13 Aug HU Launches New Pastoral Leadership Program

For over 100 years, Huntington University has been the primary training ground for United Brethren ministers. The new Pastoral Leadership program, launching this fall, will once again take the lead in training future UB ministers.

“The pastoral leadership program represents a true collaboration between the church and college,” says Bishop Phil Whipple (left). “Huntington University took to heart what the church leadership felt were the important elements of training pastors, and they developed a program to meet those needs.”

In fact, HU is launching three masters programs designed for people entering Christian ministry:

• Pastoral Leadership: foundational principles and skills for effective leadership in local churches. Targets local church ministers.
• Global Youth Ministry: the skills needed for effective youth ministry leadership in traditional settings, with ethnic populations in the United States, and in international settings. Targets youth ministry professionals.
• Global Initiatives: foundational principles and skills for effective cross-cultural ministry leadership in the church. Targets Christian leaders and missionaries.

These add to the existing master’s degrees in Counseling, Youth Ministry Leadership, and Education.

The three new programs will be offered in seven-week blocks, with a combination of onsite classroom instruction, online live instruction, and online recorded classroom training. Every class will be broadcast live and posted online for later viewing. This will enable students to learn in an environment that best suits their needs.

Bishop Whipple points out four ways in which the new program will benefit the United Brethren Church.

1. It is uniquely United Brethren. “The Pastoral Leadership program covers areas which the Church felt were priorities for training pastors.”
2. It gives our pastors much flexibility. “Through the variety of delivery systems, the program will allow a number of pastors to complete their master’s degree and while continuing to serve their church.”
3. It strengthens the UB/College bond. “The new program continues to help develop the connections between the United Brethren in Christ Church and Huntington University. We have some superb professors at Huntington University. It will be great using many of them in the masters program.”
4. It expands the influence of the UB church. “The broader church world will benefit from this solid program for training pastors, missionaries, and youth pastors.”

In 2010, Huntington University discontinued the pastoral track. It was a sad day; from the days when HU had a seminary to the Graduate School of Christian Ministries, the majority of UB pastors were trained through Huntington University. However, it was a budget decision, and a decision not made lightly. Huntington University had tried different approaches over the years, but none worked. It finally reached the point where, because the program continued losing money, they felt they needed to pull the plug.

But now it’s back with a whole new look. And the United Brethren denomination–its ministers, its missionaries, and its youth workers–will greatly benefit.

“I am excited about the potential of this program,” says Bishop Whipple, “and I’m eager to see other areas in which Church and College can connect to produce win-win-scenarios.”