Harding has always been a servant of the church.  By training young men and women through a study of the Scriptures, by organizing campaign groups to spread the Gospel both at home and abroad, and by preparing many Christians for full-time ministry, Harding is dedicated to strengthening congregations and equipping church leaders.  We all hear a lot these days about a looming “preacher shortage”.  While this is, indeed, a very serious issue, we have chosen not to simply wring our hands and long for something that “used to be”.  Instead, we have resolved to hear afresh the call to “go into all the world” with the Gospel.  The love of God and the needs of an ever increasing world population compel us to train Christian leaders who will train Christian leaders who will train Christian leaders… (2 Timothy 2:2).  As a partial response to this challenge, we are excited to introduce the Center for Advanced Ministry Training (CAMT).  Our dream is that by partnering with local churches we will raise up a new generation of well-trained Christian messengers, ready for the challenges of spreading the Gospel in the 21^st century!

The Bachelor of Ministry (B.Min.) program has a rich heritage dating back to 1974.  We are deeply indebted to those who have gone before us in The Christian Communications Program (CCP) and The Harding School of Biblical Studies (HSBS).  We continue to build on the solid foundations they have laid.  Dr Favil Yeakley conducted an extensive assessment of HSBS, and Dr. Bill Richardson filled the roll of Interim Director.  Following an intensive year of prayerful discussion, important changes have been made in the curriculum, the funding, and the administrative structure.  Much has changed, but the solid core of the program has remained the same.  Now we invite you to explore the NEW Center for Advanced Ministry Training.  I am confident that you will like what you find!

Dr. Flavil Yeakley, widely known in our fellowship for his outstanding credentials and experience in church and education research, conducted a study of the School of Biblical Studies in 2006.

His Survey of alumni, current students, and faculty uncovered many positive things about the program.  The School of Biblical Studies has placed over 700 graduates in pulpits and in a variety of other ministry roles throughout the United State and in several foreign nations.  Dr. Yeakley’s study, however, also found several areas where major improvements were needed:

1.  Some graduates reported that the size of their school loans discouraged them from seeking employment as a minister.  It seemed apparent that something would have to be done to reduce the student indebtedness to allow graduates to serve as full-time ministers in churches that can only offer rather modest salaries.

2.  Many students reported that the intense academic training of the program often left them feeling burned out.

So, while they entered the program with a great passion for the ministry, that passion had actually been reduced by the time they graduated.

Coupled with these findings from Dr. Yeakley’s survey was the reality of declining numbers in student enrollment in HSBS.

The HSBS Advisory Committee, chaired by Dr. Bill Richardson, spent a year considering these challenges and submitting their recommendations to Dean McLarty and President Burks.

In response to the needs identified by Dr. Yeakley’s research, significant changes were made in the organizational structure of the School of Biblical Studies, in the financial assistance provided to the students, and in the curriculum of the program.

HSBS was merged with the Master of Ministry Program (M.Min.) to form a new umbrella department, the Center for Advanced Ministry Training (CAMT).  Under this arrangement, two directors’ positions were combined into one, the director for recruitment and advancement became the associate director, and two auxiliary functions were created and staffed by Bible faculty to facilitate program changes in the B.Min. and M.Min. degree programs.

HSBS students qualified for 50% tuition scholarship in time past.  President Burks has now created 100% Bachelor of Ministry tuition scholarships for 15 qualified candidates each school year beginning fall of 2007.  In addition, there is an unlimited number of 40% tuition scholarships for qualifying students who wish to continue their education on the graduate level.

The curriculum for the BMIN program has been modified in small but significant ways.  The traditional 8 week terms have been replaced by the university-wide semester system.  These changes allow BMIN students to be “mainstreamed” with other students in the College of Bible and Religion for many of their courses while preserving their own sense of community.  This arrangement facilitates course work in the Liberal Arts program, as well, by removing scheduling conflicts.  A key feature of the new curriculum is the Practical Ministry Apprenticeship in which students participate in hands-on ministry in local congregations under the faculty supervisor and mentors within the local church

Christian Communications Program (1974-1984)

In the early 1070’s, churches of Christ around the nation and world were experiencing a serious challenge: a shortage of ministers.  This situation did not escape Dr. Clifton Ganus Jr., president of the University, who wanted to increase enrollment of Bible majors.  So when Bible department chair William Joe Hacker approached him with the concept of a preacher-training program for older students, Ganus quickly gave his support.

 Thus the Christian Communications Program was born, beginning in the fall of 1974 under the direction of Ed Sanders with 33 enrolled.  Its goal: “To prepare students for service who cannot spend four to seven years in college.”  The 22 month curriculum emphasized both academic knowledge and vocations skills – the latter of which was lacking in many preaching school and seminaries.  Students were given full access to Harding’s facilities, including the library, which was much larger than those at most Bible colleges.

Course work included classroom and correspondence instruction as well as field training.  Many enrollees spoke in small local churches on weekends and participated in summer mission campaigns.  Spouses of students also took classes to help prepare them for their roles as ministers’ wives.

 On-site classes were conducted in the $300,000 Christian Communications Center, today the back of the Ezell Building.  It included a lab with a television to record sermons and a missionary training lab to aid students with textual material and learning foreign languages.  The center was also used to develop audio and video correspondence course and evangelism programs for cable television.

During the first decade, 140 individuals graduated from the program.  They went on to serve as youth ministers, personal evangelism directors, prison evangelist, campaign team workers, foreign missionaries and pulpit evangelists.

By 1984, the CCP was ready for a new name that better emphasized its goals, choosing Harding School of Biblical Studies.

When the program originated, its intention was to be more of a biblical studies curriculum rather than communications, but, explained Joe Jones, former director, “We did not want to compete  with the bachelor’s program [in Searcy] or graduate programs [at the Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, TN.]”.  Instead, the three areas worked together, with SBS catering to older, nontraditional students.  Along with the name change, three new classes were added to the curriculum:  Church and Youth, Techniques of Counseling, and Education Work of the Church.

After being a certificate-awarding program for its first 20 years, the School of Biblical Studies received accreditation in 1994, enabling it to offer the bachelor of ministry and bachelor of theology degrees.  Two years late, faculty, staff and students reorganized on the third floor o the newly completed McInteer Building – taking advantage of the spacious and modern facility.

During these decades of growth and expansion, the program could not have attained its level of success without the leadership of former Bible department chairs Drs. Jerry Jones, Neale Pryor, Allen Isom and C. Phillip Slate and former deans of the College of Bible and Religion Drs. Carl Mitchell and Tom Alexander.

A new component to the BMIN Program is the practical apprenticeship, which exposes students to field work in diverse areas of ministry under the tutelage of mentors in local churches.  This element is under the direction of Dr. Scot Crenshaw who comments, “As we innovate for the future, we hope to promote a greater emphasis on practical ministry within area congregations as students work for 2.5 hours per week with a local congregation.”

Dr. Randy Willingham will provide expertise in the development of the distance education component of the Master of Ministry program as we strive to train more individuals for the ministry within their local context.  Randy says, “We have not even begun to imagine the possibilities of the capturing technology to close the distance between the field and the classroom.  We are stepping into a world of possibilities for high level ministry training.”