Author: Luke Palmerlee,
Seminary Administrative Coordinator
Fall break is upon us and for those of us that are on campus, the pace of life may have slowed a bit this week as we catch up on reading and writing projects in our classes. For many in the NPTS community “home” is not in Chicago; many of the students at NPTS live and work around the country. In addition to the traditional online classes that are offered each semester for distance students, there are also a number of classes offered regionally.
We have several different locations that offer classes in-person, either throughout the semester or in the intensive-hybrid format, that may make classes available in your area. Our largest group right now is in the Pacific Southwest Conference and launched this fall as a partnership between NPTS, the Pacific Southwest Conference, and the ECC denomination. We have 44 students enrolled in the IGNITE program which will start off by offering the “Core Four” primarily in the Pacific Southwest Conference or online this year. The IGNITE cohort will also take a class together at Midwinter in 2018. Which brings us to our next regional location.
During each Midwinter Conference, the seminary offers a class. Coming up this January Christian Theology will be offered during the week of Midwinter which is taking place in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. When taking a class at Midwinter you get to be involved in some limited areas of Midwinter while also taking a class…the best of both worlds! The location for Midwinter rotates so the location for these classes move around the country as Midwinter moves.
Each year we also offer a class in the Seattle area for students in the Pacific Northwest area. In recent years Kent Covenant Church in Kent, Washington has been gracious in hosting our class which takes place in the intensive-hybrid format. This fall Jim Bruckner is teaching Old Testament 1 at Kent Covenant. Through a partnership with CrossPurpose in Denver, Colorado we have a cohort of students completing the Urban Ministry Certificate together. Over the 2017-2018 academic year, this cohort will take the four courses in this certificate together with Soong-Chan Rah and Deborah Penny from NPTS partnering with CrossPurpose staff to teach these courses in Denver and online.
One of our new regional sites is at Fountain of Life Covenant Church in Madison, Wisconsin. Each semester we offer a course at Fountain of Life which usually takes place over three weekends with online work required in addition to the in-person sessions. This Semester Armida Belmonte Stephens is teaching Christian Theology in Madison, WI.
There are also two regional sites located in Illinois. For the last few years, we have offered courses at New Zion Covenant Church in Dolton, Illinois. Students in Dolton have been able to complete the Foundational Courses Certificate as well as take other electives at this site. Classes offered in Dolton typically are offered as an evening class which meets weekly throughout the semester. This Spring Christian Theology will be taught in Dolton.
Through a partnership with the Illinois Department of Corrections, we are able to offer classes at the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, IL. This unique partnership allows NPTS to teach seminary classes in the Correctional Center with both incarcerated and free students. NPTS students travel to Stateville each Monday throughout the semester to take classes with inmates. In the spring semester, Soong-Chan Rah will be teaching Mobilizing for Justice in Stateville.
To find out more about what classes are offered regionally check out the Student Resources page on the NPTS website and when looking at the semester class offerings scroll down to the “Offsite, Hybrid, Blended, and Travel Courses” section to see what classes are being offered and where they are being offered. You never know, North Park may be coming to your area in the near future.