Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (New York)
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Active | 1900–1903 |
| Affiliation | Association of Pentecostal Churches of America |
| President | Lyman C. Pettit (1900-1903) |
| Principal | William F. Albrecht (1900-1901) Lyman C. Pettit (1901-1902) David C. Thatcher (1902-1903) |
| Location | Saratoga Springs, New York, United States |
| Campus | Urban |
The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (New York) was a short-lived co-educational collegiate institute operated initially by the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America at Saratoga Springs, New York from September 1900 to May 1902, and from then by Lyman C. Pettit until its closure in February 1903. It is considered an antecedent institution of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (Rhode Island) and also Eastern Nazarene College.
Initially the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute held its classes and accommodated its students and faculty from September 1900 to September 1901 at the Garden View House, which was located at 534 Broadway Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York.
From 25 September 1901 PCI was located at the Kenmore Hotel, which had been built in 1880. The three-story building was located at 556 Broadway Avenue (at the corner with Van Dam Street) in Saratoga Springs. It was on the high ground overlooking Congress Park on the main avenue to the lake, and could accommodate 400 guests.
Almost immediately after he became a member of the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America (APCA) in 1898, Rev. Lyman C. Pettit, pastor of the Grace Pentecostal Church in Saratoga Springs, New York, began to articulate the need for a school for training preachers, missionaries and evangelists and other Christian workers for the APCA, to the extent that "Pettit was one of the main advocates for starting the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute." Pettit was supported by Rev. John H. Norris, pastor of the APCA church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and moderator of the APCA from 1899; and Rev. Fred A. Hillery, pastor of the People's Pentecostal Church in South Providence, Rhode Island, who each wanted the school to be located near their church.Hiram F. Reynolds, one of the founders of the APCA, was influential in convincing the delegates at the 4th annual meeting of the APCA in April 1899 to create a Committee on Education to "consider the matter of Pentecostal schools; to outline courses of study for training preachers, missionaries, and evangelists; and to deal with such other interests as might come before them." At the same meeting, the APCA elected a standing committee on education with Norris as chairman and Reynolds chosen to be the financial secretary. During the following year this committee recommended both the adoption of a course of study for preachers, and the establishment of Pentecostal schools. These recommendations were adopted at the next annual meeting held at Pettit's church in April 1900. In 1900 Pettit was chosen to be chairman of the Education committee, with Reynolds as the financial secretary> Other committee members were: Norris; Rev. Joseph Caldwell Bearse (born 4 October 1869 in South Chatham, Massachusetts; died 2 July 1931 in South Portland, Maine), then pastor of the APCA Church at Malden, Massachusetts; Rev. Charles H. BeVier (born 5 September 1858; died about 1905), then pastor of the John Wesley Pentecostal Church in Brooklyn, New York; and Rev. Henry N. Brown. Pentecostal Collegiate Institute and Bible Training School was established for the purpose of providing liberal education and ministry training in an preparatory academy, four-year college, and theological seminary. The committee elected Pettit as the first president of the new school, but as no salary was provided, Pettit served without any compensation, relying on his income as pastor of the Grace Pentecostal Church.
...
Wikipedia