Academic Advising

Each incoming degree program student is assigned an advisor who seeks to understand the academic and vocational goals of the student, as well as his or her personal needs. Returning students are assigned advisors according to their concentrations. Students are encouraged to attend all of the group advisee/advisor meetings planned during the year.

Community Worship Opportunities

There are a variety of community worship opportunities available to students at each of our campuses.  Please refer to your individual campus section for details on community life gatherings, small group prayer and Bible studies, and more. 

Counseling

At registration all degree students are assigned to faculty advisors who assist students in planning their programs of study. They also will become ­acquainted with the students in order to counsel them on a personal basis as needs arise. Students are encouraged to seek interviews with the provost and faculty members at any time.

Evaluation of Student Progress

Because of the seriousness of ­seminary education, all incoming students, including transfer students, are accepted on a provisional basis. In St. Paul, students are evaluated in a variety of formal and informal ways, including supervised ministry assessments and interpersonal communications both inside and outside the classroom.  Students are also given an opportunity to report on their thinking and experience in relation to seminary academic work, participation in community life, supervised ministry, growth in life as servants of God, and progress toward their ultimate ministry goals.

The recommendations that come from the faculty and staff are received and acted upon by the Student Development Committee.  Students who are failing to make adequate progress in areas of development and/or formation may be placed on probation and required to follow a developmental plan in order to continue in their degree program.  Students will be notified if they are being placed on probation or if their continuance in a degree program is in question.

Multiculturalism at Bethel

Bethel strives to create an environment that welcomes students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Each student of color who attends Bethel further diversifies and enriches the seminary community. Bethel’s Dean of Intercultural Relations and multicultural advisors are specifically interested in assisting students of color, celebrating with them, and helping them through any problems that arise.

Spiritual Life

Individuals who are called into Christian ministries are called to continuously pursue their own growth in a godly life so that their ongoing study, prayer, and experience will contribute to their being equipped to minister to others seeking Christian maturity. 

Every student must examine his or her own ways of providing for this growth. It is expected that students will intentionally choose corporate and individual, inward and outward, Christian disciplines and service in which to participate on a regular basis. The particular choices will vary depending upon individual maturity in Christ, the call of God that is being responded to and developed, the church fellowship to which one belongs, and the expectations of the seminary for the development of ministering persons.

Students should reflect on the goals stated above and also on important goals of their own. They should plan, quarter by quarter, how they will attend to these priorities and seek to be accountable for their intentions.

Many opportunities are available to students for spiritual formation:

• Classes
• Community Life Gatherings with an emphasis on becoming a whole and holy community
• Chapel programs with emphases on praise and scriptural challenge
• Retreats for the whole seminary community, for couples, and for singles
• Prayer groups
• Days of prayer
• Women’s organizations
• Periodic seminars (on caring, time management, stress management, finances, etc.)
• Personal one-day retreats
• Small special interest groups
• Appointments with special visitors to campus

All aspects of life at Bethel Seminary are intended to be part of the student’s ongoing growth in God. Academic study and a life of prayer and service are all part of the picture. The call to be a student is a serious Christian commitment and is not less spiritual than aspects that are considered to be “devotional.” It is expected that students will enter into all aspects of life at Bethel as “unto God.”