For as long as seminaries and other graduate theological institutions have existed, their role has been to serve the church. "Our mission is to serve the whole church," says Mark Washington, director of seminary admission at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. He speaks for many seminaries.

Until recently, the concept of how seminaries and theological graduate schools went about fulfilling this mission was somewhat narrowly focused. A major purpose of graduate theological institutions has been to provide a firm theological foundation for the church to carry out its mission. The average person in the pew might not recognize a connection between the work of the church and complex theological doctrines such as the Atonement and the Trinity, but seminaries have long understood that in the absence of firm theological foundations, the church as a whole would eventually lose its moorings.

But the most important function of theological seminaries has been to prepare and equip pastors to serve as leaders in the local church. By and large, seminary graduates who entered the pastorate were not expected to be first-rate scholars, but they were expected to know enough theology to recognize and prevent unhealthy or heretical ideas from making their way into the mainstream. At seminary, they were able to learn enough Hebrew and Greek to provide substance and some degree of depth to their preaching and teaching. In addition, seminaries have traditionally trained pastors in a variety of practical areas ranging from how to prepare sermons, how to perform weddings and funerals, or how to baptize.

Recent decades, however, have led toward an increase in lay participation, and those lay leaders also need biblical training. "As the church's ministry philosophy has evolved from a clergy-driven model to an 'every member ministry' paradigm, the perceived need for ministry training for the laity has also increased," says Steve Thomas, director of enrollment at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. "While this initially seemed to focus more on methodology-topics such as how to share your faith and how to be a people helper, lately a growing recognition of the need for advanced training in theological content can also be discerned."

To meet this need, churches are turning to seminaries. "For some seminaries, the mission has expanded to include not just the training of vocational ministers, but also the training of those key lay leaders and other laity whose involvement and support are essential for overall congregational health and fruitfulness," says Thomas. "The emergence of a larger population of retired seniors has created a unique opportunity for seminaries to invest in the lives of those over fifty."

"We have seen an increased demand by laypeople in the Phoenix metropolitan area," says Mark Upton, executive vice president of Phoenix Theological Seminary, in Arizona. "Many of our largest churches have started some form of a structured biblical studies program to better equip the layperson." Phoenix Seminary has entered into partnership with several of these churches to provide faculty to assist with specialized training in areas such as Old and New Testament studies.

"Our faculty have been involved with specific churches in providing training of their church elders and leadership, as well as training for the laypeople in creative and effective Bible teaching," says Upton. "Our vision is to train the spiritual leadership of Arizona, and that includes professional pastoral ministry and laypeople serving in the marketplace."

The trend for mega-churches to employ individuals from within their congregations has produced a greater demand among laypeople to be equipped for ministry, according to John Harvey, professor of New Testament and Greek at Columbia Biblical Seminary and School of Missions, in South Carolina.

Students are asking for more than theology from their seminaries. Not only are more people expecting to get theological education on demand, but they are expecting a spiritual formation component to be included. "Spiritual formation training is exceptionally hard to deliver 'on demand,'" says Samuel T. Logan, president of Westminster Theological Seminary. "Further, it is extremely time-intensive and expensive to provide, or, at least, to provide well."

Lay people attend seminary for many reasons. "We've had students with lay church leadership backgrounds who want to gain additional knowledge and skills for those roles," says John Standridge, director of admission at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts.

"Some are exploring possible calls to full-time ministry. Other students, particularly those pursuing a Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) degree, have every intention of remaining in their chosen professions but want to increase their theological and biblical understanding in order to bring an informed faith to all areas of their lives. We have even developed an MAR focused on leadership and business ethics, which is designed to equip workplace Christians to live out their faith through their job descriptions. It is also designed to help pastors and other religious professionals transform churches into training grounds for daily life."

The main reasons more laypeople are attending seminary are "personal spiritual formation, enhanced knowledge of Scripture, and improved ministry skills," says Columbia's Harvey. He notes that these interests coincide well with Columbia's "educational triad of Bible knowledge, spiritual formation, and ministry skills development."

"Because of the age we live in and because of events like 9-11 and the Iraq War, there is heightened interest in a biblical perspective on a wide range of issues," says Phoenix's Upton. "People want to go deeper into God's Word, not only to understand it but to be trained in how to apply it."

