Why the name Emmanuel? Why not some catchy, zingy acronym that speaks to our postmodern culture?

As the year 2008 was coming to a close, the Michigan lay training school called ARISE made the decision to move out of the city and into a country setting. The former staff had taken a call to carry on the work out west, and it was decided that a new name was needed for our school.

I can tell you that there are many factors that go into choosing a name, and it seems that you can never find one that everyone agrees upon. We knew our name needed to convey who we are and what we are about. It was important to us that our distinctive Adventist mission and message somehow be incorportated into our name. Of course, immediately came the almost autonomic “Three Angels School of Evangelism.” Ummm….. No!

As we placed the matter before the Lord in prayer, another lay training school in Michigan came to mind. The year was 1901. Battle Creek College, under the burden of financial difficulties, chose to follow God’s counsel to relocate out of the city and into a country setting.

With a renewed sense of mission - training workers for the gospel field - the school re-opened in October of the same year in Berrien Springs, Michigan under the new name, the “Emmanuel Missionary College”.  Classes began in empty government buildings, including the old jail. Vacated jail cells were used as some of the first classrooms. Buildings were added as needed, the first of them without heat and electricity so as to prepare the students for the “feel” of the mission field. (Note: The “mission field” was not limited to foreign missions only).

An article in the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald of August 25, 1903 said “Emmanuel Missionary College has for its sole purpose the training of missionaries.” J.N. Loughborough, in his book delineating the rise and progress of the Advent Movement entitled The Great Second Advent Movement wrote on page 396, “To qualify laborers fully prepared for work in any part of the world where they may be called in the providence of God to labor is the one great desire and aim of the teachers of the Emmanuel Missionary College.” Many today know the school as Andrews University, which continues to carry on the great work of equipping men and women to do service for Christ in many lines.

It was precisely this missionary spirit that we wanted to rekindle through our school, this rich Adventist heritage we wanted to build upon. We had found our name – The Emmanuel Institute of Evangelism!

Very simply, our mission is to train people to become fishers of men. In essence, we desire that every Adventist member learn how to become an effective witness for Christ and lead people to make decisions to take their stand with His Remnant People.  This is why the Emmanuel Institute exists.

Yet this training encompasses so much more than many realize. Some visualize schools like Emmanuel merely as Bible Worker training schools. The reality is that if the spread of the gospel is limited to pastors, literature evangelists and Bible Workers, it will never be finished. By far the majority of workers in the final hours of earth’s history must of necessity be those of every walk of life.

Every believer in Christ has a story of what He has done for them. Our goal is to provide training, both theological and practical, in a short, focused program, that will enable the multitudes to share Christ more effectively. They may have their sights set on physical therapy, or dentistry, or radiology; they may be planning for a business career, or a career in law; they may be a part of the skilled labor force, such as an electrician or carpenter. They may have already been in a career for years – a career that they enjoy and want to continue in, but simply want to be a better soulwinner. Whatever your case, we want to help you to realize your full potential as ambassadors for Christ.