How to Choose a Good Bible School or Seminary
I have been working on Bible School and ministry training since 1989 when I went to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California to study world missions. I had just spent three years as the television producer for Reinhard Bonnke documenting millions getting saved. I wanted to help pastors absorb the huge harvest being won to Christ through evangelism. I realized I was hopelessly unprepared and needed training to accomplish God’s purposes.
My choice of Fuller was based on its reputation and the well-known professors who were there at that time. This is the FIRST principle of choosing a good program for yourself.
1) High quality professors and trainers.
These must be people who are not just theologians and academics but those who are practitioners and those who have lived and done what they teach. Such instructors are difficult to find but important to search for.
2) Affordable.
Most people considering doing more in ministry do NOT want to rack up two years of student loans. They are looking to get good training at an affordable price. Cost should not be a barrier to people wanting to do more for God and yet one does not want to compromise the quality of one’s training just to save a buck. Government accredited schools can cost $20-40K a year. Outstanding religious exempt schools can run you less than $1,000 per year.
3) Technology and Time
The third factor is that people have limited disposable time. People are starting families, working two jobs and juggling kids, car payments, and rent obligations. Fitting in Bible School training is not an easy task. This is where technology is critical. Training now can happen during a commute to work, in a car, bus, train or at the gym while working out. The point is that Bible training today NEEDS to accommodate hectic schedules.
4. Putting Something New Together
Considering these factors, I saw the need to reinvent ministry training for this new generation. That’s why I created the International School of Ministry or ISOM as it’s known. Using my television background, I spent years capturing the best teachings from over 100 icons such as John Bevere, Joyce Meyer, Reinhard Bonnke, Jack Hayford and A.R. Bernard. ISOM is now the largest video Bible school in the world with over 500,000 students in 150 nations. We now also have an online program at isomonline.org and the costs for an Associates, Bachelor’s and Master’s are a monthly tuition of $49, $69 and $199 respectively. Each degree program can be finished in as little as a year and a person can try it for $1 for 30 days.
So, if you are looking for a high quality, affordable way to get a ministry degree, look at isomonline.org where you will find the ISOM delivered to your desktop or mobile device in an easy-to-use fashion. I hope you will check us out and take advantage of this program to meet your training needs.
Dr. Berin Gilfillan is the Founder and President of Good Shepherd Ministries, International, the creator of the International School of Ministry (ISOM). He holds an undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in Communications from Regent University and a Doctorate in Ministry from Vision International University. He also did two years of study at a master’s level under Dr. C. Peter Wagner at Fuller Theological Seminary. ISOM has over 20,000 training schools who have used its curriculum in 150 countries and in 85 languages. It has been a proven curriculum of training for more than 20 years.
