2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools
13
Ranked Colleges
504
Degrees Awarded
$23,600
Avg Net Price*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Lay Ministry Schools” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Lay Ministry is the 630th most popular major in the country with 504 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
For this year’s “Best Value Lay Ministry Schools” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in lay ministry. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality lay ministry programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the lay ministry program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Lay Ministry Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Lay Ministry Schools” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Value Lay Ministry Schools
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Lay Ministry Schools.
Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Lay Ministry
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Northwestern - St Paul. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools list. University of Northwestern - St Paul is a small school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota that handed out 4 ’s lay ministry degrees in 2020-2021.
Northwestern also took the #8 spot in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $22,560 for Lay Ministry students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read more about Lay Ministry at Northwestern
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Grace College and Theological Seminary. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools list. Winona Lake, Indiana is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s lay ministry degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
Grace College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Grace College is $20,060 for Lay Ministry students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Grace College and Theological Seminary Lay Ministry Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Gordon - Conwell Theological Seminary. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Lay Ministry Schools. South Hamilton, Massachusetts is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s lay ministry degrees to 78 students in 2020-2021.
Gordon - Conwell Seminary also took the #1 spot in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full Gordon - Conwell Theological Seminary Lay Ministry Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools list. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 16 ’s lay ministry degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our lay ministry students list, Liberty University has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Liberty University is $29,382 for Lay Ministry students.
Read more about Lay Ministry at Liberty University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southwestern Assemblies of God University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Lay Ministry Schools. This small school is located in Waxahachie, Texas, and it awarded 12 ’s lay ministry degrees in 2020-2021.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University also took the #9 spot in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southwestern Assemblies of God University is $23,976 for lay ministry students.
Read more about Lay Ministry at Southwestern Assemblies of God University
Grace Christian University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools ranking. Grace Christian University is located in Wyoming, Michigan and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 65 ’s lay ministry degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our lay ministry students list, Grace has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Grace is $13,795 for lay ministry students.
Read full report on Lay Ministry at Grace Christian University
Westminster Theological Seminary did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools ranking, coming in at #7. Glenside, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s lay ministry degrees to 58 students in 2020-2021.
Westminster Theological Seminary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” list.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Lay Ministry at Westminster Theological Seminary
Regent University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools ranking. Regent University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It awarded 46 ’s lay ministry degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our lay ministry students list, Regent has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Regent is $24,888 for Lay Ministry students.
Read more about Lay Ministry at Regent University
With a ranking of #9, North Central University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools list. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 7 diplomas to qualified ’s lay ministry students in 2020-2021.
North Central University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend North Central University is $22,270 for lay ministry students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full North Central University Lay Ministry Report
Covenant Theological Seminary landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools ranking. Covenant Theological Seminary is a small school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 9 ’s lay ministry degrees in 2020-2021.
Covenant Seminary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” list.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Covenant Theological Seminary Lay Ministry Report
With a ranking of #11, Multnomah University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools list. Portland, Oregon is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s lay ministry degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.
Multnomah University also took the #7 spot in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. It costs about $30,530 for lay ministry students per year to attend Multnomah University.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Multnomah University Lay Ministry Report
Manhattan Christian College did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools ranking, coming in at #12. This small school is located in Manhattan, Kansas, and it awarded 3 ’s lay ministry degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our lay ministry students list, MCC has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Manhattan Christian College is $20,501 for lay ministry students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Full MCC Lay Ministry Report
With a ranking of #13, Bethel University Minnesota did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Lay Ministry Schools list. Bethel University Minnesota is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 ’s lay ministry degrees to qualified students.
Bethel University Minnesota also made our “Best Lay Ministry Schools” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Bethel University Minnesota is $28,178 for Lay Ministry students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Lay Ministry at Bethel University Minnesota
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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