When Baptist students arrive at Perkins School of Theology, they’re often pleasantly surprised to discover that there’s a Baptist House of Studies on campus.
But leaders hope to flip that script as they celebrate the Baptist House’s fifth anniversary this fall. They’d like to make Perkins a destination for students who choose to come, in part, because of the Baptist House of Studies.
It’s already starting to happen. Currently, 31 students in Perkins’ residential and hybrid programs are Baptists, and many are stepping into leadership roles on campus.
“This is a moment of pride for us,” said the Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles, Director of the Baptist House of Studies. “Right now, our students hold the majority of positions in the Perkins Student Association. They’re not just here in the Baptist House, they’re becoming leaders on campus.”
Launched in 2018, the Baptist House of Studies is a place for students from the Baptist and other Free Church traditions to call home while connecting with the broader Baptist world. Initially, the Baptist House was a network of people and resources; now, it’s also a physical space, with three dedicated rooms in Selecman Hall, including a comfortable student lounge stocked with snacks, a conference room and the office of Rev. Annette Owen, who joined the Baptist House as Program Specialist in 2022.
“When the idea of the Baptist House was taking root in 2018, there were a total of 11 Baptist students across all degree programs at Perkins,” said Owen. “With 31 now, in five years, we’ve almost tripled that number!”
For students who identify with the moderate and progressive strands of the Baptist tradition, the Baptist House offers an inclusive and welcoming alternative.
“There are very few specifically Baptist schools west of the Mississippi that are fully committed to women’s ordination and to the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons in ministry and the life of the church,” said Rev. Dr. George A. Mason, Lead Advisor of the Baptist House of Studies and an Adjunct Professor at Perkins. “The Baptist House offers a place for students who are looking for an inclusive environment to study theology.”
In addition to students that self-identify as Baptist, the Baptist House also reaches out to any student that claims a Free Church tradition. Considering that larger scope of Baptist plus Free Church traditions, the Baptist House has 68 students, representing slightly more than a quarter (26%) of all Perkins students.
“That Free Church tradition includes Mennonite, UCC, Pentecostal, Nazarene, Congregational, and Disciples of Christ churches, as well as some ‘Baptist-adjacent’ traditions,” Owen said.
As they gear up for an anniversary celebration later this month, the leadership team is reviewing the accomplishments of the Baptist House’s first five years.
“We started with a handful of students and Jaime’s unlimited energy, and now Baptist and Free Church students represent a significant portion of the student population across all degree programs,” said Owen. “I think the Baptist House has brought an infusion of hope and excitement to Perkins, that’s felt throughout campus and the broader community. It’s a general energy of radical community, hospitality, and ecumenical spirit.”
Among the key accomplishments of the program’s first five years:
Recruiting and supporting Baptist students. “We have very generous scholarships that make that possible,” said Clark-Soles, who is also Professor of New Testament at Perkins. “We’re particularly proud of the fact that the scholarships are going to students in typically underrepresented and minoritized populations, including women, African American, disabled and LGBTQIA+ students. They gift the Baptist House, and they gift the Perkins community.”
Offering outstanding programming.
Over the past five years,
the Baptist House has hosted the Shurden Lectures and other programs of interest to Baptist students as well as the wider Baptist community, the wider Perkins community, and Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Those included lectures by Amanda Tyler, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Eboo Patel of Interfaith America, and Jonathan Merritt, an award-winning faith and culture writer, as part of a program entitled “Sacred Speech: A Writing Workshop for Pastors, Prophets, and Poets.”
Cultivating denominational connections. Unlike the United Methodist Church, the Baptist tradition is not centralized; churches choose to affiliate with denominational bodies like the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship or the American Baptist Churches USA. “Those do not overlap with each other, so we’ve have had to create partnerships and relationships separately with a number of different denominational bodies,” said Clark-Soles. “We help students figure out which one is their home. Then we help connect them with that denomination and connect them to potential mentors. We pay for them to attend to the denominational conference that makes sense for them.”
Building partnerships with Baptist churches and organizations. Program leaders have developed connections with Baptist churches and organizations, and an array of internship opportunities to help students in their career progress. The Baptist House also supports students who wish to pursue ordination. “If a student identifies as Baptist, we surround and support them from the minute they express any interest,” said Clark-Soles. “We’re there starting with recruitment and through placement and beyond.” Baptist pastors are ordained by local congregations, so it’s important to connect each student with a local congregation that’s a good fit, so that they can begin to develop relationships.
Expanding curriculum. Mason teaches two courses developed by the Baptist House: Baptist History and Polity, and Theology in the Baptist and Free Church Tradition. M. Div. students may now elect a Baptist Concentration. Also, in partnership with Mark Stamm, Professor of Christian Worship at Perkins, Mason has created opportunities for students of any background to learn about baptism by immersion, part of the Baptist tradition.
Expanding digital presence. The Baptist House has developed a robust website, Facebook page and Instagram page.
Developing Advisory Board. “We’ve cultivated a board that is very impressive,” said Clark-Soles. “It has clergy and students and laypeople, and they are all people who are very committed to this vision and also to shaping Baptist life.”
Reflecting on the Baptist House’s first five years, Mason said that its location in a United Methodist theology school offers a unique ecumenical flavor that enhances the education that students receive – and prepares them well for a changing world.
“Studying as Baptists in a Methodist school creates a mirror through which we can see ourselves differently,” he said. “Rather than just talking to ourselves, we hear language about other church traditions and how they approach things that we take for granted. That requires us then to grapple with that in our own tradition. The church in America is going to have to learn to see other churches that have different middle names, as being kin, not as opponents or competitors. So, we practice that by learning together in an ecumenical school.”
So, what’s next for the next five years at The Baptist House of Studies?
“We’re working on the Baptist House 2.0,” Mason said. “We’re looking to grow the program and the student body, expand our connections with the Baptist world, and expand the resourcing, so that the Baptist House is a sustainable part of the life of the Perkins community,”