minary W orld Class Seminary - Bethel Seminary - Bethel University

Vision as the Frameworkfor InnovationBethel Seminary’s vision statementreflects the core values that have alwaysimpelled our work. The vision statementreads:The passion of Bethel Seminary is toadvance the gospel of Jesus Christ amongall people in culturally sensitive ways. Asa Spirit-empowered, biblically groundedcommunity of learning, Bethel strives todevelop and equip whole and holy personsto serve and lead so that churches andministry agencies can become all they arecalled to be and do all they are called todo in the world for the glory of God.The first sentence of this vision tiesBethel Seminary’s purpose to the missionthat Jesus entrusted to His churchin the Great Commission. Thereforewe can say, “What matters to localchurches and ministry agencies mattersto Bethel Seminary.”To gain clarity about what really matters,we have listened carefully to abroad spectrum of leaders from churchesand ministry agencies. Feedbackfrom major studies and focus groups(including alumni feedback) has beentaken seriously. The combined populationsrepresented in these groupsinclude the insights of several thousandpastors and lay persons.What are these godly Christian leaderssaying about the nature of seminaryeducation? Quite honestly, some ofwhat we heard was hard to receive. Butbroad converging lines of analysis andevaluation about seminary educationemerged from across North Americaand around the world. As we listened,we heard a massive and growing consensusthat said:Effective ministry demands solid biblicalgrounding; the highest qualities of characterand integrity; and significant leadershipskills.When we assessed Bethel Seminary inlight of these findings, we discoveredthat Bethel, like most seminaries, effectivelyeducated to meet the first of thesegoals (biblical grounding), but toooften fell short in the others (characterformation and leadership skills). We setout to change how we did seminary inorder to address what was missing inseminary education.“What matters to localchurches and ministryagencies matters toBethel Seminary.”What has happened during this processof self-examination and change has refocusedthe energies of Bethel’s facultyand administration. We have renewedour purpose to educate students in aholistic way for transformative leadershipin God’s church.This means that the educationalethos—the corporate culture or spiritualclimate of Bethel Seminary—isevolving on each campus. From top tobottom, Bethel is becoming an intentionallymissional group of peoplewho team together, straining everymuscle and expending every energy toaccomplish the vision to serve withinchurches and ministry agencies. Bethelis becoming, at all locations, a placewhere people increasingly understandthe truth of the gospel, grasp the contextsof diverse cultures, grow towardpersonal holiness and wholeness, andgain the skill and passion to lead peopleto transforming encounters with theLord whom that gospel declares.The specific ways in which this missionand vision are expressed on eachcampus are spelled out in the sectionsof this catalog that apply to each campus.The faculty and administration ofall the seminary’s locations are deeplycommitted to the mission Christ entrustedto His church as expressed inthe Great Commandment and the GreatCommission. Due to size and culturalcontexts, specific emphases are nuancedsomewhat differently on eachcampus. However, these differences occurin the context of ongoing, frequentcommunication among the facultiesand administrations of all campuses.That communication has been greatlyenhanced through a compressed videolinkage connecting San Diego, St. Paul,and Seminary of the East. Faculty andadministration have frequent real-timedialogue about crucial matters such asinterviewing and selecting candidatesfor faculty on all campuses, curriculumdesign and change, and crucial issuesin student formation. A shared facultyretreat each quarter greatly contributesto the closeness that the faculty feelseven though separated by thousandsof miles. Finally, the distinctives of thefaculty and administration on eachcampus serve as a catalyst to deepenour understanding and commitment tothe mission and vision to which we feelcalled.Bethel Profile