Looking to further and hasten the spread of the Gospel to the furthest corners of the world, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is adding two initiatives in the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth.
The new initiatives, the reverse 2+2 program and the 5/12 program, are designed to enable Southern students to get to the mission field more quickly, said Chuck Lawless, dean of the Billy Graham School.
“Our goal in both of these programs is to encourage students to get to the mission field soon, while also helping them to earn academic credit in the process,” he said.
The current 2+2/3 program allows students to spend two years on the Southern Seminary campus, followed by two or three years on the mission field where they earn their final credit hours while working with a missionary. The new reverse 2+2 program flips this process.
Thus, students who serve in the Journeyman program with the International Mission Board prior to coming to Southern will now be able to receive academic credit for their on-the-field training, Lawless said, as long as they are first accepted as students at Southern.
“We think this program will be especially attractive to Boyce College graduates who want to go to the mission field first and then return to Southern Seminary to complete their degrees,” he said.
In the 5/12 program, students who commit to serving on the mission field for five or six months can earn up to 12 credit hours during their time on the field, Lawless said. In some cases, Lawless said the IMB would provide travel costs to get such students to the field. Southern is also providing scholarships to help students in both the 5/12 program and the reverse 2+2 program.
“We want to make it possible for as many Southern Seminary students as possible to get to the mission field,” Lawless said. “When students spend time on the field, their hearts get directed toward the needs of the world. Even if they are not called to be a missionary, they will lead churches that are more committed to global missions.”