If a prospective missionary asked you for your recommendation of the best undergrad missions college in the world, where would it be? Where would you send your daughter (if you had one) if she asked to recommend a missions-type college for her four-year degree? Please click “Comment” following the web version of this item. Thanks so much!
There are several that I would recommend for a Christian College/University. However the question was for missions college therefore that narrows it down to Columbia International University in Columbia, SC.
Without a doubt it would be my alma mater Columbia International University in Columbia, SC
It prepared me for a life time of service, has a heart for the Bible and the world.
Moody Bible Institute and Biola University
Conerstone Center for intercultural Studies in the Netherlands by WEC international. 2 years of training, living together with people from all over the world, being tought by Missionaries with expirience. Shapes very much!
A public state school to study business, anthropology, area studies (mid east, asia, etc) or the like. Getting a great education at a public school is hard to beat. Christian schools just dont equip people with the same skillset. Send them to some trainins on missions afterwards if you need, but I would rather get a business undergrad than a bible undergrad on my team. We all know the bible or can learn it but need to learn practical skills in school.
Moody Bible Institute, because of the rock solid biblical training, ministry experience in Chicago, and tuition paid education!
From my perspective I would highly recommend Columbia International University (CIU) in Columbia, SC for great academic and practical preparation for missions.
Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) without a doubt.
best undergraduate and graduate school for missions: Columbia International University (Columbia SC)
Nyack College because of its legacy, as well as its proximity to New York City and all of the ethnic diversity there.
Toccoa Falls College because of the excellent faculty and staff.
You can search through evangelical missionary training programs at http://www.etdi.org by selecting “Missionary Training Search”.
Toccoa Falls College has the best undergrad missions program I know of.
The School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway.
Definitely Toccoa Falls College! My education there has equipped me so well!!
If the question were, “What is the best type of institution to prepare for serving as a missionary?”, I’d agree with John above. (“A public state school to study business, anthropology, area studies (mid east, asia, etc) or the like. Getting a great education at a public school is hard to beat.”) However, my answer to the question, as posed, is Columbia International University (CIU). Other noteworthy schools include Moody, Biola and LeTourneau.
In my opinion, upgrad programs should be evaluated on the basis of the quality of the grad programs which support it. Since Biola University has one of the largest doctorate programs for Intercultural studies in the nation, I’d have to vote for my alma mater.
So much depends on what you want to do as a missionary. I have observed several mission themes in education… one may prepare you to administrate a missions program using national evangelists, and the other prepares you to be the evangelist. Other programs give you general training about missions. If you are going to be the evangelist, meeting and dealing with people, I would suggest one of the Missionary Training Colleges or Centres that offer hands-on training. For example, Cornerstone in Europe has already been mentioned. If you want to go on to get a Masters and Phd and teach about missions, then Columbia, Biola, and others are excellent. If you will be administering a BAM project, then other education may be more helpful. Its kinda like saying: I want to go into Medicine, what is the best school?” It all depends what area you are going in to. Perhaps you should go into missions now and get fully involved, and study specifics later, once you have a good idea what God is leading you into. In the end, it comes down to seeking the face of God, and discovering how he leads you. Personally I have discovered that God was more interested in my learning to seek him, than in where I might study, or what I might do.