Harding School of Theology

Harding School of Theology offers four graduate degree programs: Master of Arts, Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry. Most degrees take 3-5 years to complete, depending on course load and undergraduate education.

Additionally, we offer non-degree programs for students looking to expand their knowledge without committing to a full degree path. Courses are available online and on-campus, including select audited courses.

Students must have an undergraduate degree to attend classes through HST.

In 1952, Harding University launched a graduate program for theology on the Searcy campus. The demand for graduate studies grew with time, and it quickly became apparent that the school needed to expand. In 1953, with the support of countless men and women, Harding purchased the King Estate at 1000 Cherry Road in East Memphis to house an extension program for graduate theological studies. In 1958, the Board of Trustees established the Harding University Graduate School of Religion as an official branch of Harding University.

The Cherry Road campus soon became a vital center of learning for ministers of the Church of Christ, in addition to a training ground for local church members in the Memphis area. At that time, the campus consisted of a few buildings, the most notable being the Old King Mansion where students would gather to worship in chapel, or to take pictures after graduation on the front steps. In later years, the W.B. West Classroom Building was built, along with several apartment buildings to house full time students.

In 1964, the L.M. Graves Memorial Library was constructed on the Cherry Road campus. A major wing was added to the library in 1978, and the Oliver and Norma Rogers Research Center was completed in 2006. Over time, the library grew to be one of the finest theological libraries in the south.

In 2011, the Board of Trustees officially changed the name of Harding University Graduate School of Religion to Harding School of Theology. To keep up with the changing face of higher education and to reach students around the world, HST began to offer distance learning programs, interactive online classes, and intensive one-week courses on campus.

Harding School of Theology resided at the Cherry Road campus for a total of 66 years before returning to the main Searcy campus in August of 2024. Later that same year, the Center for Church and City Engagement was launched by Harding at Holmes Road Church of Christ to continue to provide training, experiences, and resources for students and church leaders in the Memphis area.

The students and faculty at HST come from all walks of life. Some students have just finished their undergraduate programs, and others are returning to school after years of ministry service. Our professors bring diverse experiences (in life, ministry, and education) to the table [or “into the classroom”], allowing students to learn from various perspectives.

All students, faculty, and staff share the common goal of glorifying God through rigorous academics and passionate engagement in the world.

Harding School of Theology is associated with Churches of Christ, part of the American Restoration Movement.

A Living Hope

By Matthew D. Love

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3

For Christians, hope is more than “the thing with feathers.” It is more than a good idea or a compelling vision. It is far more than mere optimism or a hoping against hope that things turn out alright. It is, in fact, more than a belief in the afterlife—we are not unique to believe in a such a thing. For Christians, hope is found in the resurrected Son of God.

First-day-of-the-week hope cannot be contained in an empty tomb, even if the barren grave is a metonymy for the resurrection. The Christian’s hope is not found in a vacuous rock interior; it is found in the one who left it. The church does not have an empty tomb but a living Lord. Writing to a constellation of beleaguered congregations, the Apostle Peter reminds Christians of their “living hope.” This hope is not based on subjective wish-fulfillment but objective reality: Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. Believers have been born again into this hope, so that hope is not only a doctrine, something known or possessed, but a new world into which we have been born.

Hope in Christ opens to us a future; it also opens to us a present. The Christian hope is good today; it is good news for now. We no longer must wait like children for holiday in a world that is “always winter, never Christmas.” Already, spring thaws this world of frost and shadow, as the poet wrote, “Grief melts away/ Like snow in May,/ As if there were no such cold thing.” So, the prophet writes, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam 3:22–23), and the psalmist sings, “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Ps 30:5).

Hope is here and now, like the sun, energizing every part of our world and every moment of our lives. “The brightness of the Light divine/ Doth now into our darkness shine,” writes Martin Luther. Paul couples hope with steadfastness, applying hope to the quotidian tasks of Christian living: Our “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 1:3). Christian hope yields steadfastness (ὑπομονή). It gives grace and meaning to all we do, from our studies to our service. We can put the hand to the plow and not look back.

“A living hope” means that nothing not of God is permanent for us: whether failure, sin, loss, or anxiety—not even death. “A living hope” means that the good we do today—however small—matters. Macbeth was dead wrong. Life is not “a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury/
Signifying nothing.” The living Lord is with the church giving eternal significance to all our good work. A new world has opened to us in Christ’s resurrection. The author of life is with the church making possible tomorrow, but, just as good, making possible today.

Harding School of Theology holds a strategic partnership with Global Christian Studies for students who live outside of the U.S. and are seeking graduate education or ministerial training.