Vision Bible College Satellite Campus Information

We have long believed in the concept of decentralized education. The paradigm of centralized education in colleges and universities is becoming more and more impractical and ineffective. That is sad for many people who hold these great learning centers and ministries dear, but I think we can all see the writing on the wall. We cannot seek to fix a system until we admit that it is broken. The current system is impractical for ministry training. To leave home, incur many thousands of dollars in debt, and actually leave the local church setting to be trained for local church ministry is ironic and ineffective. Further, over half of those who go through that process quit in their first few years of ministry never to return. This is nothing less than a tragedy in the Kingdom. Before we can look to a different vision we need to realize that the current one just isn’t working. How does a person with a family leave home for seven years, incur over $100,000 in debt, all the while trying to support his family, and then take a church in rural center. We do provide distance learning for students through VBC, as that is the only option available to many people out there desiring to be trained up for ministry. Still, nothing can beat the combination of local church experience and academic training.

Another option that is often pursued is for aspiring ministers to go to a para-church organization, most often YWAM, to receive training. YWAM does a great job, but those people rarely return to minister in the local churches. Our goal has been to emphasize practical training and ministry involvement the way YWAM does only in a local church setting with an accredited degree program. It’s simply a matter of taking it to the next level. This is all in place and ready for implementation today in your congregation. The benefits are many. I teaches the student how to minister in a real-world context and it infuses the congregation with eager workers who need to minister to complete their schooling.

This is actually pretty simple. All it takes is for a local church to have a passion for ministry training. They also must have at least one person on staff with a Bachelors level education in Theology or a related course of study. We then are able to certify that person as an associate professor. That person does not have to do all of the teaching and/or mentoring, but must be actively involved in the execution of the program and oversee the class application. There is a large emphasis put on practical experience. In fact, I would like to get to the place where half of the 120 credit hours required for a bachelors degree are completed through practical experience. I just need to get the accreditation council to agree. There has to be “adequate assessment” done for each course. So even practical experience courses require a paper, final, or educational review of the student. We can get the on-site faculty to full professor status which enables them to do all the grading on-site. Otherwise, there are options that range from everything being sent to us for grading to just the final papers being sent.

Much of this is done on a mentored self-study basis. The curriculum is developed with the idea of making it easy to implement for individuals in a local setting. We are currently working on having a DVD video lecture series for each class. We are constantly refining and changing curriculum. We try hard to make it all accessible for classroom training and/or self-study. This is important because after a few years you will find that you have first, second, third, and fourth year students at the same time. That requires a lot of teaching if you do not lean somewhat on mentored self-study.

The curriculum is meant to be flexible, with churches able to substitute courses upon approval. This allows the local churches some options in terms of substituting courses that meet their requirements in terms of their own history and some doctrinal stances. Much of the curriculum is straightforward Bible and ministry related training so it’s pretty focused and yet broad-based. We can offer one year certificates, two year Associate, and four year Bachelor level degrees in Theology with an emphasis in Pastoral Ministry, Youth Ministry, Worship Ministry, or Missions. With the emphasis on practical application credit and the ability to self-study, a student can actually complete a four year program in two years. Many of our people do so in three years quite easily.

Now remember, the whole time the student is doing this they are immersed in the local church environment. They are able to be a blessing to that church and tend to bring a zeal and passion that ignites the congregation. In turn, the congregation, and the whole regional ministry, have a unique sense of accomplishment. This is especially true when those students go on to effective ministry elsewhere. What an achievement. What a blessing to the church as a whole.

We believe strongly that the local church is called to raise up leaders. For years the model has been to send our best people far away, never to return. There is a saying in church planting circles that goes, “talent brings talent.” It simply means that as gifted people are raised up, it will attract more gifted people. Excitement breeds excitement, and excellence breeds excellence. We need to keep our best people close by.

In general, the way it works is that the satellite campus (the local church) pays $20.00 per credit hour + the cost of books and CD’s/DVD’s to Vision Bible College for the implementation of the program. The satellite campus then charges whatever it deems appropriate above that for their own expenses. The most common amount is $40.00 per credit hour. Most courses are 3 credit hours. There is also a $1,000.00 fee to get the satellite campus established. We will help you through the entire process, and we can set it up for church with only one or two active students or for a church with many students.

Rather than go into a lot more detail here I would encourage you to simply start with this and e-mail me with your questions. You can also call me at the office toll-free at 1-888-580-5384. You will find a great deal of information on this website, and all of the courses you see listed are available for satellite campus implementation. We can also work with the local church campus to develop a catalog for your program. Again, please contact me with any questions you may have.

Because He lives!

Benje Graves—VBC President

Benje@VBCIdaho.com

1-888-580-5384 (Office)

208-850-7719 (Cell)

www.visionbiblecollege.com