BANGOR – Enrollment at Grace Evangelical Center this fall could be a record breaker.

The seminary and center for undergraduate studies is expected to begin its sixth year with nearly 30 students, Terrence W. Smith, dean of studies, said last week. That would be five more students than the institution has averaged over the past couple of years.

“We’re doing pretty much as we expected,” he said “We knew it would be slow starting out, especially without our own campus. We would like to grow more and have more full-time students. I think that we have that potential but need to be chartered and fully accredited to do that.”

Grace Evangelical was founded in 2001 as a ministry of Bangor Baptist Church, located on outer Broadway. It has an office and a small classroom that also houses its 2,000-volume library at the Bangor Christian Schools on the church grounds.

The dream of Smith and evangelical pastors in the area was to create an undergraduate college and seminary that would offer a conservative theological education.

In May, Grace Evangelical held its first graduation ceremony with James Glenwood Carson, 21, the lone student to receive a degree. Technically, he was not awarded a diploma because the school has not yet been chartered by the Legislature to grant them. That is expected to happen next year after a new Legislature convenes.

The school also is working with the Association for Biblical Higher Education to become an accredited institution. This year, Grace Evangelical hopes to gain affiliate status with the organization, Smith said.

In addition to a dozen semester-long courses, the school also is offering two special events this fall.