy Lum, piano and Prof. Craig Williams, organ.

Admission is free.

Learn more about the Nyack School of Music.

Three days of refreshing and refueling through prayer, worship, seminars and much more. The three speakers—Lisa Plunket, Michelle Park and Rachael Williams—are all instructors in the leadership development Empower program, who will bring powerful teaching to engage and encourage participants.

Lisa Plunket is the pastor of Spiritual Life at Risen King Alliance Church in New City, NY where she oversees small group, prayer, and pastoral teams. She is a member of the Empowr program leadership team. Lisa earned a BA in New Testament Studies and History at Western Kentucky University. She is passionate about prayer ministry, mentoring women and curriculum development. Lisa and her husband, Mike, have served on the mission field in Mexico and as church planters before becoming leaders of Risen King.

Michelle Park, a 2012 graduate of the Marriage and Family therapy program at Alliance Graduate School of Counseling (AGSC) in Nyack, NY is a licensed marriage and family therapist at Redeemer Counseling Services in Manhattan. She is a seminar director for the Prepare-Enrich Assessment and certified as a Gottman 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work Leader and MarriageStrong Facilitator. She is also an adjunct professor at AGSC. Michelle and her husband, Sam, planted The Sycomore, an Alliance church in Flushing, NY.

Rachael Williams is the Director of Strategic Operations at Grace Alliance Chapel in Westampton, NJ where her husband, Mike, is the lead pastor. She is a member of Metro District C&MA assessment teams for future church planters. Also an Empower program professor, coach and live-stream cohort mentor, Rachael is a 2004 Nyack College alumna who earned a BS in elementary education and is enrolled in the intercultural studies program at Alliance Theological Seminary.

In addition to the full weekend package, day admission rates are available with and without meals. Online registration is in progress. 

A panel discussion will be moderated by WMCA radio host, Kevin McCullough. Panelists who will share business advice and inspirational stories include Dr. Anita Underwood, dean of Nyack’s School of Business and Leadership; Denise Richardson of The PBS Pledge Drive, Valerie D’Amico of D’Amico Group Real Estate and Betty Pence of Thrivent Financial.

Admission is free. Register for tickets here. Participants are encouraged to bring 25-30 business cards for networking and for great giveaways and prizes.

Name a person who had a significant influence on your faith journey.
Michelle Barclay.

Share how this individual helped shape your life as a Christian.
“Wait. I want to hear what’s on this young girl’s heart.”

Those were the first words I heard Michelle Barclay speak as I sobbed into the palms of my hands. It was the close of what had become my routine visit to women’s meetings, but on this day the Lord’s call to me was louder than usual. Christ was calling me to live a life fully consecrated unto Him and I was terrified. However, the thought of not surrendering to Christ was just as unbearable.

I recall feeling as though no one else in the world could possibly understand my conflict. But as I wept, Michelle’s voice was a gentle surprise. Her presence was calming, but even more satisfying was her willingness to wait and hear what was on my heart. In the weeks that followed, Michelle would invite me to sit with her and her daughter during Sunday service and join them for lunch thereafter. The most humbling part of Michelle’s ministry in my life was the calls she made to me once a week. In her warm Trinidadian accent, Michelle would ask “DeLissa, how’s your walk with the Lord?”

Our conversations though brief, were always enough. My friend’s gestures were a demonstration of exactly what God was offering me. He, through His daughter, was demonstrating that a life lived for Him meant experiencing His tenderness, being a recipient of His loving patience, and developing a relationship that would prove to be richer than any relationship established on this side of Heaven. It has been over five years, and my dear friend Michelle has not ceased waiting to hear the hearts of young women who are being called to a life consecrated unto Jesus Christ.

DeLissa Dixon
Admissions Associate
Master of Social Work Program

Two other Nyack students who shared in ministry with Isaiah were Stephen Locke, a vocal performance major and co-president of Loud Mouths, and Michael Perry, worship team leader.

The service is live on Instagram @C3University for 24 hours and also on Facebook. 

Currently serving as youth pastor at Risen King Alliance Church in New City, NY, Isaiah’s first recording of spoken word, “36 L’s” debuted last fall and was celebrated with a listening party in downtown Nyack at the Nyack Center. Listen to his talent here. 

Name a person who had a significant influence on your faith journey.

My aunt, Lucile Holt.

Share how this individual helped shape your life as a Christian.

Lucile Holt, my mother’s sister and our maternal matriarch for many years, was devoted to the Lord, her family, her church and her community. She was a member and deaconess at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Nyack, NY and she was also a gospel singer. An educator, who retired after 37 years of teaching special education, she served as president of the Rockland Negro Scholarship Fund, Inc. for sixteen years. My aunt was also a trustee for the Finkelstein Memorial Library, located in Spring Valley, NY. She was a member of the Hillcrest Civic Association and the Spring Valley NAACP.

Aunt Lucile was loved by all who knew her and had the sweetest way of shining the light of correction and encouragement when needed.

Her faith in the Lord and His plans always amazed me, especially before I received the gift of salvation at age 42. She modeled the virtuous woman I personally wanted to emulate. When I began my walk with the Lord, she was the first family member to recognize that my conversion was real and encouraged me in so many ways.

Although she was a devoted Christian woman and loved the Lord her entire life, her relationship with the Lord became even deeper as she came along side me in my early years as a Christian. We often attended Bible studies together and grew so much closer to each other as we both grew closer to Christ. Since my mother’s passing in 1991, I can truly say that as much as my aunt filled the maternal void, she was even more so my very, very wise friend.

Lucile Holt’s life modeled the love recorded in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a. Her legacy lives on!

Althea Session-Lovett
Student Loan Officer

The New York City transplant is currently making a splash in Florida with her self-titled graphic design and branding firm, Tiffany Burnett.

