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Links to other area colleges and universities, local chambers of commerce, local sporting opportunities, and other links that will help you get to know our area of the country a little better. |
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If you have decided upon ministry as your life’s calling, few decisions will affect you more than whether and where to go to Seminary. The whether will be informed by:
All of these recommend graduate preparation for ministry. The Master of Divinity becomes even more important to the person who would serve the Lord and His Church with effectiveness in light of:
The where requires that many questions be addressed. The following are suggested to get you started and to stimulate the asking of additional questions. What does the school stand for? Emmanuel School of Religion stands for the Lordship of Christ, the authority of the divinely inspired scriptures, the unity of the Church, and the relevance of the principles of the Restoration Movement. Emmanuel stands for peace among Christians. Emmanuel stands for the fulfillment of the Church’s God–assigned mission of global evangelization. Emmanuel stands for the highest standards in educational preparation for ministry. All of that can be summed up in this one item: the Lordship of Christ. He is the foundation and the cornerstone of Emmanuel School of Religion. Where is the school? Emmanuel is located just outside of Johnson City, Tennessee, in the northeast corner of the state. This metropolitan area of more than 450,000 people is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The area offers a rather pleasant blend of urban and rural cultures. What does it cost? There are at least four factors to be considered in answering this question: What are the academic costs? During the 2007-2008 academic year tuition at Emmanuel School of Religion is $325 per semester hour of classes. Students pay approximately $235 in fees each semester. Books will likely cost an average of $90 per three-semester-hour class. What is the availability of financial aid? Emmanuel offers a large number of Scholarships to entering and continuing students. Continuation of a scholarship award requires that the recipient: (1) maintain no less than a 2.5 GPA while at Emmanuel, and (2) be enrolled in no less than eight semester hours of classes in each semester for which financial aid is received. Other forms of financial aid available to qualified students at Emmanuel include: Federal Stafford Student Loan and PLUS/Supplemental Loan programs, Veteran’s Benefits, and Campus Employment funded by the College Work/Study Program and the Emmanuel Work/Study Program. For more detailed information on your projected costs and the amount of financial aid available to you at Emmanuel, call the Office of Admissions (1-800-933-3771). What is the cost of living? Compared to many areas in the United States, Northeast Tennessee enjoys a low cost of living. Housing will likely be the most significant bargain. You should be able to live as inexpensively at Emmanuel as you could anywhere else in the United States. What are the ministry opportunities? There are more than 200 Christian Churches within a two-hour drive of Emmanuel. These churches provide students a wide variety of ministry opportunities including: preaching, youth ministry, music ministry, children's ministry and associate ministry. The Admissions Office maintains a regularly updated list of openings and provides guidance for writing résumés and contacting churches with ministry openings. The Connections Committee gives assistance to graduates who are in search of ministries. What does the school emphasize? Excellence in Ministry. No other goal is worthy of one who would minister in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Someone has said: “When better is possible, good is not good enough.” Better is possible. Emmanuel School of Religion will help you be a better servant of our Lord and inspire you to pursue Excellence in Ministry. What is the school’s reputation? The program at Emmanuel is a rigorous one. You will read a lot of books. You will write a lot of papers. You will be challenged to develop a faith that has been carefully examined. Having considered your faith and the alternatives, you will find yourself ready and confident to confront the world of unbelievers. Is the program balanced? The Master of Divinity degree offered by Emmanuel maintains a careful balance of classes in the ministry area and the classical core areas of Old Testament, New Testament, Christian Doctrine, and Church History. Half of the full-time faculty teach in the area of Christian Ministries, and half of the full-time faculty teach in the remaining four areas. Forty percent of the curriculum is in the area of Christian Ministries. The academic program is both challenging and rewarding. Five major areas of learning are a part of the program at Emmanuel: Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, Christian Doctrine, and Christian Ministries. Within the Christian Ministries area are five fields of study: Preaching and Worship, Christian Care and Counseling, World Mission and Evangelism, Christian Education, and Church Administration. A major concentration is offered in all of these areas. Each of Emmanuel’s degrees requires the study of Biblical Languages: twelve hours of Greek and six hours of Hebrew for the Master of Divinity, six hours of Greek and six hours of Hebrew for the Master of Arts in Religion. The Master of Arts in Religion degree requires the student to write a thesis. The Master of Divinity degrees require either a thesis or a senior project (see pages 30 and 31 of the 2006–2008 Emmanuel catalog for explanation of the options for fulfilling this requirement). The development of spiritual life is fostered in a variety of ways. The community worships daily Tuesday through Friday. The fall retreat is a worship experience. In addition to the chapel, a small prayer room and the the Dana Gohn Prayer Garden are available for more intimate encounters with God. As a part of the Supervised Ministerial Experience program, all students are required to participate in spiritual formation groups led by area ministers. Students are also encouraged to become involved in local churches where they experience worship and interaction with other believers. What degrees are offered? Emmanuel offers three degrees:
What are the school’s credentials? Accreditation Emmanuel School of Religion is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097: Telephone number 404-679-4501 www.sacscoc.org) and by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada [10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15275 : Telephone number 412-788-6505 www.ats.edu] to award the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religion, and the Doctor of Ministry degrees. Faculty The Emmanuel faculty maintains a remarkable accessibility to students. Students and faculty interact in the halls, in offices, in homes, in the student lounge, in local churches, in community service projects, in spiritual formation groups, and in retreats. The opportunity to form lasting relationships with professors is consistently rated by students as “one of the most valuable” aspects of the Emmanuel experience. All of Emmanuel’s full-time faculty members hold earned doctorates. The schools having granted their degrees include: Boston University, Christian Theological Seminary, Emmanuel School of Religion, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Texas Woman’s University, United Theological Seminary, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska, University of Notre Dame, University of Toronto (Canada), and the Yale University. The Emmanuel faculty have distinguished themselves in the scholarly community: they are published in scholarly journals; they have collaborated on, edited, and/or written books. They have served in leadership roles in national and international scholarly societies. They have served the church in preaching ministries, church planting ministries, cross-cultural missions, youth ministries, military chaplaincy, associate ministries, Christian education ministries, and in Higher Education as teachers and administrators. They have conducted retreats, leadership seminars, revivals, and have served as featured speakers in conventions and conferences. They have served in England, Germany, India, Brazil, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Canada, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kenya, Poland, Macedonia, Slovakia, Estonia, Russia, Czech, Papua New Guinea, India, the Philippines, Mexico and in the United States. Library, Media Center, Archives and Computer Laboratory Under the direction of Dr. Thomas E. Stokes, Emmanuel’s Library adds more than 3,000 volumes to its collection each year. The Library presently holds more than 151,000 items, including more than 700 periodical subscriptions. The resources of the Library’s Media Center and Computer Laboratory include databases, Bible School curriculum materials, videotapes and audiotapes. These selected works are carefully chosen to support graduate-level ministerial studies. The Restoration Movement Archives houses an impressive collection focused on the history of the Stone-Campbell Movement. To accommodate continued growth, the Emmanuel Library expanded into the third floor of the B.D. Phillips Memorial Building in 1999. In 2000, the second floor of the Library was renovated. The expansion and renovation provided space for an additional 52,000 books. The Library also houses fifteen private study carrels for thesis students. In 2006 the renovation of the first floor of the Library was completed. Conclusion It is our conviction that the task assigned to us by our Lord is far too urgent and far too demanding for us to rush into the work without fine tuning our knowledge and skills in the context of graduate ministerial education. Rather than haste in getting to the field, the urgency of our mission dictates thoroughness of preparation. |
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