Frequently Asked Questions

• Begin developing a close walk with God. That’s crucial whatever you do, but it’s the one way to find God’s direction for your life.
• Get involved in ministry right now. Ask your pastor what you can do and let him evaluate you – does he think you show the character and ability for ministry? Plus, you’ll be able to develop skills and interests in different areas of service. That’s good whether you go into “the ministry” or not.
• Come to BJU and enroll in our ministry courses. Let the Lord show you His will through those courses.

The BJU package contains:

• Godly, educated, interested faculty
• Breadth of educational opportunities without giving up spiritual strength
• Ministerial courses: 16 courses on almost every aspect of local church ministry, including a Friday ministry class; panels and block courses with guest speakers who are currently in ministry
• Wide variety of church ministry and Bible courses, many taught by faculty who are or have been in pastoral ministry. Offered in a building-block sequence
• Special events: missions conference; soul-winning conference; Bible conference; days of prayer
• Student life: mission prayer band, extension ministries; prayer group meetings; societies – provide social, character and leadership development
• Large number of strong local churches in which to grow and serve
• Opportunities: camp and internship recruitment; internships; summer mission teams; Ministerial Office database for ministry placement
• Cultural development – extracurricular activities in music, drama, sports

Most small Bible or Christian colleges are unable to offer this many opportunities, while many other Christian colleges which can may lack strong spiritual commitment to fundamental, Biblical Christianity.

• Visit the sectional ministerial classes or the Friday ministerial class.
• View the Seminary rotunda to see the ministerial class history.
• Meet the dean of the School of Religion or director of ministerial training.

• BJU’s program is based on 3 broad emphases: an appreciation for the finer elements of art and learning; the centrality, authority, and sufficiency of the Word of God; and an effort to stir hearts toward evangelism, holiness, and true, practical piety.
• Approximately two-thirds of the courses taken in a four-year Bachelor of Arts degree in the School of Religion are directly related to the work of the ministry. In addition, the ministerial student will receive 16 hours of ministry courses, which introduce him to virtually every dimension of local church ministry.
• Ministry students receive training from godly, well-educated liberal arts teachers. They interact with other students in all sorts of majors, developing skills for relating effectively with people in all walks of life. Language, history, science, math, technology, and business help make the ministerial student a more effective minister. (And lay a helpful foundation for seminary academics and life in general.)
• Many great ministers have realized the importance of general education for more effective ministry: G Campbell Morgan; Charles Bridges; C.H. Spurgeon, to name a few.

• Major on the majors and minor on the minors. You can always minor in an area of interest or secondary skill development.
• In many professions today, the employer is looking for a person of character and ability who can think and learn. They’ll train people to do the specific job they want done.
• But if God has called and gifted you for ministry, trust Him and pursue ministry wholeheartedly. If a young man believes God is directing him toward vocational ministry, it is perhaps being double-minded and untrusting to pursue training for a secular occupation “just in case.”
• Seminary is intended to build on your undergraduate foundation of Bible, ministry, and liberal arts training.

Certainly we take stands on various major issues in a spirit of fairness, firmness, yet flexibility where good men have historically differed. The creed outlines the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith on which we are inflexible. It’s not meant to be a definitive statement of everything we believe on every issue (for example, the imminent return of Christ), but a defining statement of who we are as a Christian institution.

• Yes. First, consider our over-arching Biblical goal: BJU is a balanced, fervent, fundamentalist institution of higher learning. We center our philosophy of education on the Word of God and train students to go out into all walks of life and live for the Lord. Our creed expresses essential Christian belief, and our charter and mission statement clarify our purposes. We try to maintain a fundamental position without compromising or becoming extreme.
• Second, consider our attempt at Biblical priorities: We are firm on the fundamentals and flexible on the non-essentials, but we expect cooperation and submission from our students during the formative days of their education. We don’t expect everyone to agree with every viewpoint, but we do strive to teach our students to think biblically. This educational emphasis produces well-rounded, balanced, disciplined, fervent graduates as students submit to the Holy Spirit.

