# Looking for College



## Christopher88 (Sep 28, 2009)

I am currently attending a community college but am seeking to transfer out to a bible college but need some help. 
This is what I'm looking for in a bible college
My credits will transfer from a NC school 
Reformed in Teaching
Rural in the area (I hate city's with a living passion) 
No dress codes or crazy rules outside of true biblical standards. 
A college in the south 

I've looked at Montreat College which was and may still be Presbertian
I've look at Covenant college (Don't know much about them but something tells me they are a bit uptight) 
I know Regent U is a good Christian school but with Pat Roberson being for the school, it draws a red flag. 

Help would be nice, thanks.


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## Hamalas (Sep 28, 2009)

Do you mean "Bible College" or "Christian Liberal Arts College"?


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## Christopher88 (Sep 28, 2009)

I'm trying to earn a BA in bible or missions. 
I guess a Liberal Arts school would be better for accreditation as long as they offer biblical degrees.


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## Hamalas (Oct 1, 2009)

Both of my parents went to Montreat in the mid-80s. It has many good qualities, (i.e. gorgeous campus and environment, some good local churches, and small class sizes) however, from what I understand the college would not be a great place for biblical/theological training. They are Presbyterian, but they are PCUSA, and are a bit more on the liberal side. (Although for their denomination they are a conservative college!) 

I've visited Covenant many times and have enjoyed it. Again it has it's strong points. (A beautiful campus, a whole heap of awesome churches, some amazing christian and reformed professors, and a good theology program) My only caution there would be just to take the time to visit. From the outside it looked like a perfect fit for me, but after visiting the campus (about six times actually...) I found that the students, and especially the guys, and I just didn't fit as well. It's purely a matter of personality and taste and I have many friends, and relatives, who have gone there and loved it. I would definitely recommend checking it out. 

However, also realize that there are many other good schools out there! Here are a couple of (Reformed) christian schools that you may want to check out.
1. Geneva College
2. New College Franklin (This is a brand new school that was just started this year. It is hosted by Parish Presbyterian Church PCA and looks like it will be a great school! If you are familiar with the Classical Christian school movement then this may be a particularly good thing to look into. It's in the South, Franklin TN, and is explicitly reformed in its teaching. I also think that they charge tuition closer to what a public school would charge, but I could be wrong there.)
3. Bryan College
4. Patrick Henry College (Sorry, I couldn't resist a shameless plug for my own school!)

I just got done with all the college search stuff so if you need any more info or advice feel free to ask.


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## Edward (Oct 1, 2009)

If you are willing to expand your horizons by a few miles, you might look at Grove City College, Pennsylvania - Top-ranked affordable Christian College . It meets your criteria of being in the middle of nowhere.


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## Dearly Bought (Oct 1, 2009)

Why do you want a BA in Bible or Missions?


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## Christopher88 (Oct 2, 2009)

Dearly Bought said:


> Why do you want a BA in Bible or Missions?



I want a BA because my calling is into ministry. I want to be able to preach the gospel with knowledge outside of what I can learn by my self. Not to sound like money matters, but a degree would help me get on payroll with a Christian ministry. Just enough money to get by. 

I know right now I can become a career missionary but one I do not have the knowledge to plant churches in the mission field or preach. I feel the calling to preach I know I have the gift, I'm also taking the steps of sowing what I reap. 

I have heard of Bryan College but what denomination are they? Are they biblical. I love the scene of Montreat, I have heard good things about Montreat, I like how they are not ridged like Southern Baptist. 

Before I became Reformed I grew up inside of the SBC and even went to a bible college under them. Needless to say I hate prudes in Christianty and from looking at Covenant, judging a book by the cover, it looks like a Prude school. 

My belifes are reformed, but my life style is very laid back. I'll grow a full beard, be a little on the crazy side (not sinning), I'm an outdoors men if that gives you any idea of my life style. 

So when looking into colleges I try and make sure they are not prudes who hold to silly laws not found in the the Ten commandments.


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## Joseph Scibbe (Oct 2, 2009)

Cedarville is one of the best colleges there is out there...hands down. Christian, Reformed, and pretty rural....plus you can have a beard.

http://cedarville.edu


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## MMasztal (Oct 2, 2009)

If you're looking in the south, consider Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, TN which is a PCA college (they are not too uptight) or Erskine College in Due West, SC which is a ARP college. Avoid Pensacola College in FL as wellas Bob Jones Univ


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## riceman (Oct 2, 2009)

Unashamed 116 said:


> ....plus you can have a beard.



word.


