The Global Methodist (GM) Church has approved Mid-America Christian University as a recommended educational institution, the GM Church announced this week.
This distinction means that the GM Church officially endorses MACU as an institution at which persons who reside outside of the United States or western Europe can complete courses to satisfy the educational requirement for ordination as a deacon or elder in the GM Church. The decision to place MACU on the recommended educational institution list was made by the GM Church’s Transitional Leadership Council last month and formally announced this week.
As an endorsed agency of the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.), MACU upholds Christian belief in the same Wesleyan theological stream as the GM Church.
“As an institution of Christian higher education deeply rooted in the Wesleyan holiness reform movement of the Church of God, we are pleased to extend the hand of fellowship to the new Global Methodist Church,” said MACU President Rev. Phil Greenwald. “Through this exciting new partnership, we continue our historic commitment of training leaders for ministry in the church and in the marketplace. We welcome GMC students to join us on campus or online to study ministry, business, education, counseling and more.”
Greenwald said that GMC students will find that MACU aligns theologically with their values on the authority of Scripture, the Lordship of Christ and a commitment to personal evangelism and discipleship.
MACU School of Ministry Chair Dr. Justin Key said that MACU has a devoted history and heritage of training students for full-time vocational ministry in the Church of God, the larger Wesleyan tradition and beyond.
“For 70 years, MACU has trained students for Christian leadership and developed programs to prepare students to enter ministry in the Church of God and the broader, historic Wesleyan tradition,” Key said. “We are well-positioned to meet the needs of students worldwide whether on-ground, online or virtually. We are excited to partner with the Global Methodist Church and continue preparing students to advance the mission of God’s kingdom.”
Formed in 1953 for the purpose of training leaders for ministry, MACU has emerged as a leader in offering on-campus and online classes in a variety of degree options, each taught from a Wesleyan perspective.
In 2016, MACU established the School of Wesleyan Studies (SoWS). Led by Dr. Cliff Sanders, Director of the Wesley Center at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City, the SoWS provides material, training and resources for the application of Wesleyan theology to the practice of ministry in the local church. Sanders, a foremost expert in Wesleyan theology, has authored two books on the subject.
“MACU’s tradition being Wesleyan emphasizes that we must know the truth, value the truth and do the truth. We want others to not only know the truth about Wesleyan theology, but we want their hearts to be moved and it to matter to them and to certainly practice these truths in their daily living,” Sanders said.
MACU is the first educational institution recommended by the GM Church for persons pursuing ordination and residing outside of the U.S. and western Europe.
To learn more about the School of Wesleyan Studies, visit www.wesleyanstudies.org.