a Master of Christian Studies (M.C.S.) program was added to the curriculum in response to the needs of those involved in lay and focused para-church ministries. In 1997, the Youth Ministry graduate programs began, another first for the Philippines and Asia. In response to the need to train church workers for ministry with the poor and enable the church to address poverty, injustice, and environmental issues, ABS introduced the Community Development Program. This program was offered in partnership with the Asian School of Development and Cross-Cultural Studies (ASDECS) training consortium. The Applied Linguistics Program began in 2000 after ABS and the Translator's Association of the Philippines (TAP) signed a memorandum of agreement to offer a joint training program for Bible translators. Beginning with the school year 2002-03, this program also provides translation and linguistics training in Asia for the summer Institute of Linguistics and Wycliffe Bible Translators. The programs were run in partnerships with either institutions or persons or both. They were offered without the substantial market analyses as required by CHED. These analyses are important as variables therein provide the reasons for sustainability. The Faculty-Staff Retreat in February 1999 was the beginning of what became commonly known as the ABS process. This process, with the mission statement "Advancing, building, and strengthening ABS for the 21st century", was a comprehensive process of institutional renewal and strategic planning. It culminated in the ABS Retreat 2000 where 51 participants from ABS dreamed about and planned for the future of ABS. The ABS process resulted in a strategic plan for the next five years. This strategic plan included action plans for a comprehensive curriculum revision and development, and for restructuring the school into a team-based organization with shared leadership. The curriculum development process resulted in a new curriculum with several integrating themes across programs, a strong intent to balance academic scholarship and professional training for ministry skills, an improved field education program, and a new philosophy. Existing programs were restructured, and several new ones added such as the Marriage and Family Ministries, Academic Research and Educational Ministries for the school context. The Missions Program started developing a sub-track for Muslim ministries. The Distance and Extension Learning Program (DELP), initiated with small beginnings, was also started. 2000s:' In 2003, Dr. Jonathan V. Exiomo was appointed president by the Board of Trustees. In November 2004, the name ABS was changed to Alliance Graduate School to