Writing a statement of purpose for your Bible college application

The statement of purpose is the part of the Glovim application where you speak for yourself. It is not an examination of your writing, and there is no trick to it. The admissions office is reading for three plain things: why you want to study, what you have already been doing, and whether the program you have chosen matches both.

Say why you want to study

Begin with the reason you are applying now rather than five years ago or five years from now. A specific reason — a class you have been asked to teach, a question in Scripture you cannot leave alone — tells us far more than a general love of learning.

Describe what you are already doing

Ministry experience does not have to be paid or titled. Teaching children, leading a small group, translating for a visiting preacher, caring for the sick in your congregation: write it down, with roughly how long you have been doing it.

Connect it to the program

Name the program you applied for and say, in a sentence or two, why that level fits where you are. If you are unsure between two levels, say so — the admissions office would rather advise you than admit you to the wrong one.

Practical notes

Three or four short paragraphs is plenty. Write in your own voice, in your own words. Check names and dates. If English is not your first language, write plainly rather than ornately; clarity is what is being read, not style.