July 14, 2025
by Greg Henson, Kairos University President and CEO
Over the past fifteen years, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of Christian organizations. These groups include Bible colleges, seminaries, universities, local churches, denominations, and mission agencies. My conversations with their leaders have taken me down dirt roads in Africa, across sand dunes near the Persian Gulf, into countless conference rooms, and onto video production sets. Between sunburns, stale coffee, and Zoom fatigue, discussions consistently circled back to one question, “What is the future of theological education?”
These conversations frequently touched upon innovation, often focusing specifically on the development of new programs. This makes sense because of the noticeable rise in change petitions submitted to ATS. In fact, ATS has recorded a twenty percent increase in change petitions from member schools in the past five years alone. Moreover, since 2020, the number of requests for new programs has more than doubled. At the same time, enrollment across theological schools remains mostly flat, financial deficits persist, and student debt continues to be a complex problem.
Given this reality, I believe theological education needs a new approach to innovation. Fortunately, we have had the opportunity to test this thinking over the past several years. In addition to the work we are doing at KairosUniversity, I have had the privilege of working on a few projects with several different schools who are interested in innovation. To aid in that work, I developed a framework for innovation called Practicing Innovation. It is designed to explore why and how theological schools can innovate faithfully. It is not about chasing trends or proposing quick fixes. Instead, it is rooted in a theological commitment to joining God on mission and embodied through various practices that help to form organizations into communities that practice what they preach. Like most work that is formational in nature, the process often involves identifying and confronting barriers honestly and carefully while embodying practices that form and shape a new way of being.
Ultimately, I suggest that innovation in theological education is about creating communities that are responsive to God’s ongoing mission in the world. It is about nurturing a way of being that is shaped not only by tradition but also by discernment and stewardship. Therefore, our pursuit of innovation is fundamentally an act of faithfulness, grounded in a belief that God is continually inviting us into new expressions of mission and ministry.
In a series of posts over the coming weeks, we will explore why we innovate, what barriers are often encountered along the way, and reflect on eight practices that cultivate innovation as a way of being.
Join us as we explore this topic!