Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, was a popular choice for United Methodist seminary students in 2008. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.

By Vicki Brown*
Sept. 21, 2009 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)

Nearly nine in 10 elders and deacons ordained in 2008 were trained at denominationally approved seminaries.

Barely more than 5 percent of the 464 newly ordained elders and deacons went to a seminary unaffiliated with The United Methodist Church, according to a survey by the Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

“That’s better than we thought,” said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, executive with the ministry agency. “We thought half went to one of the 13 schools of theology.”

The study found that 57.3 percent of the new elders and deacons – 248 elders and 35 deacons – attended one of the 13 United Methodist seminaries. Another 31.4 percent attended a University Senate-approved school.

Thirteen newly ordained individuals, or 2.6 percent, attended a seminary or theology school that had been University Senate-approved, but is not now. A similar percentage attended a seminary that had never been University Senate-approved, said Michelle Fugate, director of research at the agency.

The University Senate reviews all United Methodist-related seminaries once every 10 years on criteria designed to ensure that those who graduate from the program will be well prepared to seek ordination in The United Methodist Church.

Asbury most popular

Fugate stressed that the study was simply a snapshot of one year. Degree data were missing for 26 elders and four deacons, or 6.1 percent. “We don’t know if the annual conference didn’t report it, or those deacons or elders didn’t list a degree,” Fugate said.

More women than men attended the 13 United Methodist seminaries. Also, 78.3 percent of the new elders and deacons who are racial minorities attended a United Methodist school.

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“It is a good sign that our United Methodist institutions are serving a diverse population,” Moman said.

Of the students who attended a United Methodist school, 49 went to Candler School of Theology, Atlanta; 42 to Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C.; and 32 to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Evanston, Ill.

Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Ky., however, a University-Senate approved school, had the most elder and deacon graduates, with 61. Most of those graduates were from the Southeastern Jurisdiction, and four times as many men as women graduated from Asbury.

The study did not try to determine why some candidates did not attend one of the 13 United Methodist schools of theology.

To read the full study, visit www.gbhem.org/research.

*Brown is associate editor and writer, Office of Interpretation, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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Resources

The University Senate

United Methodist Theological Schools

Young Adult Seminaries Network

Ministerial Education Fund

Study of Ministry