The Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges and Universities (AAA)
Calls for Public Comment on Guidelines for Online Ministerial Education
At its spring meeting earlier this year, the Board of the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges and Universities (AAA) received a report from the Taskforce on Online Ministerial Education and voted to put the document and their recommendations for public comments. Here is the link to the report: Proposed Guidelines-English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
The Taskforce on Online Ministerial Education was appointed by the International Board of Ministerial and Theological Education (IBMTE) to conduct surveys and give study to how online and remote ministerial learning can be used intentionally, not just reactively because the pandemic required it. One advantage of online ministerial education is to increase access, particularly for mature students with families, jobs, and life commitments who cannot easily relocate to a seminary.
Cost saving is a secondary potential benefit. Learning to use online tools in ministry is also a needed competency today. But at the heart of the conversation is something deeper: formation. Not just academic formation—but spiritual, professional, and ethical formation within the context of Seventh-day Adventist identity and mission. And that cannot be mass-produced online. It is cultivated in community, through relationships, mentoring, modeling, and discipleship. How to achieve this optimal balance of the wholistic formation of future pastors online is the challenge. Based on recommendations of the TOME taskforce, a residential or hybrid entry-level ministerial program is preferred for a young person who has just graduated from high school. Theological courses might be better suited for online delivery while courses requiring practical application should be taught in person even if at a site or teaching center closer to where a person resides.
The guidelines will be posted about two months for comment. After final review and vote by the IBMTE and the AAA in April 2026, the guidelines will be incorporated into the Handbook of Ministerial and Theological Education and the standards of the AAA Handbook. We encourage your faculty who teach in the entry-level ministerial program to carefully review the recommendations. Please send comments to Rachel Kim at [email protected] before December 6, 2025.
Thank you so much for your comments and suggestions as together we prepare future ministers for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.