HOUSTON (ABP) — Church planters worldwide will no longer have to leave their places of service temporarily to receive specialized theological training thanks to SemiNEXT, an online educational program being developed by Houston-area Baptist leaders.
This fall organizers are unveiling the initial courses connected to SemiNEXT, which can be accessed at www.seminext.com. The offerings include Old and New Testament as well as a theology class.
The courses are tailored to meet the needs of church planters who have jobs, but would like some theological training to strengthen their ministries, said Alan Brehm, SemiNEXT executive director. Each class consists of five units made up of six Web pages each, and students can work at their own pace.
Participants will be able to dialogue through online communication such as e-mail and discussion rooms. Courses eventually build to a certificate, but no seminary credit is given.
SemiNEXT is the latest example of a changing paradigm in higher education, where organizations take courses to students rather than waiting for young people to step on campuses. Both secular and religious groups are creating online programs to serve target audiences.
The goal for SemiNEXT is to provide sound training and improve ministries through conversations, Brehm said.
“We're not a seminary,” Brehm said in a recent press release. “We're targeting people who already have degrees and perhaps even careers, so a seminary degree isn't really that important to them. We're a virtual learning community that intends to meet face-to-face as well.”
Organizers already have developed partnerships with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Houston's Union Baptist Association, and are looking to start relationships with groups that work with younger generations of ministers.
The program has gained some recognition from believers worldwide because it is the latest development of Leader's Edge, a Union Baptist Association effort to support church planters that started in the mid-1990s. Church planters in Texas, the United States and several countries around the world have contacted Brehm.
“Many people want a high quality accelerated theological education, but are at a place in life where traditional seminary is impractical or unavailable” Robert Creech, pastor of University Baptist Church in Houston and one of the founders of Leader's Edge, said in the same release.
“After a branch of the postmodern seminary opened in Austin, I began to dream beyond simply duplicating groups of teachers and curriculum. What if we could create a Web site that would facilitate an online community where discussion and learning could take place?”
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