The Alliance Graduate School (AGS) is an inter-denominational graduate school of theology in Quezon City, Philippines, housed together with Philippine Alliance College of Theology (PACT). It was established in 1977. History In 1966, leaders of The Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMACOP) and the Philippine Mission of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) recognized the need for theological training on the graduate level and began to plan for the future. At that time, Ebenezer Bible College was the denomination's only major leadership development center. 1970s: foundation years In June 1977, under the leadership of Dr. Metosalem Q. Castillo, the Alliance Graduate School of Theology and Missions (AGSTM) was founded. The fledgling institution shared the Ebenezer campus in Zamboanga City. Dr. Castillo served as the president for the first five years and gave direction to the program, focusing on missions and church growth. 1980s: years of identity-building In 1982 the seminary moved to Quezon City in Metro Manila and changed its name to the Alliance Biblical Seminary (ABS). This transfer reflected an increased desire and vision for supporting denominational goals directed toward the needs of urban centers in the Philippines and across Asia. The Alliance saw Manila as an ideal location for the school. But the dream was much more than a new location. Academic programs were needed that would extend beyond missions and church growth to include an emphasis on biblical, theological, and pastoral ministry studies. In response to the need to deepen and broaden the scope of theological education and ministry skills, ABS developed a regular three-year professional Master of Divinity (M.Div.) course with concentrations in Missions, Pastoral Studies and Christian Education. With the 1982 move, the late Rev. Valmike B. Apuzen, Sr. assumed the position of president. During its initial years in Manila, the seminary was located in rented facilities of BBB in Quezon City, but in 1984, permanent site for the growing school was secured with the purchase of a large house in the quiet neighborhood of Veterans Village in Proj. 7. Dr. Rodrigo D. Tano served as president from 1984 to 1997. 1990s: years of expansion In 1993, during Dr. Tano's watch, a two-year program in Christian Counseling – the first in the Philippines – was started. The increasing number of students enrolled in the program attests to the need to prepare "people-helping" ministries within and outside the local church. In 1996,