Voyage Media is attempting to create a new creative voice and publishes editions for target markets in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston and Chicago. Per the Voyage website, “We love small businesses, mom-n-pops, and hole-in-the-walls. We think independent entrepreneurs, freelancers and other risk-takers make our cities exciting to live in.”

Read more about how Tiffany Burnett is being a light in Boca Raton. 

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Like many of us, I received today’s news of the passing of Dr. Billy Graham with a mixture of emotions. There was sadness, particularly for Dr. Graham’s family—both his biological family and his worldwide ministry family—and for the sense of loss they must feel. But to borrow a phrase sometimes used at the homegoing of God’s great servants, “We haven’t lost Billy Graham. We know exactly where he is today.”

And so, when I heard this news, I also felt joy. I felt joy for the wonderful work accomplished by this humble, Spirit-led man of God. While the numbers vary, I’m told that Billy Graham preached the Gospel to 215 million people worldwide in 185 countries. The impact that he has had on advancing the Gospel is simply incalculable.

Through it all, his message of salvation in Jesus Christ never waivered, nor did his humility. Even now, USA Today is running a video of Billy Graham in which he tells of a vision he had in which his entire life passed before him until he was standing in front of his Lord. “I didn’t say to the Lord, ‘I’m a preacher and I’ve preached to millions of people,’” Billy explained. “I said, ‘Oh Lord, ‘I’m a sinner. I still need your forgiveness.” This is how Billy Graham saw himself.

Some time ago I was made aware of correspondence that passed between Dr. Billy Graham and Dr. Thomas Moseley, the fifth president of Nyack College (Then the Missionary Training Institute) from 1940 to 1958. The letters were in regard to one of Billy Graham’s campaigns in New York City in the early 1950’s. By that time, Billy Graham was known worldwide; Dr. Thomas Moseley, a former missionary to China, was not. Still, handwritten at the bottom of one of these letters was a personal note from Dr. Graham to President Moseley. It said simply, “I think it's time you started calling me Billy.” This is how Billy Graham saw himself.

Perhaps the greatest legacy Dr. Graham left for all of us is that his success never encroached upon his humility or upon his awareness of his need for Jesus.

This is how Billy Graham saw himself. May we, too, come to see ourselves this way, whether our names are known or not:  Lord, grant us humility based in the knowledge of our desperate need for you. Likewise, grant us confidence based in knowing that this desperate need is truly and fully met.

Michael G. Scales, Ed.D.

President

Nyack College/Alliance Theological Seminary

Nyack was named #40 of the 50 most affordable Christian colleges and #20 out of 50 on best Christian graduate schools list.

Nyack’s first fully online degree program, the Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership, was approved by the New York State Education Department and announced in May 2011. This was followed in June 2011 by approval of the Master of Business Administration. In March 2012, the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL); Master of Science (MS) in TESOL and the Master of Science (MS) in TESOL, non-certification track were approved.

Today some 30 cohort-based degree programs are online.

Learn more about Nyack’s online programs.

The evening includes a screening of the award-winning documentary on the Civil Rights Movement in America, “Eyes on the Prize (Part II).” A discussion about the film will be led by a panel of faculty, staff and students including Ms. Grace Anger, Rev. Katrina Huffman, Mr. Steven Locke, Dr. Kevin Pinkham and Mrs. Deborah Walker. Spoken word performances will also be a highlight of the event.

This event will be repeated at the New York City campus, 2 Washington Street on Monday, February 26 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in The Pavilion (Room 2130).

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Learn more about the Writing Center and its offices on Nyack's Rockland and Manhattan campuses.

In Nyack’s Division of Student Success, the pastoral ministry alumnus, serves as the Testing,Tutoring and Assessment Coordinator and a HEOP Adviser. The newly installed pastor says, “My passion has always been the community. As we embark on this new chapter, we will be a church in the community for the community. That will include having outreach programs that meet the needs of the community and surrounding areas. The only way we can achieve that goal is by showing the love of Jesus and through the direction of the Holy Spirit.”

Triumphant Life is a welcoming faith community that invites residents of surrounding neighborhoods to be a part of their various activities and is intentional about providing pastoral care to the less fortunate in the community. With the kind of outreach the growing congregation is engaged in, this new church family will be the perfect fit for Shaun, his wife, Sheree (Penn) a 2012 Nyack alumna, and their sons.

Congratulations, Pastor Shaun!

Name a person who had a significant influence on your faith journey.

Dr. Charles Hammond, pastor and Nyack College colleague.

Share how this individual helped shape your life as a Christian.

I have known Pastor Hammond for almost 30 years. We first met when he was counseling a young husband and wife; the husband was seeking admission to college. I was able to help the young man, but the work Pastor Hammond did for them is what prompted my initial respect for him.

At about the same time my wife had become interested in attending The Brooklyn Tabernacle where Pastor Hammond was an associate pastor. For my part, I was a somewhat more reluctant congregant. While I joined my wife in attending, I was mentally preparing to observe how the conduct of the church's pastors aligned with their profession of faith. I joined the men's chorus at The Brooklyn Tabernacle, which was led by Pastor Hammond. Then and there, I decided that Pastor Hammond would be my litmus test. Contrary to what I had wanted to believe, I found Pastor Hammond to be everything he professed to be. He was and is a man of faith and lives a life of faith and prayer.

Twelve years ago, he joined the Nyack College staff. It was in many ways a great benefit to me that he came to Nyack, because when the position of Director of Student Financial Services became available, he put my name in for consideration. I have now held that position for the last 10 years.

I know of many situations at Nyack and The Brooklyn Tabernacle in which the active faith and lifestyle of Dr. Charles Hammond has similarly impacted numerous persons.

Isaac Foster
Director of Student Financial Services
NYC Campus