Centre for On-Demand Education

Through the support of a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. under the Pathway’s for Tomorrow initiative, Providence Theological Seminary is establishing the “Centre for On-Demand Education” (CODE). This new centre aims to deliver competency-based, contextual, and mentored pastoral education. The initiative is designed to strengthen church leaders through a close partnership with the church and the seminary, ultimately contributing to the good of the kingdom.

Karen Anderson, the director of CODE at the Seminary, recently shared insights about the project.

Briefly describe the project.

During our Phase one Lilly grant, Providence recognized the need to approach outreach to churches differently, particularly Indigenous churches, i.e., we needed a re-shift. This realization coincided with the arrival of Kent Anderson as president. Leveraging his extensive experience in competency-based education, we shifted our direction. This led to the development of the Transformative Leadership Program, which currently has 20 students enrolled.

This experience in designing competency-based theological education sparked interest in other organizations, such as ToolKit Media. They’ve adapted our format and designed other opportunities for students to engage in competency-based education, with mentors who guide them in real-world contexts.

To support this, we established the Centre for On-Demand Education (CODE) as a dedicated space to house Providence’s competency-based education programs. This is where our contextual education initiative will live and grow.

Our goal, especially for the seminary, is to offer accessible, affordable, and applicable education specifically for the pastoral development of churches. By involving churches in the process, they can help address the development of the pastors. The curriculum can be adaptable and applicable to their context. It is affordable with our subscription pricing, and students can work at their own pace, dedicating more time to areas where they need growth, and progressing in areas where they have already competency. The pricing matches their pace, making it more affordable.

What have you learned so far?

One key takeaway is that helping people grasp competency-based education and how it can be adapted to their specific context requires extensive conversation. It’s been a slower process than we initially anticipated because of the longer process. While people are interested, it takes time for them to continue the conversation and say: “It can work for us.”

From childhood, we’re conditioned to accept how education is delivered: you attend class, listen to your teacher, and complete tests and papers. Success is determined by whether you fail or succeed in that learning environment. However, learning content can be done in many ways. While the classroom is one way, it’s not the only approach, nor is it always the most effective. Tests, papers, and occasional projects don’t always capture a student’s true learning and often fall short in assessing skills and character, mostly measuring knowledge.

We’re so steeped in this conventional framework that it’s hard for people to envision how competency-based education could work. In this model, placing a person in the context they’ll be working in – like a church – turns the church into the classroom. There are opportunities for the mentor to interact with the student and the church community can interact with and assess the student informally.

Through a study funded by our Phase One grant, we discovered people don’t trust seminaries to prepare students to effectively work in their churches. Students come with academic knowledge, but they don’t know how to engage. There’s a clear disconnect here, and churches don’t view seminaries favorably because of it. Giving the churches more involvement is the shift that is needed. However, getting people to see this approach can work takes time, given how deeply rooted traditional models of education are.

What has surprised you along the way?

I anticipated some delays, but the pace has been slower than I anticipated. However, a pleasant surprise has been the ripple effect for organizations that have embraced it. For instance, we have members of Teen Challenge’s leadership pursuing our Transforming Leadership degree, because they needed some accredited education for their credentials.

These are students who can’t take time out of their work to attend school, and fitting seminary classes around their schedule doesn’t fit their needs. They were excited by this flexible program and integrated some Teen Challenge ethos into their coursework. This is part of the customization we offer – embedding the Teen Challenge ethos in the program so they can immediately use it in their context.

Seeing the different ideas people bring has been a nice surprise. For those who truly grasp the idea, it’s very exciting both for them and us. The possibilities seem endless.

What have been a few of your successes?

The Teen Challenge example is a success, and we’re very excited about it. We’ve also partnered with several Indigenous leaders to create certificates that can be completed within their home communities. These programs involve identity, reconciliation and other elements. While conversations have progressed slowly, they are leading to exciting places.

Additionally, a few larger churches have expressed interest in pastoral training and leadership development for their staff, including some who are further away from us, like in Tennessee and North Dakota.

It's been surprising to see where this model has gained traction.

One of the main things from our Phase One grant study is that Indigenous people want to see more Indigenous faces within our institution. As a result, part of the the Lilly grant has been used to hire Indigenous faculty. Karen Jolly, a new faculty for the seminary, college and certificate programs, also serves as an Indigenous advisor to Providence. She’s already contributing by hosting a truth and reconciliation week on campus and connecting with local Indigenous communities. It’s been great that we’ve been able to use the grant to respond to that, and that Karen was willing to lead these efforts.

What aspects of the project are you hopeful about?

I’m hopeful that these ongoing conversations we’re having will resonate and eventually lead to a turning point. Once the idea catches on, I believe we’ll see growth in both the student body and the impact on churches, as they begin developing strong leaders from within their own communities.

What are you learning that could help other schools?

One key lesson is the value of patience. It’s important to stay in the conversation, to persevere, and to trust that it will take a journey.

But also, the positive outcomes we’ve already observed highlight the difference it’s making to the importance of contextual education. This approach can thrive within the framework we’ve developed and can also be integrated into traditional classroom settings. By designing courses that focus on competency-based learning, we can better nurture students to reach their goals, ensuring that the learning outcomes outlined in the syllabus hold real significance.

We’re extremely thankful to Lilly Endowment for the generous grant, which is enabling us to grow in these areas.