"The main reason laypeople are participating in Western's training opportunities is growth in their knowledge of Bible and theology," says Western Seminary's Thomas. "The secondary reason is development of ministry skills. The laypeople we see are generally the ones whose positions within the church, from Bible study leaders to elders, require a better understanding of God's Word and how to rightly handle it. With the increased focus upon utilizing all members of the body of Christ, those who find themselves gifted for teaching are seeking to develop their own biblical knowledge in order to more successfully teach those who God brings into their ministry circles."

"Among students seeking lay education through the Ockenga Institute [Gordon-Conwell Seminary's continuing education division], a relatively small but important number are interested in a sustained program of study," says Director David Horn. "They are serious students who want to know God's Word in-depth."

"Two central tenets shape our current vision for lay education," says Horn. "First is our commitment is to make the content we offer laity as challenging as that which we offer to degree students. A variety of lay-focused curricula cast on multiple levels are on the market today. We feel that our contribution as a seminary is to offer challenging courses in areas that we are best suited to provide. Second, our focus is on high biblical and theological content over and against high-application curricula."

Most of the students in Westminster's urban mission, biblical counseling, and Christian education programs are professionals-doctors, social workers, counselors, teachers, or school administrators-people who are "competent professionals already engaged in their respective fields," says Daniel A Cason, director of admissions at the school. "They come to Westminster seeking biblical, theological, and historical training to inform the professional skills they already have."

Sometimes laypeople feel called to a seminary education even though they don't know how they will use it. Such was the case for Pat Testerman, who graduated in 2004 from North Park Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry degree. An Air Force officer who has trained NATO fighter pilots, Testerman completed the bulk of his coursework through North Park's online distance education program, SemConnect, though he did take some intensive courses on campus. "I don't know how I'm going to use my degree, but we're considering missions in some non-traditional ways. There's a huge vacuum in lay leadership, especially in rapidly growing churches, and I could see myself training and energizing lay leadership." Also, "flying-related mission work is a dream job to me and God might still call me there."

Most pastors welcome the addition of qualified laypeople to the ministry ranks, given the reality of clergy burnout. More than in previous generations, pastors are finding it harder to meet the demands of professional ministry. In many communities, people don't come to church like they used to. Soccer leagues compete against Sunday morning services. People are looking for new models and styles of worship, sometimes leading to tension with traditionalists who want to keep things they way they were. Sometimes the pastor gets caught in between.

In short, the pastor's job description is not what it used to be a generation ago. Meanwhile many clergy, especially in smaller churches, still function based on the model that the pastor's job is to do everything. But now, "everything" is far more than it used to be.

In such a climate for ministry, the pastor has no better friend than the layperson who takes it upon himself to become a specialist in some area of ministry traditionally considered to be the pastor's job. Perhaps there is a layperson who has sufficient enough theological training to lead in-depth Bible studies or spiritual formation retreats. Another might head up an evangelistic outreach program. Another might be equipped to do some basic personal or marital counseling. In this age of specialization, one pastor, no matter how talented or ambitious, cannot do it all. Pastors who are forced to do everything inevitably end up having to take on responsibilities and tasks that lie outside their areas of giftedness. Fortunately for the sake of such pastors, and for the sake of the church, seminaries are coming to the rescue by providing opportunities for people who may have no desire to become shepherds of any flock, but who have every desire to become more helpful sheep.

According to Phoenix Seminary's Upton, the increased presence of laypeople in traditional theological classrooms has not affected the way classes are taught. "Often the presence of laypeople in the classroom has enhanced the learning experience for all students. Classes like contemporary moral issues and conflict resolution are often strengthened by the dialog that occurs between a student who is a current pastor or preparing for pastoral ministry and a layperson."

"The curriculum, class structure, and rigorous academic requirements are the same for all students, whether they are preparing for full-time ministry or plan to continue in lay professions," says Gordon-Conwell's Standridge. "Often the presence of laypeople adds significantly to our classes and our community because of the perspectives these individuals offer. Some have years of experience as lay leaders in their local churches, and offer valuable insights for students studying to serve the church professionally. Others are working in professions beyond the church and provide equally valuable perspectives on the culture in which pastoral ministry students' future parishioners live and work. Others enrich our classes by their wisdom, gained through life experiences and years as Christians."

The trend toward laypeople attending theological seminaries appears to be a positive one for the students, for seminaries, and especially for the church.

Randy Frame is acquisitions editor for Judson Press and a freelance writer living in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.