Bringing Academia to the Local Church: the Compass Cohort

In August 2024, thirty new TEDS students embarked on their journeys to earn graduate certificates. Together, they would walk through their degree plans, attend lectures, learn from expert faculty, and enjoy cohort meeting check-ins. There was one major difference setting them apart from the traditional seminary experience: their campus was their local church, and their classrooms were church offices, living rooms, or anywhere with a computer and internet.

Church staff today often find themselves called to ministry after working in a different career or completing education in a different field. Traditional seminary requires semesters consecutively loaded with full credit hours, allowing little time for the commitments of a job or family life. In order to make education more broadly accessible, more flexible options become necessary.

TEDS Director of Church Relations Bill Yaccino has a heart for this topic. When he attended seminary, he was married with two children. He had pivoted from his career as a software engineer, and he worked a job at a local church. Yaccino completed his master’s degree over the course of seven years, taking one class at a time. He then worked in pastoral ministry for thirty-two years before accepting a role at TEDS. Yaccino understands that often, the path to ministry is not linear.

In February of 2023, TEDS hosted the EFCA Theology Conference. Yaccino and Jon Kalvig, the campus pastor of The Compass Church’s Naperville location, were both in attendance. Kalvig shared that although he was already in ministry, he was in search of sound theological training to better equip himself to serve the church. As their discussion progressed, it became clear that a graduate certificate at TEDS would be an ideal avenue. Trinity’s graduate-level certificate programs take one year to complete and can lead to master’s programs if desired.

The Compass Church has about sixty staff members. Yaccino wondered how many others like Kalvig were at Compass. Perhaps five to seven others would be interested in pursuing graduate certificates. They decided to open the floor to both staff and lay leaders at the church, hoping that the group that emerged could walk through their education together. The students’ tuition would be covered by Compass.

The question that remained was how to work out the logistics of creating an environment in which church staff members could learn locally and individually, yet collaboratively. In June of 2023, Compass enlisted the skills of their communication team to help cast the vision. Together with Trinity’s admissions team, they created a checklist for church collaborations. Compass published a program page on their website, and enrollment was opened. Thirty Compass leaders enrolled in certificate programs. “We scratched an itch we didn’t know existed,” said Yaccino.

The Compass cohort began their classes this past August. In May, they will graduate with certificates that strengthen their ability to serve the church by adding rich theological knowledge and systematic biblical study.

Compass selected three certificates they felt best suited their needs as a church, as well as the strengths of their leaders: Biblical and Theological Studies, Children and Family Ministry, and Organizational Leadership. Cohort students were free to select whichever they preferred. The twelve credits earned throughout the certificates count toward a Master of Divinity, making that next step attainable if it is a good fit.

In order to keep the academic load manageable, one course is taken per quad. Each month, Kalvig invites all three certificate groups to attend a meeting. They check in on one another, fellowship, and enjoy lunch together. Twice per quad, professors hold a live Zoom meeting for reflection exercises and synchronous learning.

Trinity’s church partnerships have been quickly growing, with Compass being just one of about six churches offering Trinity classes to their leaders. There are three broad types of partnerships that churches are encouraged to consider.

Enrichment partners are individuals, ministries, and churches who identify their key leaders and encourage them to invest in formal theological training. Yaccino conducted an informal survey with 20-25 certificate students and found that eighty percent of them knew about their programs from their pastors. Trinity is blessed by quite a few such enrichment partners.

Collaborative partners, such as The Compass Church, are more involved; they invest in equipping their members to do ministry. They have more than one student and host local meetings for students who are taking their seminary courses together. TEDS has six confirmed collaborative partners, and this is just the beginning. About thirty more churches are in communication with Trinity about how to become collaborative partners and provide their leaders with TEDS education.

Training partners are the most involved, offering courses with in-person faculty at their church locations. Brookside Church in Omaha, Nebraska, is one such church.

Both demand and popularity are rapidly growing for these kinds of partnerships; Yaccino gets multiple calls each week from interested churches reaching out about how to connect with Trinity. Partnering with TEDS to provide seminary education not only benefits individual students but also helps churches by doing so without removing leaders from their roles within the local setting. “We want to take TEDS’ specialty of academic rigor and pair it with the church’s contextual leadership,” Yaccino said.

Trinity recognizes the importance of applying ministry concepts on the ground, and church-based certificate programs allow students to immediately use what they are learning in their local contexts. Seminary education is being made increasingly accessible through affordability and locality.

Through these connections, TEDS is bringing academic support to the local church in order to equip men and women to effectively serve the church with faithfulness, hope, and love. Will you be the next to join us in our mission of engaging in God’s redemptive work in the world? Browse our certificate programs below.

Biblical and Theological Studies

Children and Family Ministries

Organizational Leadership