At Bethlehem College and Seminary, we believe that “joy, serious joy, is at the heart of Christ-exalting education.”[1] This conviction emerges from passages like Colossians 1:15-20 where Paul declares how all things exist to display the preeminence of Christ. This includes humans. We exist to glorify Christ by enjoying him supremely. Christ-exalting education, then, aims at rightly ordering our loves so that we treasure Christ above all things. One result from such a conviction has been a deepening commitment to serve educators who share this vision for Christ-exalting education. Today we are pleased to announce one fresh way to advance that vision of education.
Bethlehem College is launching in summer 2027 a new Master of Arts in Classical Christian Education, a 30-credit, 26-month degree for teachers and school leaders serving in classical Christian schools. Delivered primarily through in-person summer intensives, the program forms students in the history, philosophy, and theology of classical Christian education, equipping them with the pedagogical wisdom to teach and lead well through sustained in-person formation, without requiring full-time residency, so they can continue serving in their current educational context throughout the program.
As a classical Christian college, Bethlehem teaches the Great Books in light of the Greatest Book for the sake of the Great Commission. Over the years, more than thirty of our graduates have gone on to teach in K–12 schools, most of them classical Christian schools. To prepare such students well, we have built a pathway within the college: an Emphasis in Classical Christian Education and, now launched Fall 2026, an accelerated M.A. in Theology and Classical Education for Bethlehem College students who intend to teach.
Yet the need is far larger than our current graduates can meet. Through our partnerships with the Association of Classical and Christian Schools (ACCS) and the Society for Classical Learning (SCL), we have heard from national leaders and headmasters across the country that one of the greatest needs in the movement is qualified teachers and leaders. The new M.A. in Classical Christian Education complements what we offer our college students by opening that same theologically grounded training to educators beyond our campus. Our aim with each of these degrees is the same: to equip teachers and leaders whose delight in Christ overflows into the classroom, so that their students taste and see that the Lord is good.
Let me highlight three distinctives about this new M.A. degree.
- The degree is grounded in the historic Protestant tradition. Every course is shaped by the doctrines of the Reformation and Bethlehem’s own Reformed, Christian Hedonist convictions, so classical pedagogy is never separated from a coherent, Christ-centered theology of teaching and learning.
- The degree provides a theological framework for going deeper into the classical tradition. Students take a required core in theology and the foundations of classical Christian education, complete a practicum in their own school, read the great books in seminars on truth, goodness, and beauty, and choose from a rotating pool of topics courses.
- The degree enables educators to grow without leaving their current context. Delivered primarily through summer intensives, the degree lets working teachers and school leaders keep serving their students and their school year-round while deepening their capacity to teach and lead well in the classical Christian movement.
We long for educators across the country who seek to magnify Christ in their teaching and leading, and we are eager to invest in those educators who are raising up the next generation of Christians.
If you or someone you know may be interested in learning more about this new M.A. in classical Christian Education, please reach out to us at [email protected].
For the cause of Christ,
Zach Howard, Ph.D.
Academic Dean & Associate Professor of Theology and Humanities
[1] John Piper, Foundations of Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy (Crossway, 2023), 3.