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    One Seminary:  From 13,000 Students to 1,300 in Less than 50 Years

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    Devin Hebeisen, who will receive a Christian ministry degree this spring, says he thinks seminary enrollment is dropping nationally because people don’t think God is relevant.

    Aberdeen native Gina Hanson, who also is studying in the seminary, thinks enrollment is down because being a pastor can be stressful.

    Nate Brit, a former Aberdeen youth pastor, is studying for his master’s at a Bible college. He says seminary enrollment is down because many people don’t realize the commitment it takes to be a pastor.

    More here...

    People still heed the call to become pastors, but the raw numbers indicate fewer people are going to seminaries these days. Georgetown University says college seminary enrollment in the U.S. has plummeted from more than 13,000 in the late 1960s to about 1,300 today...

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    1. Brad Boydston on Tue, September 18, 2007

      Ah, where did they get their information? 1,300 students? Fuller Seminary alone has nearly 4,000 students; Southwestern Baptist has 3,800; Gordon Conwell has 2,200; Dallas Seminary has 2,000; Denver Seminary has 825… Somebody screwed up somewhere—unless they mean undergrad seminary courses which have been replaced by graduate level education. Theological education in the US is thriving.

    2. nora on Tue, September 18, 2007

      Brad, I think perhaps they were referring solely to the enrollment in Georgetown University?  The wording is pretty awkward ....

    3. Danny Daniels on Tue, September 18, 2007

      I think maybe they should specifically look into why enrollment at Georgetown is down so dramatically.  Maybe the theology program there is not attracting students like it once was for possibly a variety of reasons.


      There are a lot of alternatives these days for seminary.

    4. Brad Boydston on Tue, September 18, 2007

      While Georgetown, an historically Jesuit school, has a major religious studies program, as far as I can tell they don’t have a seminary. I could be missing something. But at least one of the other experts quoted is from some Bible college and he says that “...seminary enrollment is down because many people don’t realize the commitment it takes to be a pastor.”


      Fluff.


      Yes, there are other alternatives to seminary—even a few good ones—but as far as I can tell those alternatives are not making significant dents in the seminary population.

    5. ministerkareem on Wed, September 19, 2007

      I believe seminary is highly important for ministers to rightly divide the Word of God. One problem I see, is the cost of tution. I’m 30 years old, married with two children and struggling to pay my tution. I don’t qualify for grants or financial aid and tution goes up every year.


      How could people like me who want to receive an decent seminary education but lack the financial funds get help?


      Is there anybody that know how I could receive tution help? I’m currently enrolled at Liberty University and working on my Masters of Divinity.


      Is there anybody that would donate to my cause? You could send the money straight to the seminary…

    6. Tony Kummer on Wed, September 19, 2007

      Southern Seminary has double in the last ten years, something over 4,000 now.

    7. Brad Boydston on Wed, September 19, 2007

      According to the accreditors (ATS), Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had 2,501 students in the fall of 2006.


      The notion that seminaries or formal theological education in the US is in decline is pure fiction.

    8. pmpope68 on Mon, September 24, 2007

      MinisterK, have you considered some on-campus employment like being a graduate assistant?  These positions don’t pay much, but every little bit helps.  Or maybe approach your church about getting some support.

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