Supporting an Educated Ministry: Will and Betsy Hine
Education has always been the great enabler for Will and Betsy Hine—they’ve made a life not only educating others but pursuing their own lifelong learning.
While they have served the church in various capacities, they knew early on that the spark they received from the power of education made them want to serve the world as educators—Betsy as a university librarian at Indiana State University, and Will as Dean of the School of Adult and Continuing Education and a Professor of Education at Eastern Illinois University. It’s how they see themselves as disciples and spreading God’s love throughout the world.
The power of education—the way in which education opens the world to people—is also the major reason why they support Christian Theological Seminary.
“We believe in the Disciple presence and the education of the clergy,” explains Betsy. “It’s important to have an educated clergy.”
To the Hines, an educated clergy creates a ministry that has been intentionally exposed to all people—the people who they will go on to serve. It means space and time to question faith and understand differing perspectives in order to better serve the Church.
“CTS has been important for the denomination (Disciples of Christ) in that it broadened their perspective,” adds Will. “They’ve produced clergy who have had different backgrounds than the traditional Disciple undergraduate, and that strengthens the local churches they serve. There is a supply of clergy who are open, affirming, and culturally aware.”
The Hines value the mark Christian Theological Seminary has made on the Disciples of Christ denomination’s open and affirming stance.
“It’s important because it’s the world we live in,” says Will. “And that’s the world in which the church needs to exist.”
Later in life, the Hines have valued—and adopted themselves—Christian Theological Seminary’s focus on the individual student. It’s a value that has extended to their ministry through United Campus Ministries on four collegiate campuses in Terre Haute, Indiana. Betsy has been chair of the board of directors for several years, and the Hines helped to start a student food pantry. Their focus on social service through ministry was an idea that was incubated while they were students at Christian Theological Seminary.
“It’s important for the church to have a presence on all campuses, public and private,” says Will. “If students can find some church presence on a campus, they’re much more likely to be involved with the church once they graduate.”
The Hines—through Will’s former service as a trustee, and as members of the Legacy Society through a generous estate plan—encourage others to make a planned gift to Christian Theological Seminary so the institution can continue to evolve and stay relevant to students—and to the world in which they will serve.
For Betsy, CTS’s renewed mission in counseling is one way the institution is doing just that.
“There’s a greater need for counseling in the parish than ever before,” she says. And, for Will, understanding that extends graduates’ abilities to further lead in the denomination. “It’s important to provide different perspectives to the students so they can cope with the changing that is happening in society, which will also help the denomination influence as well as adapt to what’s happening in society.”
