The Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary has a rich history that exemplifies and buttresses deep determination and commitment to raising and training disciples for Christ.
Brief History of the Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary (CACTS), Ile Ife
The Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary (CACTS), Ile Ife started as a Bible Training College (BTC) at Ede on March 27, 1952. Pastor D.O. Odubanjo was its first Principal. The BTC was established to train Catechists (Teachers) for the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC).In 1954, the College was moved from Ede to Erio-Ekiti, and from Erio-Ekiti to Efon-Alaaye in 1957 under the Principalship of Mrs. O.O.A. Pearce. In 1968, the College was again moved from Efon-Alaaye to Akure where it stayed until 1973 when Mrs. O.O.A. Pearce was assigned to another arm of the church ministry.
Furthermore, potential Pastors were at first trained for a short period of three months per set at Yemetu in Ibadan, the then Christ Apostolic Church secretariat. However, in 1963, the training programme led to the founding of the Pastoral Training Institute (PTI) in Ibadan with Pastor A.A. Hanson as its first Principal. The PTI was also relocated to Odubanjo Memorial Hall at Agege, Lagos, and was overseen by Pastor A.O.A Olutimehin. Meanwhile, an evangelical training school had been established at Ilesa by Evangelist/Prophet D.O. Babajide for the training of Evangelists and Prophets in 1949.
As time went by, the Christ Apostolic Church authorities decided to merge these three Colleges. Thus, on September 6,1979, the Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary (CACTS) emerged and was situated at Ile Ife. The first Principal after the amalgamation was Pastor Busuyi Faloye, 1979-1985; Pastor J.O. Akintola took over from him and led the Seminary from 1986-1992. However, the nomenclature for the leadership of the Seminary changed from “Principal” to “Provost” and Pastor I.O. Olarewaju became the Provost, 1993-1994; he was succeeded by Pastor C.S.A. Balogun, 1995-2009; Pastor S.O.A Afolabi, 2010-2020; and the current Provost is Pastor Professor C.O. Oshun, 2021 till date.
CACTS, Main Campus, Ile Ife has fourteen (14) satellite campuses within and outside Nigeria and a few study centres under its auspices. To maintain relevance in the Nigerian educational system, CACTS once enjoyed affiliation with the premier University of Ibadan but is currently in affiliation with Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji Arakeji, the first Entrepreneurial University in Nigeria which is also owned by Christ Apostolic Church, Nigeria and Overseas.