Urbana Theological Seminary

09/17/2026

As the academic dean and dean of students, I sometimes get asked "if I don't want to be a pastor or a missionary, why should I enroll in a seminary program?" That is a great question! Seminary is for so much more than just becoming a pastor or a missionary, and a seminary degree is about so much more than preparing people for a certain kind of job. So, why should you enroll in a seminary program?
1--For personal growth. Growing closer to God and becoming more Christlike is a lifelong process, and seminary programs are designed to help you in this process. Whether you are studying Bible, Church History, Theology, or Spiritual Formation, these classes are designed to help you grow in different areas of your spiritual life.
2--To answer questions, and help you understand more. Where did the Bible come from? Why do Christians believe what they do about Jesus? What is the Trinity? Why do different kinds of Christians believe different things about the sacraments? How can Christians believe in a good God when there is so much suffering in the world? Seminary classes address these issues, and taking different classes helps answer those questions.
3--To help you help others. Whether you are coming alongside someone who just needs the support of someone else, or teaching a sunday school, seminary classes prepare people to do these things so much better.

So if these are things you are interested in, then consider enrolling in a program at Urbana Seminary! Dr. Green at [email protected] would love to talk with you more about it.

09/15/2026

Two weeks from today our Taste of Seminary Lecture Series starts! We'd love to have you join us!

09/14/2026

A special shout out to our Alumni Dr. Bryan Mead, as well as our Administrative Dean Dr. Pearce Durst: the book Bryan edited, Going to the Movies with C. S. Lewis, has just been released, and Dr. Durst wrote a chapter of it! Check it out!

is an edited collection exploring the thought and theology of C.S. Lewis as it relates to film and media. Lewis’s insights have had a profound effect on Christian life and thought for almost 80 years, and this book is an attempt to take some of those insights and apply them to film and media st...

09/13/2026

How should Christians think about technology? Is AI technology neutral, or does it come with its own set of values? How will AI impact humanity and our human future? How does AI shape our understanding of ourselves and others? What should we use AI for? Join Dr. Daly for a very special five week course to help Christians make sense of Artificial Intelligence by examining the history, technology, ethics, and aims of Artificial Intelligence (AI), sorting out the hope from the hype, and providing a theological framework for evaluating AI. This class can be audited or taken for two graduate credits. email Dr. Green to register or for more information: [email protected]

09/13/2026

This afternoon we held the celebratory Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social for the folks who finished the summer reading program! Goofiness, ice cream with more than a dozen topping options, and conversations about books made for a good time that was had by all. We hope you folks join next summer's reading program for grownups! :-)

09/11/2026

Our Taste of Seminary lecture series is coming Soon! Join us on Tuesday, October 6, from 7-8:30 at the Champaign Public Library (Room A-B) as Dr. Kenneth Cuffey gives a lecture called "Was Paul a Misogynist? A Consideration of 1 Timothy 2:8-15." This is one lecture you do not want to miss!

09/09/2026

For the last few summers, Urbana Seminary has hosted a free summer reading program for adults who either love the challenge or miss the summer reading programs libraries had when they were children. Today we are giving a special shout out to Karen Steiner who is sharing with us a picture of her holding her framed certificate saying that she completed the program. Excellent work Karen!

09/09/2026

This term, Urbana Seminary is offering three classes that start in the second half of the semester! More info coming soon!

09/05/2026

On the weekend of November 6-7, Dr. Melody Green will be teaching a one weekend class on the book Phantastes by George MacDonald! While C. S. Lewis was still an athiest, he read this book and later described it as having played an important role in his conversion, because, Lewis said, it "baptized his imagination." This class will explore the genre, context, and text in order to better understand this book. The class will meet 6-9 PM CT on Friday, November 6th and 9-4 on Saturday, November 7. The class will be held both in person and over zoom. Email [email protected] for more information or to register. We hope you can join us!

09/05/2026

The twentieth century saw the rise of a whole new genre of storytelling: the comic book. While the earliest comic books were simply collections of cute comic strips about ducks and bunnies, the late 1930’s saw the invention of superheroes, the 1940’s, the rise of true crime and horror comics, and the 1950’s the United States Senate held a hearing exploring the connection between comics and juvenile delinquency. Christian publishers saw this as an opportunity: in the 1960’sk Chick started his own company creating small comic books that used the techniques of the scariest comics to make “spiritual” points, and in 1972 Spire comics began retelling earlier 20th century Christian bestsellers for the same audience that comic books were marketed to.
So Join us on Tuesday, Oct 13 from 7:00-8:30 at Champaign Public Library as Dr. Green explores the history of comic books, why parents were so afraid of them in the mid twentieth century, and the opportunities evangelical publishers found in this genre. You don't want to miss this one!