BANGOR – Grace Evangelical Center for Undergraduate Studies & Seminary announced this week that it has received an anonymous donation of investments valued at about $450,000.

It is the largest donation by far that the 5-year-old seminary has ever received, President W. Lyman “Terry” Phillips said Tuesday.

The money will be added to the Phillips Family Foundation, which was started in August with a grant of $20,000.

The income from the $450,000 grant is expected to generate about $20,000 annually to be used for scholarships and administration, according to Lyman.

“We think this will allow us to take a big step toward being chartered and do some of the things we have to do to move on and keep going,” Lyman said, “such as hire an administrative staff so that those tasks are adequately handled.”

The school, which shares space with Bangor Baptist Church on Broadway, is seeking a charter from the state that will allow it to grant bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

“The state Board of Education wants to see us have financial stability before giving us a charter for degree granting,” Phillips said. “We’ve been denied a charter on the financial issue alone. In every other way, the review team’s report was favorable.”

Once the board signs off on the school’s charter application, the Legislature must approve a bill granting it a charter before the school can begin awarding degrees. Lyman said that he is working with Bangor-area legislators to see if the charter could be granted during the upcoming session or whether it would have to wait until 2007 after a new Legislature convenes.

The school’s mission is “to educate, equip and provide servant-leaders to the Body of Christ to fulfill the great commission.” Its catalogue states that “We believe the Bible is God’s authoritative word, without error in the original manuscripts.”

Grace Evangelical is the only evangelical seminary in northern New England. It began offering classes five years ago to 13 students. This fall, 36 students, representing about 25 churches, took classes. Some drive an hour and a half to attend classes, Lyman said.

Classes next semester are scheduled to begin Jan. 16.

For information, call 947-1665 or visit www.GraceEvangelical.net.