Only six Course of Study sites existed in 1970, compared with more than 20 today, according to Kohler. Since 1990, the number of students enrolled has more than doubled from 1,000 to nearly 2,500. Church members sometimes consider local pastors to be less educated or qualified than seminary-trained clergy, but Kohler says local pastors with multiple degrees are common. Nine percent have done seminary work. More local pastors would go to seminary if they were closer to the schools, Kohler notes.
Location has more to do with whether a person goes to seminary than any other single factor.
Because of this, about as many United Methodist students are attending non-United Methodist seminaries as are attending the 13 schools related to the denomination, he says. Older candidates will not uproot their families and move a great distance to study. While he affirms the role of local pastors, Kohler says his agency has developed a strategy to deal with the drop in the number of seminary graduates being ordained. The emphasis seeks to enlist younger people for ministry, nurture candidates over a long period of time so they are not lost to ministry, and address the financial issues related to the high cost of seminary education. The strategy carries with it an assumption that it is advantageous and cost effective for the church to aggressively recruit young people who can serve long careers, cutting the front-end costs of education, Kohler observes.