|
|
|
|
Welcome to the Evangelical Virtual Seminary
The mission of the Evangelical Virtual Seminary is to provide for as wide a student body as possible a tuition free, non degree based, Evangelically oriented education comparable to that of a theological seminary. It's purpose is also to support the education of Christian leaders across the world with both educational resources and finances.
EVS ProfileThe Evangelical Virtual Seminary is not a traditional school. It has no library other than the internet. It offers no academic credit, transcripts, degrees, or professional credentials. It charges no tuition. The EVS programs require no assignments and give no grades. EVS. is both an academic community and a tool that readers can use to guide their own study. By following the structure presented in the EVS, readers can give themselves a level of learning that is the equivalent of a seminary education. In a culture that is inundated with religious books, EVS also leads readers to books and articles that are valuable and useful from a Conservative Evangelical Christian perspective. The Evangelical Virtual Seminary is committed to building the church as a whole. As a reflection of this concern, EVS has chosen to support the education of the broader church. With the exception of grant income given for a specific purpose, EVS will contribute 10% of all fees and contributions to other academic or mission programs that have 501(c)(3) status. An emphasis will be given to schools and mission programs in the developing world.
OverviewEvangelical Virtual Seminary offers two kinds of programs. The first variety of programs are Independent Study Programs. These are designed to have maximum flexibility, and they offered many choices in the academic sources used. The Evangelical Virtual Seminary currently has eight programs of study in the Independent Study category. Three are introductory courses of theological education comparable to a MDiv degree. These are intended for lay persons who do not have a seminary degree. Three are scholarly programs comparable to a ThM degree. These are designed for people who have already completed a seminary degree. Two are professional programs designed to help working pastors improve their pastoral skills. These can be compared to a DMin degree. Evangelical Virtual Seminary also contains Mentored Programs. These provided a more limited choice of courses and more structured assignments with each course. When writing assignments for these courses, find a friend or pastor whose opinions you respect. Ask him to mentor you by giving you an evaluation of your assignments. Two Structured programs are currently available. The first is a Beginning Ministry program for laymen who want to begin to develop their skills at serving God and building His kingdom. The second is a Pastor Scholar program designed for working pastors who want to improve their ministry skills. These are not academic courses, and the programs offer no academic credit. The Evangelical Virtual Seminary includes a Research Center that lists a wide variety of books and articles that are helpful from an Evangelical perspective. It discusses how these books and articles can be found, and discusses why many of them are useful. Finally, Evangelical Virtual Seminary Book Store provides free copies of books and articles that can be downloaded. Some of these are my own studies. These are highly innovative studies that include material from a vast number of academic sources. Reading them provides a fairly good introduction to Biblical Studies. These works also explore a surprising number of connections between the biblical text and the ancient Near East that have been overlooked in the academic debate. Thousands of students have profited from these studies in the past, and motifs that I've developed are currently being taught at a grass roots level across much of the world. Some resources in the Book Store are written by other authors, and they are posted here with the permission of those authors. The Evangelical Virtual Seminary is incorporated in the state of MN, although the school does not yet have tax exempt status. EVS was begun in the hope that God would lead His people to support its work. That has simply not happened. So the program will not be developed very far beyond its current state. We simply lack the time and resources to work on it any further. We expect the program to remain on the net for at least six months and perhaps longer. However, given the transitory character of everything on the internet, it may be wise to print the programs and resources that you plan to use in their entirety.
Contact Information
RDalman@evangelicalvirtualseminary.org
|
|
Copyright © 2009 Dr. Rodger Dalman
|
