Think of it as in-the-church training for biblical elder-level leadership in pastoral ministry, missionary service, or future theological scholarship. In this, our flagship program, a small cohort of 18—20 men share a four-year journey of rigorous biblical language and theological studies, real-life experiences in church leadership and congregational care, as well as a host of cross-cultural ministry opportunities all in the context of a globally minded church and its local plants in this multi-ethnic urban center.
During the last four decades God has supplied scores of pulpits, ministries, missionary endeavors, and seminaries with God-enthralled Bethlehem men who discovered—while serving alongside pastors here during the course of academic studies—that God is most glorified in them when they are most satisfied in him. Since 2009, pastoral apprenticeship has been the foundational practicum in Bethlehem College & Seminary’s Master of Divinity degree program.
Seminarians are assigned to a pastor on one of Bethlehem Baptist Church’s three local campuses, or at one of its several local church plants, and serve alongside the pastor in the style of the historic master-apprentice pursuit of tradecraft, or like medical residents making hospital rounds with a supervising physician. Service to the pastor and the congregation are at the center of this apprenticeship, but deep mentor relationships inevitably emerge as a fruit of such up-close collaboration.
The Master of Divinity is the foundational four-year program for those called to vocational ministry as pastors, missionaries, or other full-time Christian workers at the elder level. The program’s emphasis is intense, whole-Bible exegesis in the original languages with a special focus on the unfolding of God’s sovereign plan throughout all of redemptive history.
| Year 1 | Credits |
| Intermediate Greek | 4 |
| Old Testament Background & Message I | 3 |
| Principles of Biblical Interpretation I | 2 |
| Theology of Worship | 3 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Topics in Practical Theology I | 1 |
| Greek Exegesis: Epistle | 4 |
| Old Testament Background & Message II | 3 |
| Principles of Biblical Interpretation II | 2 |
| Missions and the Local Church | 3 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Missions Practicum | 1 |
| Year 2 | Credits |
| Beginning Hebrew I | 4 |
| New Testament Background & Message | 3 |
| Counseling & the Local Church I | 3 |
| Preaching as Worship I | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Topics in Practical Theology II | 1 |
| Greek Exegesis | 4 |
| Counseling & the Local Church II | 2 |
| Preaching as Worship II | 2 |
| Beginning Hebrew II | 4 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Year 3 | Credits |
| Church History I | 3 |
| Intermediate Hebrew | 4 |
| Intro to the Thought of Jonathan Edwards | 2 |
| Counseling & the Local Church III | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Systematic Theology I | 3 |
| Church History II | 3 |
| Biblical Eldership | 2 |
| Hebrew Exegesis | 4 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Year 4 | Credits |
| Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament | 2 |
| Systematic Theology II | 3 |
| Biblical Ethics | 2 |
| Pastoral Internship I | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Biblical Theology: The History of Redemption | 4 |
| Systematic Theology III | 3 |
| Pastoral Internship II | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Year 1 | Credits |
| Intermediate Greek | 4 |
| Old Testament Background & Message I | 3 |
| Principles of Biblical Interpretation I | 2 |
| Theology of Worship | 3 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Topics in Practical Theology I | 1 |
| Greek Exegesis: Epistle | 4 |
| Old Testament Background & Message II | 3 |
| Principles of Biblical Interpretation II | 2 |
| Missions and the Local Church | 3 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Missions Practicum | 1 |
| Year 2 | Credits |
| Beginning Hebrew I | 4 |
| New Testament Background & Message | 3 |
| Counseling & the Local Church I | 3 |
| Preaching as Worship I | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Topics in Practical Theology II | 1 |
| Greek Exegesis | 4 |
| Counseling & the Local Church II | 2 |
| Preaching as Worship II | 2 |
| Beginning Hebrew II | 4 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Year 3 | Credits |
| Church History I | 3 |
| Intermediate Hebrew | 4 |
| Intro to the Thought of Jonathan Edwards | 2 |
| Counseling & the Local Church III | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Systematic Theology I | 3 |
| Church History II | 3 |
| Biblical Eldership | 2 |
| Hebrew Exegesis | 4 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Year 4 | Credits |
| Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament | 2 |
| Systematic Theology II | 3 |
| Biblical Ethics | 2 |
| Pastoral Internship I | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Biblical Theology: The History of Redemption | 4 |
| Systematic Theology III | 3 |
| Pastoral Internship II | 2 |
| Mentored Ministry | 0 |
The goal of this concentration is to provide biblical foundations and practical training for those sensing God’s call to be pastors, particularly of new churches or churches needing revitalization.
Students in the concentration take three specialized courses as electives. Also, the student completes a two-semester internship in the context of a church plant. Courses unique to the Church Planting and Revitalization concentration are:
| CORE COURSES | CREDITS |
| The Gospel and Personal Evangelism | 2 |
| Church Planting and Revitalization | 2 |
| Cross-Cultural Church Planting | 2 |
| Church Growth and Renewal | 2 |
| Church Planting Internship I | 2 |
| Church Planting Internship II | 2 |
This concentration is designed to equip men who are gifted in worship leadership and sense that this is how God is leading them to use their pastoral and artistic gifting. Courses unique to the Worship Pastor concentration are:
| CORE COURSES | CREDITS |
| Worship Pastor Internship I | 2 |
| Worship Pastor Internship II | 2 |
| The Heart and Role of the Worship Pastor | 3 |
| The Worshiping Church: A Historical Survey of the Development of Christian Worship | 2 |
| Worship and Culture: The Local/Global Church Worships Together | 3 |
| Liturgy and Song | 2 |
| Worship Design and Leadership | 3 |
| Hebrew Tools | 4 |
The Cameroon extension site currently offers the Master of Divinity program. Dr. Dieudonné Tamfu coordinates the program which closely follows the format, objectives, and courses of the Minneapolis location. Bethlehem College & Seminary serves as the administrative hub of a coordinated initiative of the school, Jubilee Community Church, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Treasuring Christ Together Church Planting Network, and hundreds of contributors and prayer partners to plant a French-speaking church in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaoundé, establish an extension of Bethlehem College & Seminary, and provide, by God’s grace, a launching site for regional church-planting and outreach to unengaged people groups.
The Master of Theology is offered for students who desire to sharpen their expertise in a specific topic of theological learning. Students may work on the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees concurrently or may complete the 20 credit Th.M. in approximately one year following the M.Div.. Master of Theology candidates author a thesis during their final year under the supervision of a Bethlehem College & Seminary professor.
| Core Courses | Year 3 | Year 4 |
| Research Seminar |  | |
| Thesis Proposal | | |
| Thesis Independent Study | |
Students can leave here without a burden of student loan debt. Tuition is unusually affordable because generous disciples of Christ affirm the quality of this “Education in Serious Joy” by providing a $10,000 annual Serious Joy Scholarship to all students so that they may launch without debt into life and ministry upon graduation.
Other scholarships include the Alex Steddom International Student Fund, which can be applied for by international applicants.