Clark Theological College is registered with the Government of Nagaland under Society Act of 1969, Certificate of Registration No. RS 37 dated February 11, 1974.
History of Clark
The year 1971 was a year of Prayer without ceasing in all the Ao-Naga Baptist Churches. One of the prayer concerns was that the Lord would open a Bible College for training young men and women for God's mission to the world. In May, the same year, the Ao Theological Conference forwarded its action for such a College to the Ao Baptist Churches Association Executive body. The Association appointed a committee of three members: Rev. K. Lanumeren, Mr. T. Alemmeren and Rev. I Anang to find ways and means to open a Bible College. In November 1971, in its 75th session at Impur, the Association accepted the recommendation of the Committee in principle. On August 10, 1972, the foundation for a Bible College was laid down naming it after Dr. E. W. Clark, the first American Baptist missionary to the Nagas, as Clark Bible College. Dr. Stanley Mooneyham, the then President of the World Vision International officially inaugurated the college on 10th November 1972 during the Ao-Naga Baptist Church Centenary celebration. The same year the College was renamed as Clark Theological College with its motto, Called Out for the Great harvest.
The College began with Mr. John R. Desai as its Acting Principal, initially located at Impur. In 1974, Rev. I. Anang was appointed as the first Principal of the College. It was a hundred years back when Dr. Clark baptized nine converts and exactly a hundred years later, Clark enrolled nine students. The first historic class began in a borrowed classroom at Impur, the Mission center of the Ao Baptist Churches Association (ABAM). In 1976, the College was relocated to the present campus at Aolijen, Mokokchung. Thus, starting with 9 students, the College has made steady progress over the years. Today, Clark has become one of the largest Theological Colleges in Northeast India with a strong team of qualified faculty and with over 280 fulltime students representing more than 40 cultural backgrounds.
Two new developments took place in 1977 and 1978. The first one was the opening of the Tribal Welfare Christian School with its motto Love Your Neighbor. The other development was the opening of the Vocational Training Centre and a Model Farm with the view to providing practical training to the students and the surrounding rural youth.
Core Values
- The Uniqueness of Christ
- The Authority of the Bible
- Mission and Ministry
- Love of God and Love of Neighbor
- Worship, Prayer and Holy Living
- Holistic development by emphasizing: Academic, Spiritual, Ministerial and Social formation
Vision and Mission
The Clark Theological College exists to give sound biblical, theological and holistic training to Christian leaders with a view to disciple all nations to Christ. It is thus committed to train Pastors, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, and workers to serve the church in India and abroad who will preach the gospel in the power of the Spirit with spiritual discernment, social sensitivity and cultural relevance within their own context.
Aims & Objectives
Clark Theological College seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- To provide a sound Biblio-centric theological education at University level with a high academic standard.
- To produce men and women to serve the cause of Christ in both rural and urban areas.
- To develop a sound pastoral ministry relevant to the political, social and cultural changes that are sweeping the Indian society in general and the tribal society in particular.
- To help the people re-evaluate their sense of value and their traditional structures in the light of the Gospel and the claims of Christ.
- To help maintain a sense of unity and co-operation among evangelical and ecumenical groups for a wider and more effective witness.
- To encourage a research-oriented program of outreach to cross-cultural and pluralistic Indian society with special reference to inter-tribal context in Northeast.