For most Ouachita students, the thought of writing more than one exegetical and passing Greek and Hebrew is nothing short of cringe-worthy. For the 170 Christian Studies majors, however, these things are simply second nature.
The Pruet School of Christian Studies offers students many different majors to choose from including, Biblical studies, Christian ministries, theology, missions, philosophy and Biblical languages. There are also several double major options such as, worship ministry, church media/production arts and church media/communications.
The most popular majors are Christian ministries, Christian missions, and Biblical studies, which usually draw in students hoping to go into some form of missions, pastoral ministry, youth ministry, camp ministry or counseling.
“I chose to be a Christian ministries major because I honestly can’t see myself doing anything else,” Haley Martin, junior Christian ministries major from Little Rock said. “Pruet has impacted the way I view ministry by helping me see practical and tactical ways of serving and helping people.”
Upon graduating, roughly half of all Pruet students pursue seminary or other graduate programs, while others go directly into full-time ministry. Some students choose different routes, such as law school or education degrees. In the past seven years, 100 percent of students who applied to graduate schools got accepted. Along with this, 100 percent of students seeking employment received full-time jobs within a year after graduating.
For students who have yet to decide on a major, Ouachita’s two core Bible classes—Survey of the Bible and Bible Interpretation—give students a good taste of the major as a whole.
Many students also choose to take Spiritual Formation, one of Pruet’s most popular classes. It is a great class to test out the major, or simply take for elective credit and spiritual growth.
“If students feel the Lord calling them to ministry or missions, then we feel that they need to get the very best training that they can” Dr. Danny Hays, Dean of the Pruet School said. “We feel that we have one of the best faculties in the country, and we encourage students to take advantage of that while they are here.”
There are also big changes in store for Pruet as the school prepares for the complete renovation of Barry Bible building this summer. The renovation will include the interior, floors, and air conditioning of the entire building, plus a new addition of the Rex Horne Center for Biblical Preaching. The center will contain a new state of the art preaching lab with a miniature sanctuary where students have the opportunity to preach, as well as a new dean’s suite and atrium. The remodel is scheduled to be complete by Spring 2017.
The Pruet School will also sponsor a two-week Biblical Studies trip to Israel in June led by Hays and Dr. Scott Duvall, professor of New Testament and J. C. and Mae Fuller Chair of Biblical Studies. The trip is open to all majors and students will receive credit for a Life of Christ class.
For more information on the Pruet School of Christian Studies or the Biblical Studies trip, contact Hays at haysd@obu.edu.
By Cimber Winfrey
