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!