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## MMasztal (Oct 2, 2009)

Unashamed 116 said:


> Cedarville is one of the best colleges there is out there...hands down. Christian, Reformed, and pretty rural....plus you can have a beard.
> 
> Cedarville University - Home



Cedarville has been having some problems as of late and may be heading in an Emergent direction which is sad as this school has had a solid reputation.

The Cedarville Situation

Cedarville's Tenure Tremor | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction


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## jwithnell (Oct 2, 2009)

Chris, I see you're in the PCA, have you talked about this with your pastor or an elder? They should be able to give you a clear picture of what kind of education will be expected of you given your sense of calling. Reformed denominations have a pretty high standard of scholarship, particularly because of the need to be able to work with the scriptures in their original languages.

As a lay-person, I appreciate hearing preachers that have a broad education and work experience. (I can't count how many sermon illustrations I've heard based on jobs held prior to, or during seminary.) That said, my current pastor has often made mention of the education he received at a Bible college (before coming to a reformed position and going to seminary).


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## Dearly Bought (Oct 2, 2009)

Sonny said:


> Dearly Bought said:
> 
> 
> > Why do you want a BA in Bible or Missions?
> ...



I don't mean to distract too much from the OP's question, but I'd recommend seriously thinking about a BA in something that will equip you with valuable job skills useful for tent making. If I had my BA to do over again, I would not have majored in Religion. Alternatively, at least get a BA with a broad emphasis of study. Pick up as much in terms of languages as you can (esp. Hebrew and Greek). Get a good background in history and philosophy. _Then_ go on to a good seminary and get a M.Div.


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## he beholds (Oct 2, 2009)

Unashamed 116 said:


> Cedarville is one of the best colleges there is out there...hands down. Christian, Reformed, and pretty rural....plus you can have a beard.
> 
> Cedarville University - Home



Cedarville is Reformed?? 

I went to Geneva, loved it--not rural, though. 

Grove City is rural, beautiful, and has a lot of Reformed influence there. Plus good churches nearby. Plus more affordable than many other Christian schools.

Covenant locale is GORGEOUS. It is PCA. Lots of PCA churches around. But I don't know anything personally about it. 

Bryan is also on a beautiful setting. I don't know what its affiliations are, but I know one prof there, in the geology department, who is Reformed and one piano teacher (one of my best friends) who is Reformed. It is small and seems like a great school. 

I don't really know the other schools.


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## CharlieJ (Oct 2, 2009)

I concur with some of the previous posts. I did my BA in Bible, but most of my colleagues and I have said that if we could go back, we would have done things differently. Most Reformed churches and missions agencies will prefer a candidate with seminary training, usually a M. Div. So the question is, what do you do before seminary?

There are two answers that are better than a "Bible" degree. First, you can pursue something that will give you financial options - business, computer, nursing, whatever. You may end up needing that more than you think. Second, you can major in something that will make you a more educated person. Undergrad is the perfect time to build your mind and hone your mental capacities. Your goals should be to become acquainted with a broad spectrum of thought and culture, adept in critical thinking and logical analysis, and experienced in communicating your thoughts to others. My favorites majors in rough order are Classics, Philosophy (analytic), Humanities, and History, though I'm sure you could make a good case for others as well.


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## Philip (Oct 2, 2009)

As a student at Covenant, I can attest to the merits of that school.

1) We have an excellent Bible department. There was some debate over this in the last two months, but it eventually became clear that the fellow who criticized it believes presuppositionalism to be a form of relativism.
2) As stated before, there are a lot of solid reformed churches of all stripes. I am attending a small traditional PCA church right across the road from the college.
3) The gorgeous views.
4) A good community. If you're too uptight, you may not appreciate the level of community here. Suffice it to say that you will be pushed out of your comfort zone a bit, but often that's good.
5) The college does not have an official dress code, though there are guidelines about modesty and such.
6) The college makes it clear that though alcohol and tobacco are forbidden, it is for safety reasons and for the respect of others' consciences, not because these things are inherently evil.
7) We're outside the city of Chattanooga, but not too far, so if you don't want to be in the city, you don't have to be.
8) I had grits at breakfast and sweet tea at lunch so yes, we're in the South.


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## Joseph Scibbe (Oct 2, 2009)

MMasztal said:


> Unashamed 116 said:
> 
> 
> > Cedarville is one of the best colleges there is out there...hands down. Christian, Reformed, and pretty rural....plus you can have a beard.
> ...




Dr Brown addresses that here: The Heart of the Matter - Academic Vice President - Cedarville University

From what I read those rumors are not true but I am going to investigate further.


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## Hamalas (Oct 2, 2009)

It sounds like Covenant may be a good fit for you. They are pretty laid back and it's a great place for an outdoors type of guy to be. Plus you would get a great education there. I would strongly recommend setting up a visit and looking into it. Blessings brother!


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