Think about it

This sketch by Sarah Pulliam Bailey is so, so true of Northern Seminary, too.

Maybe it is time for you to enroll in seminary, too.

After spending 16 years in government-related jobs, Alan Felton gave up an income of about $90,000 to return to school in 2010. He quit his job in North Carolina’s department of revenue and moved his wife and two teenagers from a 4,000-square-foot home to a 1,800-square-foot parsonage while he was attending a seminary.

Like many people who decide to start a second career in middle age, Mr. Felton saw a chance to pursue an interest closer to his heart. Now 46, he is preparing to graduate from Duke Divinity School in May and sees his age as an advantage. While finishing his masters of divinity, he has worked for a small Methodist church with 50 parishioners and moved on to a church of 300.

“Churches don’t necessarily want a young, hip pastor; they want someone who is available and involved,” he says. “By delaying entering the ministry, you have more life experiences to draw on for illustrations.”

Students under 30 still make up the largest age cohort in seminaries, according to the Association of Theological Schools. But older students are growing in representation among 74,000 or so students pursuing a seminary degree from an institution associated with the agency that accredits graduate schools of theology. The percentage of students over 50 enrolled in a seminary rose to about 21% in 2011 from 12% in 1995. The percentage of students under 30 has hovered at around 30% during the same period.