Old Wineskins

“The writing is on the wall: we need new wineskins. New models of training, not just new content.”

By Spencer MacCuish, President of Eternity Bible College 

Disruption is coming to higher education. Driven by factors like the rising cost of tuition and increasing skepticism about how well college actually prepares students for the “real world,” recent studies suggest that the next generation of students will be looking for educational opportunities outside of the traditional college model.  

It remains to be seen how traditional colleges and universities will respond to this shift, but the writing is on the wall: we need new wineskins. New models of training, not just new content. Otherwise we’ll just be putting new wine into old skins.

This might sound strange coming from the President of a college, but going forward the primary center of learning must shift away from schools to new contexts where students are able to immediately apply what they’re learning. From re-imagined educational programs in the workplace, to specialized apprenticeships that take place within local organizations (churches, non-profits), the future of higher education will mix hands-on work experience with intentional learning content.  

Thankfully, as I’ve stated elsewhere, Eternity Bible College has never had much interest in the Status Quo, so these trends are actually exciting for us. In fact, we’ve integrated hands-on experience and mentorship into our degree programs from the beginning. That said, I’m excited to share some of the new ways we’re breaking the norm.

Over the last few years, we’ve partnered with organizations to develop customized training programs that meet their unique goals and needs. In some cases, these training programs result in a degree for participants, for others we simply develop training materials to equip team members to thrive in their various roles. In each case, we were able to create a robust hands-on learning experience that supplements the expertise offered by these organizations with intentional Bible training from Eternity.   

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about some of these programs. It’s my hope that you’ll be encouraged by these stories, and that God might lead you to participate with us in some way. 

Global Impact of Eternity

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