We don’t perceive that as a weakness because...

• It strengthens the unity of our faculty – they all have thorough training from a firmly fundamental perspective. This helps protect against inroads of new evangelicalism and liberalism. We’ve been around for 80 years and are still holding firmly to our founding doctrine and philosophy.
• Our faculty are well-read and aware of the broader theological and ministry world. But we are not interested in accommodation to or praise from the contemporary or compromising church. No one seriously questions BJU’s contribution to the leadership of fundamental Christianity or its standard of academic excellence.
• Our faculty members are also well-traveled and experienced. Most have been or are currently involved in full-time ministry. Many also get involved in mission opportunities during the summers – including teaching opportunities on the foreign field, teaching national leaders. Many also travel widely in the US ministering to local churches and conferences. These rich experiences provide great benefits for students.

• The Extension Office oversees a very large array of student-led extension ministries.
• In addition, there are University-sponsored, faculty-led summer mission teams. Students are encouraged to consider mission trips, camp ministries, and internships as summer opportunities.
• Students are also able to develop and practice ministry and leadership skills through campus life structure and student organizations.

There is no city in America with more fundamental churches per capita than Greenville. Some are large, some small, some medium in size. It is true that we expect our dorm students to attend churches that are compatible with BJU’s stand and the position and practice of fundamental churches. A list of recommended area churches is available. Specific church requests are discussed on a case by case basis.

This could be one of our strongest points. We provide a lifetime opportunity to our graduates who maintain their personal integrity and basic fundamental stand to have access to a large data base of church ministries that are looking for pastors, assistant pastors, youth pastors, music directors, etc. Our Career Development and Placement office handles all non-church ministry vocational and professional opportunities. Church Staff Placement Service

• BJU is not a local church, nor does it claim to be a substitute for one. However, virtually everything BJU does is designed to support and enhance the ministry of local churches.
• Many strong local churches exist in the area, and BJU faculty, staff, and students contribute to their ministries. BJU does have a Sunday morning service on campus to accommodate the needs of those churches due to their regular Sunday morning ministries. We’re doing the best we can in our situation to meet everyone’s needs without creating a “pseudo-church” which would not provide a good alternative to a real local church.
• BJU trains and assists men in planting sound local churches. Graduating students are frequently encouraged to find a small local church to which they can contribute.
• BJU’s Office of Extension Ministries helps hundreds of local churches find pastors and staff members, and helps people find good local churches to attend.
• BJU has trained more local church pastors than perhaps any other fundamental college or university. BJU’s ministerial training program has a strong local church focus, including a required local church internship.
• We strongly encourage students to find a local church in which they can participate. Almost all of our students regularly attend a local church on Sunday evenings. Many find ways to serve in local churches in town or within a few hours’ drive – from Georgia to Tennessee.

• BJU was founded so that young people from various denominations could be spared the ravages of having their faith undermined while attending professing Christian or denominational schools.
• Today our students come largely from independent Baptist and Bible churches (most Bible churches tend toward being Baptistic). By far, the largest portion of our student body, faculty and staff, and administration is Baptist.
• There is no reason to fear being dislodged from your church heritage. At the same time, it is largely the role of pastors and parents to insure that their young people remain convinced of their church’s position. We seek to reinforce and respect the young person’s church heritage.

BJU respects the KJV and its place in the history of preaching. We use the KJV in chapel and classes and do not allow our faculty to show disrespect for it. However, we do believe there is more than one acceptable modern English translation. This is what we teach, but we do not make a major emphasis out of it.

• We are not against fresh, new music in text or composition. Our chapel program includes the singing of choruses at times. We use dynamic, traditional, conservative Christian music.
• We believe the great instructional value of using the time-proven hymns and songs of the church. Our BJU hymnal reflects a combination of older and newer hymns and songs. We believe that God is glorified in our approach.
• We are concerned with much of what is called CCM, and strongly encourage our students to consider our concerns.