For those unfamiliar, the Assembly of God, a pentecostal denomination based out of Springfield, Missouri, is one of the fastest growing Christian denominations in the world.
According to this report in Inside Higher Ed, the denomination’s three flagship educational institutions–Assemblies of God Seminary, Central Bible College, and Evangel University–may be merging.
Odd that they are merging. That's most often a marker of weakness rather than strength. Is it a sign that denominational growth is not matched by a growth in revenue for those institutions?
As an Alumnus of AGTS I can say the situation is rather complex. They actually thought about consolidating the schools 5 years ago but the idea was voted down by the A/G General Council. It's true that there are financial reasons, more so now than 5 years ago, but that is only one reason among many. Here's a link that briefly explains the four major reasons given: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs079/1103577318473/archive/1104333916081.html
In my opinion the Pros out weight the Cons, and I'd have to say there are some legitimate Cons. But at the end of the day it doesn't make sense to have so much overlap of degrees offered, competition and reduplication of resources among three A/G educational institutions that are all within 10 minutes of each other.
I invite you to check out my blog piece reflecting upon the proposed merger entitled, “3rd TIME'S A CHARM”
at:
http://theblogofbobbaril.blogspot.com/2011/01/3rd-times-charm.html