Theological Studies After Five

The seminary recognizes the increasing number of students who must work during the day and who prefer evening classes. Classes are offered each quarter on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for both regularly enrolled students and special students who wish to take graduate courses to expand their biblical and theological knowledge. The evening school program offers students the flexible options of taking one or more courses per quarter that may or may not be used to earn a degree. Most of these courses may then be applied toward completion of a Master of Divinity degree if the M.A. degree is not taken. Students who choose to continue on toward the M.Div. degree will choose courses from the regular day schedule. The Master of Arts (Theological Studies) can be earned by taking these evening courses exclusively.

SemPM (Modular Program)

The SemPM program offers a more structured approach to earning a seminary degree. This evening school program offers individuals with busy daytime schedules the opportunity to pursue a graduate theological degree, the Master of Arts (Theological Studies), while attending class one night per week. This degree is ideally suited to those who wish to explore theological issues more deeply and to integrate the knowledge into their vocations and interests. Students in the SemPM program are enrolled in eight courses per year and are considered full-time students.

InMinistry Master of Divinity Program

The InMinistry program is designed for individuals who are already established in ministry and are eager to pursue applied graduate education, but are able to spend only limited time on the seminary campus. This program makes it possible to complete a Master of Divinity degree in five years of continuous enrollment, or one of three different master of arts degrees in three years of continuous enrollment. These degree programs incorporate two types of courses. Intensive one-week sessions on campus are preceded by approximately three to five weeks of faculty-guided preparation using distance education methods and are followed by three to five weeks of guided application after the session. During non-intensive terms, faculty-guided distance education courses are supported by interactive technologies that allow students to learn from one another, as well as from the instructor and teaching materials.

Town and Country Ministry

As one of the five seminaries of the Minnesota Consortium of ­Theological Schools, Bethel participates in the Northland Ministry Partnership for Town and Country Renewal. Through this project, courses and other learning experiences are offered annually with a focus on ministry in small towns and rural areas.

Bethel Biblical Communication Initiative

David Ridder, Dean

In an effort to provide the best training possible to future communicators of the Gospel, Bethel Seminary St. Paul is in the process of re-envisioning how it will help prepare students to be effective preachers and communicators in the next generation. We are working to create training environments that will help students learn from effective communicators who have and are building their organizations and churches through powerful biblical communication. Students will receive ongoing mentoring opportunities with active practitioners dedicated to their development. We want students to graduate with real life communication experience in ministry settings similar to those in which they will serve. To help make this a reality, we have assembled a team of consultants who currently model and serve as world class communicators, and charge them to evaluate and reform current course offerings and experiential communications opportunities to make Bethel the place to be trained as biblically based preachers and communicators to future generations.

Statement of Purpose

At Bethel Seminary we believe that effective biblical preaching changes lives and changes the world. This belief drives us to train leaders who serve as “bridge builders,” who take the ancient, authoritative text (which never changes) and apply it in a world that is constantly changing. On the one hand, we want to do our exegesis well—we want to craft messages that are hemeneutically sound and theologically astute. On the other hand, we realize that our goal is not to inform people, but rather to transform their lives. Through our preaching and teaching we want the Spirit to produce people who are disciples of Jesus Christ. We want to develop people with Christ-like convictions, Christ-like character, and Christ-like conduct. That is the challenge and privilege of being a communicator of God’s Word in the 21st century.

Key Guiding Values

• Personal Spiritual Formation
• Solid Biblical Exegesis/Hermeneutics
• Clear Structure and Communication Style
• Insightful Understanding of Audience, Context and Culture

Course offerings may be found under Program of Study, in the Center for Transformational Leadership.

The Edwin J. Omark Preaching Competition

Over 40 years ago, Dean Emeritus Edwin J. Omark established a competition at Bethel Seminary designed to bring out the best in biblical preaching from the students. Today, authentic communication of the Gospel is as important as ever. Each year, Bethel Seminary hosts this competition as one more way to help develop the best communicators of the Gospel. Each contestant will submit a video recording of a 25 minute sermon to be judged by faculty and students.

Zondervan Greek Award

In an effort to inspire and reward excellence in the study of New Testament Greek, Bethel Seminary (St Paul) is partnering with Zondervan Publishing Company to offer Zondervan’s Excellence in Greek Award. This award is given annually to the most outstanding student in Greek grammar and exegesis as determined by the New Testament faculty in consultation with other language instructors at the seminary. The winner will receive a prize of a Zondervan product of his or her choice, a commemorative medallion, and have his or her name engraved on a plaque displayed at the seminary library.

