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The first school year began in 1971 with a three-year, two-semester per year program leading to an Associate of Theology degree. Dr. Richard Cunningham was the first president and Dr. Delbert Tarr was the first academic dean for the French section, while Rev. Rex Jackson occupied the post of academic dean for the English section.
After the death of Dr. Cunningham on September 29, 1975, Rev. Rex Jackson became the school's second president. Rev. Jackson retired in June 1978, whereupon Rev. Ted Schultz was named the school's third president.
In November 1979, the Board of Governors upgraded the program to a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and theology for the English section. The first graduating class to receive the bachelor's degree was the class of 1980. The French-speaking students received a special diploma in theology.
In January 1985, Rev. Ted Schultz announced his retirement for December 1, 1986, and the Division of Foreign Missions USA, named Rev. Willard Teague to succeed Rev. Schultz as the fourth president of WAAST. In 1989, the French program was upgraded to include a Bachelor of Theology degree.
Rev. Jean Bandé, the first full-time African professor, arrived from Burkina-Faso in 1988 and served as academic dean from 1988-1997. Other African adjunct professors teach on the campus each semester.
In May 1994, the school opened a graduate program, called the Assemblies of God Graduate School of Theology (AGGST). The graduate courses are offered in English and will be offered in French (2002). The college offers undergraduate courses by extension in French and English at Lomé (the Central Campus), Burkina-Faso, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Angola, RDC, and Cameroun.
In January 1999, Rev. Randel Tarr was named the interim-president of WAAST.
The school has a liaison with the University of Benin in Lomé, Togo, where WAAST credits are transferable.
As an integral part of the various Assemblies of God churches of West and Central Africa and the Assemblies of God USA, WAAST adheres completely to the statement of fundamental truth of the Assemblies of God. In summary, WE BELIEVE:
1. The Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God.
2. That there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3. In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal future return to this earth in power and glory to rule a thousand years.
4. In the Blessed Hope - the future of the Church at Christ's coming.
5. That the only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ.
6. That regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation.
7. That the redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing of the human body in answer to prevailing prayer.
8. That the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it.
9. In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life.
WAAST/AGGST is committed to the achievement of excellence in ministry in Africa, and any other place in the world. The purpose is that graduates might advance in the knowledge and skills needed to enable them to carry out God's Mission (Missio Dei) to the nations of the world as pastors, evangelists, missionaries, administrators, and Bible school teachers. The school has two divisions: English-speaking undergraduate and graduate schools of theology, and French-speaking undergraduate and graduate schools of theology. WAAST/AGGST aims to develop an integrated Christian worldview in a context of conservative, evangelical and Pentecostal scholarship founded on biblical theology and in accord with the Assemblies of God.
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