Christy Clark and Thomas “Tag” Green both have day jobs. Clark is a director at Southwestern Medical Center in Lawton, Okla. Green sells mechanical tubing for manufacturing, as a territory manager for National Tubing Supply.
But Clark, 53, and Green, 62, also share the same vocation — serving the United Methodist Church. And they’re both well prepared, thanks to the Course of Study School (COSS) at Perkins School of Theology.
COSS is a program of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) of the United Methodist Church, in partnership with and administered by Perkins. It’s designed to provide the basic theological education prescribed in the United Methodist Book of Discipline, offering an alternative for students who cannot attend seminary to prepare for ministry through summer and part-time study. Clark and Green were among the six Summer 2024 students who graduated from the COSS program on August 3 in ceremonies held at the Dallas campus.
Until 2020, the program consisted of two sessions, in January and July each involving one weeks of classes at the Dallas campus of Perkins followed by two weeks of online study. The program went online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now most of the courses are virtual.
“During the pandemic, students discovered they really liked the accessibility of online education,” said Melissa Hernandez Probus, Associate Director of COSS. “Our students can take courses anywhere.”
While the program is mostly virtual, COSS leaders felt an in-person graduation ceremony was important.
“Completing the COSS program is a significant achievement,” said Hernandez Probus. “It’s a rigorous and demanding journey.”
Currently there are 70 students enrolled in COSS, representing a wide variety of backgrounds, socioeconomic groups and geographic areas. This summer’s session was attended by 50 students from 18 annual conferences, including Eastern Pennsylvania, Cal-Pac, and Florida.
“Being virtual means we have no boundaries and reach a wider audience,” Hernandez Probus said.
Most of the students, like Green and Clark, are second-career pastors preparing to serve bi-vocationally. Completing the program meant juggling coursework along with jobs and family and church responsibilities.
In addition to a rigorous theological education, COSS students enjoy opportunities for spiritual formation. Marcell Steuernagel, Assistant Professor of Church Music at Perkins, organizes regular online worship services so that COSS students can gather virtually for spiritual reflection.
The Basic Course of Study curriculum includes 20 courses in four tracks: Theological Heritage, Pastoral Identity, Congregational Ministry and Bible. Students receive a certificate of completion when they complete the entire 20 courses. Completion of the Basic Course of Study makes the local pastor eligible for Associate Membership in the annual conference. Those who complete the Basic Course of Study may opt to continue in the Advanced Course of Study, which is designed to fulfill requirements for probationary and full membership in an annual conference and ordination where a non-seminary option is offered.
At Perkins, Course of Study School summer classes are offered in both English and Spanish. Perkins is one of only two theology schools in the United States authorized by GBHEM to provide the Course of Study in Spanish.
In addition to the COSS program, Perkins oversees three extension schools that offer courses for part-time local pastors: the Texas Annual Conference Extension, taught on Saturdays, with six courses in the spring (March – May) and fall (September – November) semesters; the North Texas Annual Conference Extension, which offers classes in the spring, summer and fall; and the Arkansas Annual Conference Extension, which offers Saturday classes at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. The program also added two satellite schools in 2018, one in the Western Jurisdiction, taught in Spanish; and in 2020, at the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference.
A Ten-Year Journey
Christy Clark first felt drawn to ministry more than a decade ago, while serving as a District Lay Leader in the Oklahoma Annual Conference.
“I just felt the call,” she said. “God has done so much in my life and for my family. How do you say no?”
Because she only attended the summer sessions – using her vacation time – it took Clark ten years to complete the program. Now she serves a two-point charge, preaching every Sunday at First United Methodist in Temple, Okla., and at Lawton Heights United Methodist in Lawton, Okla.
“When I first felt the call to ministry, I told my mentor, ‘I’m not that well-versed on the Bible,’” Clark recalled. “She said, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’ll learn all about the Bible through COSS.”
She felt she received a great education through the COSS program.
“Each class was eye-opening and broadened my horizons,” she said. “Each stretched me in a unique way.”
Her COSS education also informs Clark’s work at the hospital.
“We do not have a chaplain on staff,” she said. “Occasionally, I’ve been asked to visit with patients or families that requested a Methodist pastor. That’s been such a blessing to me.”
A Ministry of Presence
Tag Green is not currently serving in an appointment but preaches occasionally and handles special projects for the Central Texas Conference.
Over the years, he has alternated between working at National Tubing and full-time stints in ministry, including a two-point charge from 2020-2022 at the First United Methodist in Ballinger, Texas, and the First United Methodist Church of Winters, Texas.
Green says the COSS coursework prepared him as a pastor and a preacher and helped him become a more empathetic listener.
“Even though I’m not appointed to a church right now, I believe we’re all in ministry every day,” he said.
Green is based in Fort Worth, and travels often for work. While eating out on the road, he likes to sit at the bar and strike up conversations with fellow diners.
“When I tell people, ‘I’m a United Methodist pastor,’ that leads to all kinds of conversations,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to just listen. In a world where church attendance is shrinking, where else do you meet people in need of conversation?”
Another benefit of COSS: It taught Green to enjoy lifelong learning. He did not have the chance to finish college, so he was initially intimidated by the prospect of hitting the books.
Before COSS, he said, “I had not really picked up a book to study in almost 30 years. COSS taught me to enjoy learning again.”
The program wrapped up its 2024 summer session in mid-August. The next session of COSS begins October 1; registration is open until September 10.