Our school is called Bethany College of Missions (BCOM) and is a division of Bethany International. Bethany International is made up of our school, Bethany International Ministries, GO100 and Bethany Press International. All of these divisions are located on our campus in Bloomington, Minnesota, just south of the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Bethany International is part of the EFMA (the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies), and is under the financial accountability of ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability). BCOM is also a member of the Globeserve Training Network.
Our school was founded by a group of five families living in Minneapolis, who were preparing for missionary service. They were meeting regularly for prayer and the study of God’s word. Gradually people began joining with their group, seeking a deeper walk with God and training for missionary service. It became apparent over time that God was leading these families to start a training institution for aspiring young missionaries. They pooled their resources and purchased the property in southwest Bloomington, which is currently home to Bethany International. At that time the land was being used as a pumpkin farm!
The school was supported over the years by various businesses started by the staff of the college, and sustained through the efforts of the staff and students working together to manufacture products in the afternoons. Some of the business run by Bethany over the years have included toy making, the manufacturing of lefse griddles, Bethany pop-up camper trailers, real estate acquisition, Bethany bookstores (in locations all over the world), and Bethany House Publishers (sold to Baker Book House in Michigan several years ago).
All of our students initially earn a 1-year Certificate in Cross-cultural Studies. This year of training is designed to prepare students for life as a global Christian and includes course work in Bible, theology, personal spiritual development, missions theory, and missions practice. Students in the certificate program spend part of each day in chapel and classes, part of the day in a department on campus (such as foodservice, the print shop, or a maintenance crew), and 4 – 6 hours per week in an outreach practicum, focusing on spending personal time in the Bethany House of Prayer, with regular team outreach into the community.
Students are required to live on campus, and are part of a small cell group made of up students on their floor, a resident mentor, and an advisor (who may be a college faculty or staff member or another Bethany associate). These small groups take care of their floor, meet regularly for prayer and fellowship, and gather for teaching and encouragement on a weekly basis.
All students participate regular in House of Prayer activities on campus and are encouraged to grow in their intimacy with the Lord through prayer, worship, and intercession. Elements of personal spiritual growth are woven throughout every aspect of the program.
Students who complete the 1-year Certificate in Cross-cultural Studies are eligible to continue as Bachelor of Arts Degree student. BCOM offers a non-accredited Bachelor of Arts Degree in Cross-Cultural Studies. Students in the B.A. program spend approximately 16 months in a Global Internship in one of several overseas locations. They are supervised by BIM missionaries and experience the same basic training elements as they did in the Certificate program, but in the context of life as a real associate missionary. A heavy emphasis is placed on gaining practical ministry and cross-cultural skills during the internship time.
Students completing the internship return to the Minnesota campus for a final term of debriefing and career counseling as they prepare to become full-time missionaries.
In order for married couples to be effective in missionary outreach, we believe that both spouses need to be equipped together for cross-cultural ministry. Therefore, in most situations we require both husband and wife to apply to and enroll in our program. (see our “Information for Couples and Families” for more information for married students and families).
However, if the couple has children, we allow one spouse to enroll in a Certificate of Achievement Program, in which they take a much-reduced schedule for credit and participate in a number of non-academic training opportunities. This student receives a Certificate of Achievement for the number of credit hours earned at the end of their time at BCOM.
Note: All full-time students participate in daily practical training, which takes place in a department on campus. Students are placed in nearly every department of Bethany International to learn work skills, how to function on a team, biblical conflict resolution, cross-cultural communication skills with teammates etc. Students are assessed on their practical training performance, in conjunction with an academic, outreach practicum, and social assessment at the end of each semester. Some practical training assignments may involve physical labor, such as cleaning, lawn work, snow removal, and foodservice.
Accreditation is a term used to describe a relationship that a college has with an outside board. The "accreditation board" has a set of criteria they use as standards and hold the colleges that are accredited with them to these standards as a form of accountability.
Because we have a very unique and unconventional program with many hands-on elements, we do not fit with all of the criteria that typical accrediting boards require. Therefore, we’ve chosen to remain non-accredited rather than dramatically changing our program.
Fortunately, we enjoy many benefits of accreditation without the restrictions of being under a board. We have a number of first-rate schools that accept our transfer credits and take our students into their masters programs (a full listing is available on our “Institutions That Have Accepted BCOM Credits” document). We also have an excellent reputation among sending organizations and our alumni have gone out under many different groups.
If a student is planning to eventually go into a field of study outside of missions or some form of ministry, it should be taken into consideration that our credits will not transfer to secular schools or into unrelated programs. Students that are focused on ministry and particularly cross-cultural missions will find their training at BCOM to be an excellent foundation for any such work.
Upon completion of their programs, our graduates have varying degrees of expertise in communicating Christ in cross-cultural settings, with a foundation of Bible and theological training. If they have been through the BA program, they have had an opportunity to specialize in “vocational” ministries, such as relief and development, teaching English as a second language, orphanage and children’s outreach etc. All students have also had basic to advanced training and experience in evangelism and discipleship, preaching and teaching, church planting and growth, and team-building.
Our graduates are working in organizations all around the world doing full-time career missions, part-time or short-term missions, tent-making, urban ministries, church work here in the States, para-church ministry, music ministry, and intercession ministry. Depending on the choices they made while training at BCOM, they are equipped to fit in to various ministries doing a wide variety of outreach.
