Bethany College of Missions
Encyclopedia
Bethany College of Missions, or BCOM, is a non-accredited private evangelical
Christian
college that has been training missionaries since 1949. Bethany College of Missions offers a Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Studies, an Associate of Arts in Global Christian Ministry, and a one-year Certificate in Bible and Missions, with learning taking place on the Bloomington, Minnesota
campus and around the world through the Global Internship program.
, near the Minnesota River
. With cross-cultural missions in mind, they began BCOM with a freshman class of 10 students in 1948. In the early days Bethany continued to function as a Christian community, funding its operations with a variety of manufacturing enterprises, including wooden toys, lefse
plates, popup camper
s, a book publisher, Bethany House Publishers and a printing operation Bethany Press International. Today, Bethany College of Missions, together with a mission sending agency, Bethany International Ministries, and Bethany Press International comprise the organization Bethany International.
To Serve Jesus.
Global Internship is a field-based experiential and academic learning design. Students are placed in learning teams of 10-12 in various countries around the world where they continue to take courses taught by local ministry leaders while participating in local ministries within the country and engage in language and cultural learning. The Global Internship program is 16 months long.
Bethany College of Missions holds applicant status at the Certificate, AA, BA, and Masters level with the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education, 5575 S. Semoran Blvd. Suite 26, Orlando, Florida, 32822 Ph. (407) 207-0808 www.abhe.org. Applicant status is a pre-membership status granted to those institutions that meet the ABHE Conditions of Eligibility and that possess such qualities as may provide a basis for achieving Candidate status within four years.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
college that has been training missionaries since 1949. Bethany College of Missions offers a Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Studies, an Associate of Arts in Global Christian Ministry, and a one-year Certificate in Bible and Missions, with learning taking place on the Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
campus and around the world through the Global Internship program.
History
Bethany was originally founded by a core group of five families. Beginning in 1945 these young Christians sold their homes, pooled their resources, and started a Christian community known as Bethany Fellowship, with a focus on teaching the biblical message of salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ and the biblical mandate of taking that message to all the world. By 1946 Bethany outgrew its 30 room house in Minneapolis and moved to a 62 acres (250,905.3 m²) farm in the then-undeveloped area of south Bloomington, MinnesotaBloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
, near the Minnesota River
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
. With cross-cultural missions in mind, they began BCOM with a freshman class of 10 students in 1948. In the early days Bethany continued to function as a Christian community, funding its operations with a variety of manufacturing enterprises, including wooden toys, lefse
Lefse
Lefse is a traditional soft, Norwegian flatbread. Lefse is made out of potato, milk or cream and flour, and cooked on a griddle. Special tools are available for lefse baking, including long wooden turning sticks and special rolling pins with deep grooves.-Flavoring:There are many ways of...
plates, popup camper
Popup camper
A pop-up camper, which was at first in the 1930s and 1940s called a folding or most commonly, tent trailer, is a type of towed recreational vehicle that can be collapsed for easy storage and transport. When set up, this type of trailer provides a large amount of interior space when compared to its...
s, a book publisher, Bethany House Publishers and a printing operation Bethany Press International. Today, Bethany College of Missions, together with a mission sending agency, Bethany International Ministries, and Bethany Press International comprise the organization Bethany International.
Purpose
The purpose of Bethany College of Missions is to prepare workers for effective cross-cultural ministry.To Serve Jesus.
Programs
The unique design of BCOM's program is built on a 1-year intensive (12 months) program focused on biblical and theological studies, discipleship and introductory courses to missions and cross-cultural studies. Students finishing this year receive a Certificate in Cross-Cultural Studies and then may opt to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Cross-cultural Studies through a program called Global Internship.Global Internship is a field-based experiential and academic learning design. Students are placed in learning teams of 10-12 in various countries around the world where they continue to take courses taught by local ministry leaders while participating in local ministries within the country and engage in language and cultural learning. The Global Internship program is 16 months long.
Accreditation
While not philosophically opposed to accreditation, Bethany realizes that conforming to the traditional accreditation model could interfere with its ability to adapt the program to the learning needs of missionaries. In spite of its lack of accreditation, some colleges accept Bethany's credits for transfer and several schools accept its students for graduate level degrees.Bethany College of Missions holds applicant status at the Certificate, AA, BA, and Masters level with the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education, 5575 S. Semoran Blvd. Suite 26, Orlando, Florida, 32822 Ph. (407) 207-0808 www.abhe.org. Applicant status is a pre-membership status granted to those institutions that meet the ABHE Conditions of Eligibility and that possess such qualities as may provide a basis for achieving Candidate status within four years.