Lincoln Christian University Announces Partnership with the Merold Institute
Partnership will launch in January of 2022

 

[September 22, 2021]  Lincoln Christian University is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Merold Institute at Harvester Christian Church. Months in the planning and design, this partnership will form a regional training center for church leaders that enhances that work already being done by the Merold Institute by expanding those offerings with fully accredited educational courses and access to Lincoln’s placement and church development services.

The partnership will be based at Harvester’s St. Charles campus, and will focus on the following activities:

• The creation of a “ministry residency program” where Lincoln Christian Seminary students can earn credit toward a master’s degree while working with mentors on the Harvester staff and learning practical ministry skills in real-time.

• The offering of Lincoln Christian Seminary courses on-site, with some shared in a distributed education model with students on the seminary’s Lincoln, Illinois campus.

• The expansion of non-credit training programs for volunteer leaders from area churches, ranging from one-day seminars and workshops to certificate programs comprised of several classes, some approaching the content and rigor of an undergraduate course.

• The creation of advanced ministry training for cohorts of lead ministers, or groups of specialized staff. These advanced cohorts will provide continuing education for those who already have significant ministry experience to bring to a peer-learning setting, will include coaching from mentors and seminary faculty, and may be applied for credit to Lincoln’s Doctor of Ministry program.

• Expanding access for the St. Louis area to Lincoln Christian University’s placement and church development services.

“As someone who had the privilege of studying under Ben Merold,” President Silas McCormick says, “it is a tremendous honor to partner with the Merold Institute at Harvester to take Ben’s passion for healthy churches and church leaders, and come alongside it in a way that allows us to bring our strengths in the biblical and theological foundations for ministry and pair them with the Merold Institute’s mission to develop, connect, and resource church leaders for greater effectiveness in the mission of the church.”

Dr. Don Sanders, Director of the Merold Institute and Leadership Development Pastor at Harvester Christian Church, notes, “As the world becomes increasingly complex and challenging, this unique endeavor utilizes the strengths of the local church and the seminary to equip church leaders with both relevant experience and theological foundations. Together we will offer what neither can offer separately: leadership development for every level of church leader in every educational context.”

[Lincoln Christian University]