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Covington Seminary extension campus furthers education of Chattanooga pastors, lay persons

By: Clint Cooper
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Jay Trimble

Sometimes, said the Rev. Dr. Juanita Greene, “God says, ‘Hey, I got somewhere else for you to go.’”

With many people answering the call to ministry as a second career and many lay persons seeking more structured religious education, a need had arisen for a training institute, she said.

The Southeast Tennessee extension campus of Covington Theological Seminary, which offers courses leading to associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees, completed its fourth semester earlier this week.

“God is calling into ministry many people who have not had ministry as a career,” said Dr. Greene, who is assistant dean of the Fort Oglethorpe seminary extension and pastor of Fields Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.

She said it is much tougher for people who are older with jobs and families to afford and attend a seminary, “so we tailor-made a program with those persons at that level in mind.”

The extension has averaged 25 students per semester, according to the dean, Dr. Jay Trimble. He said if recent inquiries are any measure, the extension could have a 20 percent increase in the fall.

He said the site was created to replace a local extension the American Baptist College used to have in conjunction with the Chattanooga Baptist District Association.

“It’s always been my dream to make training available for all the people who wanted to learn (at a level) above Sunday school,” said Dr. Trimble, pastor of Prospect Missionary Baptist Church.

Covington already had extension sites in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Knoxville as well as abroad.

Dr. Greene, meanwhile, had expressed a need for a preachers institute to the local Clergy Koinonia body of which she was president. So when Dr. Trimble “got the wheels spinning,” she said, “he approached me and asked if I would share in the idea. It was right in line with what I wanted to do anyway.

The seminary began at New Monumental Baptist Church and eventually moved to the Jones-Spence Resource Center at 19th and Beech streets.

Two-and-a-half hour classes on subjects such as Old Testament, New Testament, systematic theology, ethics and apologetics are held on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Dr. Trimble said the seminary extension has students — from a variety of denominations — with advanced degrees, four-year degrees, two-year degrees and no college education. About half are pastors or seeking to become pastors, and half are lay persons.

While the extension opened, all the students were black. Now, both the student body and the faculty are mixed. Officials also hope to add a Spanish-speaking instructor.

“It’s mixed,” said Dr. Trimble, “and we want to keep it that way.”

While the majority of the classes concern theological matters, classes in English also are offered, he said, “so that people can better function in all phases of life in the community.”

An associate’s degree requires 64 hours of course credit, a bachelor’s degree 128 hours, a master’s (depending on the degree) requires a bachelor’s degree plus 36 additional hours, and a doctorate requires a master’s degree plus 36 additional hours.

Sandra Clark, a retired educator in the Hamilton County Schools, will graduate in July with a doctorate in religious education. She hopes to use her degree to teach Christian education.

“They were excellent classes,” she said of the extension. “The instructors were very good, knowledgeable and helpful. They went above and beyond to make the classes interesting. It was truly a rigorous program.”