Campbellsville University

For several years it has been my privilege to serve on the Church Relations Council at Campbellsville University in Kentucky.  Yesterday I attended the Executive Committee meeting to plan our upcoming Spring council meeting and to hear some of the exciting things that have occurred on campus since our last gathering.  As always, I was amazed at the exciting things occurring at the university, and there are two things I want to highlight in this posting.

Campbellsville University (CU) offers an on-line 27 hour, accredited program for bivocational ministers that will earn them a Certificate in Christian Ministry when they complete all nine courses.  Many bivocational ministers lack any kind of formal ministry or seminary training, and this is an excellent way of obtaining that education without having to leave your home.  The cost is very reasonable, and if you decide later to pursue a degree at CU you will receive college credits for the work you did in this program!  You can get more information about the program and contact information at http://www.twicecalled.org/.  At that site you can also get information about the Heartland Bivocational Ministry Center at CU.  By the way, if you wonder if they understand bivocational ministry at CU I can assure you they do.  Some of the people at the university serve as bivocational pastors in local churches.  I should also mention that if you already have your bachelor's degree, the School of Theology at CU now offers their Master of Theology degree on-line.  I have a friend who is a bivocational minister who recently enrolled in this program because he believed it would offer him the best opportunity for him to pursue his master's while serving his church and working at his job.

The second thing I want to suggest is that you encourage the high school students in your church to consider Campbellsville University when they are looking at colleges and universities.  This is an exciting campus.  For the third year in a row US News and World Report ranked CU in the top 25 colleges in the South, and US News has ranked CU as one of "America's Best Colleges" for 17 consecutive years.  It's small enough so everyone can know one another, and yet it's large enough to offer a wide variety of excellent educational opportunities.  One of the things that always amazes me is the large number of students who go on mission trips every year from the school.  I don't know that I've seen a more active campus ministry program in any school.  They also have an excellent athletic program that will only get better.  They are currently adding lights to the football and baseball fields and putting down turf grass on the football field.  I could go on, but for me the best thing about CU is that it believes in the value of Christian higher education.  They believe there is no reason that a school cannot maintain high Christian values and provide its students with the best education.

I encourage you to go to http://www.campbellsville.edu/ and check out the school for yourself.  If you are interested in taking some students there for a tour of the campus, or if you want to visit the campus yourself, please contact me and I'll help set up an opportunity for you to do that.

Campbellsville University offers a lot for young people ready to begin college, and I believe they have a lot to offer bivocational ministers.