Bethel awarded nearly $1 million grant to launch new theological education program
By Heather Schnese S’12, content specialist
January 16, 2026 | 9:30 a.m.
Bethel has received a nearly $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help launch a new Competency-Based Theological Education (CBTE) program—an innovative approach designed to make theological education more affordable, accessible, and relevant for today’s church leaders.
The grant is part of Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which supports theological schools in the United States and Canada as they prepare pastors and lay leaders to serve in an increasingly complex and changing ministry landscape. Bethel is one of 163 institutions awarded funding through the initiative since 2021, and this is the largest grant Bethel has received from the Lilly Endowment to date.
The new CBTE initiative will reimagine how Bethel trains ministry leaders—placing greater emphasis on real-world experience, local church partnerships, and demonstrated ministry skills. “In CBTE, students earn their degree by demonstrating mastery of established competencies—not by accumulating credit hours,” explains Peter Vogt, dean of Bethel Seminary. “In traditional education, time is a constant—the semester starts on a certain date and ends on a certain date—and learning is a variable. In CBTE, that is flipped. Learning is a constant and time is a variable.”
This improves Bethel’s current programming by creating flexible and effective learning pathways for students who may not pursue traditional seminary education due to cost, time, or other barriers. In recent years, Bethel Seminary’s biggest competitor has not been other schools, but rather “no school,” as more and more prospective students feel a seminary education is too expensive, takes too long, and is out of touch with real-life ministry.
“This grant will allow us to address each of these concerns,” says Vogt. “I believe that the future of theological education is in partnership with the local church.” That’s why Bethel has already been gathering input from local church leaders, including those from African and Hmong American congregations, in designing the new program. The approach is expected to reduce both the time and cost required to earn a degree while also increasing the impact of seminary education in congregational contexts.
The program aligns with Bethel’s historic commitment to innovation. Bethel was the first seminary accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) to offer a hybrid Master of Divinity degree, the first to launch an accredited online Doctor of Ministry program, and the first to develop an accredited Children’s, Youth, and Family Ministry program within ATS. This initiative continues that legacy—bringing greater flexibility and access to future ministry leaders.
— Peter Vogt, Bethel Seminary dean
“One of Bethel Seminary’s key distinctions has been our emphasis on transformative education that attends to biblical and theological foundations, spiritual and personal formation, and leadership,” says Vogt. “This program will allow us to continue to emphasize those things in new ways that may be even more effective.”
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