KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A $500,000 grant will help Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and College in Kansas City, Mo., launch a new program enabling students to earn a bachelor’s degree and master of divinity degree within five years.
The Kern Family Foundation is providing the grant for Midwestern’s new “Accelerate” five-year B.A./M.Div. program.
Midwestern President Jason Allen voiced gratitude to the foundation “for such generosity in assisting Midwestern College to provide an avenue for its students to graduate with high-level theological education in a significantly reduced amount of time.”
“The legwork for this grant was accomplished by John Mark Yeats, our undergraduate dean,” Allen added.
Yeats noted that the Kern family has expressed concerns about the time it takes for a pastor to receive training — typically four years for an undergraduate degree and three to four more years for an M.Div. — which can mire ministerial candidates in debt and keep them from serving effectively once in the field.
Other benefits for Accelerate students, Yeats said, include significant financial savings “because of the condensed program format — allowing them to jump more quickly into front-line ministries like church planting and missions.”
The program is residential, with all coursework taking place on the Kansas City campus.
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