In June 1960, a new institution of higher learning was officially founded, under the leadership of pastors from the Sun Valley Conservative Baptist Association in Phoenix, Arizona. They called it Southwestern Conservative Baptist Bible College. Today, reflecting the growth of the college and the expansion of its mission, we know it simply as Arizona Christian University.
Southwestern College - A Fifty Year Snapshot
Over the 50 years that have passed, the world as we know it has changed so dramatically that even the most imaginative minds of that time would have been stretched to conceive of the changes to come. Virtually every area of human existence – politics, education, science, technology, medicine, how we relate to one another, even how we worship – all have been re-thought, re-shaped, and re-invented.
Like many other institutions of higher learning, we’ve adapted to and adopted some of these changes, especially those that have made us better teachers and those that have helped us reach out to young people more effectively, But we have never changed our point of view.
We believe now, as we did then, that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. We believe in 2010, as we did in 1960, that the Bible is the inerrant and authoritative Word of God. These beliefs inform our teaching and guide both our institutional and our individual behavior.
So while we’ve expanded facilities, added new majors and degree programs, built a successful athletic program, developed community service projects, and kept our college on the cutting edge of technological advances, when it comes to our goals and objectives for the young people we serve, we’re still pretty “old school.”
Arizona Christian University provides a biblically integrated education that prepares its graduates to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in ministries and professional occupations. That’s what we’ve done for the last 50 years, and it is what we will continue to do for as long as the Lord blesses us with the capacity to do it. All glory to Him.