Bethel Seminary
San Diego Focus and Distinctive Characteristics
Southern California is a unique place. It has a wonderful climate and geography as well as many enviable recreational opportunities. It is a region characterized by energetic innovation; it frequently gives birth to national trends that preview the future of the country and the world. The ethnic diversity of the immediate environment of Bethel Seminary San Diego is remarkable. A recent report of the San Diego Association of Governments’ (SANDAG) executive committee forecasts that the region’s population will reach 3.83 million people in the year 2020. Ethnic groups (Hispanics, Asians, African Americans, and many others) have and will continue to come, while the population of European descent seems to be leveling off. There is great diversity in the city. Hispanic peoples, for example, come from more than a dozen separate countries, and the magnitude and vigor of their community are unmatched anywhere in the United States. The South and Southeast Asian influence can be felt in nearly every neighborhood as San Diego is also an increasingly strategic entrepôt and partner with Asian countries on the dynamic Pacific Rim.
The greater San Diego metropolitan area is an ideal setting for creative and effective Christian living and learning. A stimulating ethnic diversity characterizes the larger community and the student body. The leadership of Bethel Seminary San Diego is committed to the development of biblical and theological education that is emancipatory, transformative, and contextualized for all peoples.
Contextualization is the process of communicating the meaning of the Word of God in terms that are maximally relevant for each of the cultures of today’s world. It answers this question: How do we transfer what was said by “holy people of old” who lived in ancient cultural contexts, through our own cultural understandings as modern students, into the languages and worldviews of peoples who live in still different contexts? We ask this question in our classes while at the same time remaining committed to the position that biblical truth is absolute and must not be compromised. Animated by the Spirit of God, we are energized to obey our Lord Jesus Christ’s command to communicate His gospel to all peoples everywhere.
Each student at Bethel Seminary San Diego, therefore, is embraced as a unique gift from God. Every member of the community of scholars is appreciated for the context from which they have come and in which they thrive. Insofar as is possible, we attempt to make the student’s learning relevant to her or his life situation and calling. Each learner’s family and community background, language of preference, traditions of worship, and vision of life are taken seriously as arenas for theological contextualization.
Theological teaching and learning at Bethel Seminary San Diego are designed to reach the highest standards of biblical scholarship, personal devotion, and community relevance. The process of interpreting Holy Scripture is informed by the most proven methods of research. The meanings of the Word of God are derived and applied using context-sensitive, grammatico-historical exegesis and contemporary theological methodology. Time-honored strategies for understanding the Bible are combined with field-proven, social scientific models to conceptualize the gospel message in the cultures and maximize its impact in the lives of those who seek God’s truth in contemporary societies.
Training for evangelism and mission at Bethel Seminary San Diego emphasizes the indigenization of methods for outreach and the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Language and culture learning are valued and emphasized as appropriate for cross-cultural ministries. Church-planting techniques and the dynamics of church leadership and management are communicated in ways that respect the ethos and worldviews of the peoples we serve.
At Bethel Seminary San Diego, the training of pastoral counselors
and professional therapists is based on the holistic truths of
the evangelical
Christian faith. As Christ heals the whole person, our students
receive professional counseling preparation that integrates the
spiritual, psychological, biological, and social domains of human
experience. Focusing on marriage and family relationships equips
our students to bring the grace of God to despairing people within
the contexts of their internal confusion and relational disarray.
Bethel Seminary San Diego is dedicated to providing outstanding
theological education in an environment that embraces human diversity
and
celebrates godly wholeness. Biblical studies, theological learning,
ministry preparation, and personal discipleship are all embraced
by a commitment to strategic contextualization for life in every
society. A graduate of Bethel is prepared to understand the many
historical traditions of applied and situative faith and to incarnate
the gospel of Christ in any environment to which God may call him
or her.
The Bethel Seminary Catalog is provided online as a convenience for those who desire course information in electronic form. The printed version of the Bethel Seminary catalog is the official version, and it will be treated as the document of record in all seminary business.