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Are the days of the Bible college numbered? Are some going to have to begin to offer more degrees outside of the Bible and ministry degrees to survive?

I was looking at the cost of a particular Christian college recently and I was absolutely shocked at the latest pricing. Even though it has only been 12 years since I was in seminary full-time, I honestly don’t know if I would be able to do what I did educationally over again were I just starting out today.

I have no idea how the average student going into ministry can possibly justify that expense — especially if they are funding the cost with debt. Financially, it is doubtful they will ever make that additional amount of money back in a lifetime.

Reluctantly, I must say that my counsel to the average young person would definitely be to stay at home and take as many credits as possible from community college before going “off to college.”

It should also be noted that comparable “private colleges” usually have higher pricing than Bible and Christian colleges. However, once they give you that price, they start whittling it way down with scholarships that are available to many, if not most, of the students. We have no such ability in many of our Christian schools (Luke 16:8).

Maybe we return to the local Bible Institutes like they did before college education was prevalent in our society. Except, for today, kids get the one or two years of Bible training before they head off to get their Bachelor’s at a state university.

[Barry L.] Maybe we return to the local Bible Institutes like they did before college education was prevalent in our society. Except, for today, kids get the one or two years of Bible training before they head off to get their Bachelor’s at a state university.

This only works if the colleges will accept the transfer credits of the institute. Otherwise, few young people are going to invest two years of study that just has to be repeated.

A more practical long-term solution might be to return the institute classes to the local church offered to members somehow (each church can decide the best format for them). Go to college for a general education; go to church for biblical training.

I know, it’s far too novel (and radical) for most folks to take seriously today!

[Chip Van Emmerik]

[Barry L.] Maybe we return to the local Bible Institutes like they did before college education was prevalent in our society. Except, for today, kids get the one or two years of Bible training before they head off to get their Bachelor’s at a state university.

This only works if the colleges will accept the transfer credits of the institute. Otherwise, few young people are going to invest two years of study that just has to be repeated.

A more practical long-term solution might be to return the institute classes to the local church offered to members somehow (each church can decide the best format for them). Go to college for a general education; go to church for biblical training.

I know, it’s far too novel (and radical) for most folks to take seriously today!

It’s not radical at all, in fact, because of financial constraints, it may become necessary to implement for our young people to get bible training. Technology should allow churches to accomplish this through webinars, etc with the pastor as a facilitator at a low cost to members.

My example assumed a student that, for financial or education reasons, wanted to take the state education route. He can take a year to get 24 hours of Bible (which is about what a student pursuing a secular degree in a Christian college gets) before he heads off to pursue his career. If a student does plan to go to a Christian college then I agree with you, it probably doesn’t make sense to duplicate with Bible institute training.

I was referring more to the fact that state universities are not going to accept credits from Bible institutes, so students would be looking at cramming their BA into 5-6 years (depending on long they spent at the Bible institute first) instead of the normal 4.

I was saved at age 23, after six years of secular schooling. The Lord called us to ministry, and we moved to Ankeny with a 6 wk old son. I worked 40 to 60 hours a week in factories (3 to 11 shift) to pay the bills. When we graduated from Faith, we had paid off our mobile home, and had no school debt. I freely recognize it is only by the grace of God that those jobs were there, even in the recession afflicted 1970’s.

Having said that, we must be realistic about today’s job market. The blue collar jobs I held are simply not around in this economy. It is far more difficult to graduate debt free, and I fear that many of my generation do not understand the tremendous pressures our younger adults face.

It is difficult for our young people to straight from Bbile college to minstry because of their debt load. I would love to see the Lord provide a greater endowment level at fundamental and balanced schools, so that they could offer greater discounts. Let’s face it : beginning salaries for newly graduated pastors are not usually at the higher end of the schedule, and student loans must be paid off.

I don’t have a brilliant solution, but believe we must be creative about how to be better stewards.

Why should a Bible college look to “survival” as a test for what degrees they should offer? What if a student decided not to take loans, but rather to trust God to put him through school? (And I’m not saying that loans are evil…) Are we saying that our God cannot or will not provide what is necessary to train his own servants?