Curriculum

All courses are 3 semester credit hours and one course is offered each month.
Approximately 45 hours of study are required in each course by the following format:

Pre-Course Study - 20 hours

     Students receive a syllabus and textbook 3 weeks prior to class to begin working on course assignments.

Classes with Video/Instructor 10 hours

     Classes will be held in 3-day intensive sessions, usually the third week of the month from 7 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on
Thursday and Friday evenings and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Morning classes will be available from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on Thursday and Friday as well as regular Saturday classes.

Final exams are assigned by the professor and students are given three weeks to complete and return them to the Dean.

Tuition and Fees

One-time registration fee - $25.00

Cost per 3-hour Credit Course - $105.00
    (this includes textbook and syllabus)

A limited number of auditors are allowed for each course at a cost of $55.00.
This amount includes textbook and syllabus. Please check with the Dean for course availability.

A graduation fee of $25.00 and a variable diploma/degree fee is due prior to graduation.

Dean Barbara Davis

Degrees Offered

1-Year Diploma in Theology-    30 Semester Hours

2-Year Associate of Theology-    60 Semester Hours

4-Year Bachelor of Theology-    126 Semester Hours

5 1/2-Year Master of Theology-    171 Semester Hours

7-Year Master of Divinity-    216 Semester Hours

8 1/2-Year Doctor of Ministry-    261 Semester Hours

All degrees are conferred by Christian Life School of Theology International (CLST) and
are in a Bible Theology major. Courses are offered in 7 divisions of study:

1. Old Testament

2. New Testament

3. Bible Theology

4. Practical Theology

5. Historical Theology

6. Christian Counseling

7. Worship and the Arts

It is required that all 7 divisions be represented in a student's Bachelor of Theology.

History of the Christian Life School of Theology

    Christian Life School of Theology began in 1975 in the heart of Dr. Ronald E. Cottle. Having completed doctoral degrees in both religion (Ph.D.) and higher education (Ed.D.) and having served as a pastor and also as a college instructor, he came to understand the unique problems that Christian higher education faces. Pastors and spiritual leaders are, for the most part, having to depend for their personal education and professional training upon universities and seminaries that have lost touch with the local church and its members.

    As he tells it, “The Lord spoke to me as I went diligently about my business of educating future pastors and Christian leaders and said, ‘Son, you’re doing a good job, but you’ve got it all backwards. Instead of taking the bright and beautiful students out of the church and putting them into elitist academic hot houses, why not bring the faculty to the local church and educate them right there?’” The more Cottle thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

    It took eight years before he did anything concrete about the idea. He detoured into a major pastorate and the leadership of a seminary. But in 1982, upon moving to California, Cottle began the process of creating and founding an educational institution that could bring faculty, curriculum and excellent teaching principles into the local church. By 1983, Christian Life School of Theology became established.

    In 1984, the school was moved to Missouri. The first courses were offered in Alabama and Florida. Both were taught by Dr. Cottle and both were successful. This began CLST International-a very humble beginning indeed.

    By 1986, CLST had grown to twelve campuses in the south and Midwest. There were nine faculty members and an enrollment of nearly six hundred students. The CLST national headquarters and offices were moved to Columbus, Georgia, where they are today.

    In 1992, the Video Division and the home Study/Correspondence Division of CLST were started. Video courses are now being provided for distribution around the world. The Home Study/Correspondence courses are offered via audiocassette tapes to thousands of students who take the same classes as students attending live and video courses.

    At the end of 2000, CLST had grown to over 24,000 credit/graded student.

    By 2002, CLST had two hundred and fifty courses. A faculty of ninety-two taught these courses at two hundred and fifty-three campuses across the country. CLST has eighteen foreign mission schools, which includes Japan and Kenya. Also in 2002, forty-seven video courses were made available to students all over the world through Internet hookup.

    The principal purpose of Christian Life School of Theology is the establishment and maintenance of a program of education in and for the members and friends of the local churches served who are interested in in-depth studies in Bible, Counseling, Christian Development, Church Growth, and related subjects.

    These studies are designed to prepare Christian workers for pastoral, counseling, evangelistic, teaching, music, youth, children’s and other ministries. They are also designed to enrich one’s personal spiritual life and strengthen the local church’s ministry.

    Christian Life School of Theology is a member of the Southern Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges, an association located in Atlanta, Georgia. The organization is not, and does not seek to be, recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. SAABC was founded in 1952.