Alliances and Partnerships

Bethel Seminary’s primary strategic partnership is with the Baptist General Conference. Bethel Seminary also works closely with the more than 50 denominations represented by our student body. In addition, we have formal and targeted strategic partnerships with the following denominations, Christian organizations, and churches:

• The Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention of the Southern Baptist Church has established a scholarship program with Bethel Seminary St. Paul to provide theological education to future church leaders in Minnesota and Wisconsin. As part of this program, two courses, Baptist Distinctives and Southern Baptist History, are offered at Bethel Seminary St. Paul for Southern Baptist students and other interested students.
• Bethel Seminary offers credit for six courses taught by the staff of Young Life.
• Bethel is affiliated with Willow Creek Church and students may arrange for master’s degree credit in conjunction with the Willow Creek Leadership Conference and Willow Creek Leadership Summit. Please see the registrar for further details.
• Bethel Seminary will grant one year of credit for course work completed at The Bethlehem Institute, a ministry of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. See the registrar for information before enrolling in TBI.
• Bethel Seminary offers a Master of Arts in Christian Education with a Youth Ministries Concentration through a partnership with Youth Leadership, Inc., a graduate-level youth ministry training organization. Click here for more information about MACE.
  

See the Office of the Registrar for further information on these programs.

Lectureships and Convocations

Each year the seminary brings several guest speakers to campus. Local pastors have brought expositional sermons, and missionary representatives have informed students about the Lord’s work in all parts of the world. Special lectures have addressed topics such as “Recent Developments in Theology,” “Nurturing Spiritual Growth,” and “The Status of Contemporary Adult Christian Education.” Speakers have included Leon Morris, William Hordern, Wesley Roberts, Wesley Willis, Richard Longenecker, Robert Gundry, James Lee, Alan Millard, Edwin Yamauchi, Pablo Deiros, and Mark A. Noll.

Adolf Olson Memorial Lectures

The Adolf Olson lectureship was established to perpetuate the memory of Professor Olson’s 40‑year ministry at Bethel. It is designed to bring noted theologians to the seminary for lectures in biblical and theological fields. These lectures are presented at intervals as determined by the income from the trust fund that has been established. Presenters have included John Weborg speaking on “Spirituality: Questions and Quest”; Wolfhart Pannenberg addressing the subject “Christianity, Marxism, and Liberation Theology”; and Stanley Grenz lecturing on “The Gospel and the Star Trek Generation.”

Ebenezer Lectureship

The Ebenezer Lectureship was made possible by a special fund given to Bethel Seminary by the former Ebenezer Baptist Church of Duluth, Minnesota. Ray Bakke, formerly pastor of Fairfield Avenue Baptist Church in ­Chicago, brought the inaugural Ebenezer Lectureship, “Issues in Urban Pastoral Ministry,” in April of 1978. Subsequent lecturers have included Saphir Athyal, Walter Brueggemann, Carl F. H. Henry, Howard Hendricks, Bruce Waltke, and Eugene Nida.

The Howard Carlson Memorial Lectureship in Pastoral Ministries

The Howard Carlson Lectureship was established by the family of the Reverend Howard Carlson, former executive minister of the Southwest Baptist Conference, and is designed to emphasize the practical areas of ministry, such as evangelism, discipleship, preaching, and counseling. The first Howard Carlson Lectureship was held in October 1984, and brought William E. Pannell, professor of evangelism and black studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, to address current issues in evangelism.

The Transforming Church Initiative

For 10 years, Bethel Seminary’s Transformational Church Series (TCS) was a day set aside for the entire seminary community and area pastors and ministry leaders to hear from church leaders representing a transformational ministry. In 2007, Bethel Seminary reinvented the TCS in response to the changing needs of today’s ministry leaders. Using a retooled, issue-driven format, our new Transforming Church Initiative addresses the most immediate and important topics facing Christian leaders in the 21st century. With this new focus and format, we offer resources for a broad range of ministry practitioners including pastors, church leaders, social workers, students, counselors, lay leaders and parachurch workers.

Students who are enrolled in on-­campus programs in St. Paul are required to attend the Transformationing Church Initiative. Students in Master of Arts programs will attend a minimum of two conferences during their seminary years. Students in the Master of Divinity program will attend a minimum of three conferences during their degree program.