Hispanic Educational Initiative Reaches Milestone
Since 2011, a pilot group of U.S. Latino students began studies at the certificate level, majoring in Bible and theology within Lee University. The group was called, Latino Educational Engage, appealing to the desire to act with commitment to attend the training needs of the group. The initiative began with the primary purpose of providing quality academic and ministerial preparation in Spanish to the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States today—Latinos/Hispanics. The group was formed as a joint initiative in Spanish with studies at all levels and with the cooperation of the Hispanic Educational Ministries in the United States (USAMEH) under the Church of God Division of Education and Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Also, this pilot program served as a promotional strategy for educational programs at the bachelor’s degree level.
The professors at the Latino Educational Engage Center have been comprised of lay people and ministers with sufficient academic preparation and experience in various ecclesiastical and ministerial fields. In fact, alumni from the three graduated classes testify that these studies have been extremely useful when applied to various ministry areas, such as teaching and preaching. For example, one of the comments received suggests that education has begun to bear fruit since it has served to inspire some alumni to teach a Bible study for the first time in their local churches.
After graduating three pilot groups, the certificate-level initiative, in association with the university, has matured. That is why it has evolved from a certificate program to a Bachelor of Science degree, fully accredited by SACS and other accrediting agencies of the southern United States. Currently, Lee University offers various online courses in Spanish leading to a bachelor‘s degree, majoring in ministerial leadership. The faculty that is in charge of the program is the Division of Adult Learning at Lee University. This is another result of teamwork, with inclusive and global perspective, between agencies, divisions, and institutions associated with our movement—Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee. The best is yet to come.
For more information about this online Bachelor of Science degree in Spanish at Lee University, please contact the Lee University Division of Adult Learning, 1120 North Ocoee Street, PO Box 3450, Cleveland, TN 37320-3450, or consult the following Internet address: www.leeuniversity.edu/adult-learning/spanish.aspx. The program cost is very affordable, especially if the prospective student is a minister of the Church of God.
–By Enrique A. De Jesús, Director of Hispanic Education in USA and Canada.
