B.H. Carroll Theological Institute has entered into a partnership with Bacone College, located in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which will offer Bacone graduates in Christian ministry the opportunity to earn their Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Christian Education (MACE) or Master of Arts in Worship (MAW) through an advanced track program, potentially reducing the number of hours needed to complete their master’s degree by up to 25 percent.
Dr. Norma Hedin, Carroll’s Senior Fellow of Ministry and Formation at the time of the agreement, said this partnership would effectively allow B.H. Carroll to offer Bacone Christian ministry majors an individualized degree plan.
Bacone President Franklin Willis said the partnership is a blessing for Bacone’s Christian ministry majors. “This provides an expedited route for Bacone students to obtain their master’s,” he said. “The hybrid format B.H. Carroll offers is something I strongly believe in – the virtual classroom is undoubtedly the road to the future.”
B.H. Carroll Theological Institute was founded for the purpose of making graduate level theological education more affordable and accessible for ministry students. J. Stanley Moore, Senior Fellow and Professor of Church Music and Worship commented, “We wanted to make seminary education available to a wide variety of people around the world, and make it affordable and contextual in the place where they live and worship.”
B.H. Carroll offers face-to-face learning at a nexus of teaching churches and online courses, including virtual classrooms around the world. “Our goal is to train missional leaders who for diverse reasons cannot attend a traditional campus,” he said.
The partnership between Bacone and B.H. Carroll Theological Institute is a first for both schools. “This is the first opportunity that God has brought to the table for us,” Moore explained, “and there is so much commonality between us and Bacone College. Bacone has the same missional and global perspective as we do.”
Bacone College was established in 1880 by an American Baptist missionary whose vision was to train American Indians to become teachers and preachers, said Dr. Leroy Thompson, Vice President of Christian Ministry at Bacone.
“Today our students come to Bacone, and it’s like being on a 9-month mission trip,” Thompson said. “They’re living, learning, worshipping, and witnessing here with a large variety of other cultures. It’s an incomparable experience.”
For more information regarding the Advanced Track Program at Carroll Institute, contact Dr. Adlin Cotto.