Cross Life School of Divinity

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to you because I understand that your church or ministry has invested faithful effort in developing a minister training program — a program through which you prepare, equip, and commission those called to gospel service within your house. I honor that labor. The discipling of ministers is among the weightiest trusts a ministry can carry, and the Church is strengthened whenever a local body takes that calling seriously.

I write, however, with a word of pastoral counsel and an invitation. Many churches that run their own training programs issue certificates and ordinations that carry only the name of the church itself. There is nothing wrong with that, as far as it goes — but it rarely goes far enough. A certificate bearing only a single congregation's name, however beloved that congregation may be, carries no recognition beyond its own walls. To a employer, a chaplaincy board, a correctional facility, a hospital, a denominational office, or a graduate school, such a credential is, at best, a private testimony — and at worst, invisible. The minister who holds it has done real work, but the wider world has no way to know that.

Accreditation changes that. When a training program operates under the covering of an accredited institution, its graduates receive credentials that carry weight beyond the local church — because those credentials are backed by a recognized religious accrediting body that has examined the curriculum, the faculty, the assessments, and the governance of the program granting them. The bar is raised. The minister is no longer presenting "our church's word" alone; they are presenting a credential that a third party has vouched for. That is the difference between a testimony and a qualification.

I am privileged to share that Cross Life School of Divinity has been officially granted accreditation through the Council for Theological Accreditation and Review (CTAR), a recognized religious accrediting body. From this foundation, we extend an invitation to churches and ministries that already maintain serious minister training programs: to become an accredited extension campus of Cross Life School of Divinity, operating under our CTAR covering.

What this means, plainly, for your ministry:

• Your graduates receive credentials backed by CTAR accreditation — not merely your church's name, but a recognized religious accreditation that carries into chaplaincy applications, institutional ministry settings, and further academic study.
• Your training program gains external credibility. You may present your ministry school to your congregation and community as an accredited extension campus of Cross Life School of Divinity — a claim backed by an accrediting body, not merely by your own statement.
• The bar is raised — and your ministers rise with it. Accreditation signals that your program meets an external standard. That signal is precisely what employers, chaplaincy boards, hospitals, and denominational partners look for when evaluating a minister's preparation.
• You retain your ministry's identity and teaching. Your church continues to disciple and instruct according to its own convictions and calling. What changes is the recognition your graduates carry — and the credibility your program commands.

To be transparent, as we always are: CTAR accreditation is a private religious accreditation. It is not recognized by the United States Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. It is, however, a genuine and formal endorsement of our programs by an established religious accrediting body — and it lifts the credentials your graduates carry well above what a church program alone can offer. For ministries whose graduates serve in chaplaincy, institutional ministry, parachurch work, or who pursue further study, that added recognition is no small matter.

If your leadership would like to explore what it would mean for your training program to operate as an accredited extension campus — the requirements, the process, and how we could walk alongside you — I would welcome a conversation. There is no obligation, and I am glad to answer every question honestly. You may reach me at support@crosslifeschoolofdivinity.org or by phone at (312) 300-3295.

You have already done the hard and faithful work of training ministers. I believe the Lord would have that labor recognized at a level a church name alone cannot provide. I would count it a privilege to help you raise the bar.