User:Dfcrux/South Carolina School of Leadership

South Carolina School of Leadership (SCSL) is a Gap Year program founded in 2006 in Columbia, South Carolina. The SCSL campus is located at Christian Life Church, an Assemblies of God church in the South Carolina District. SCSL was formerly known as South Carolina Master's Commission from 2006 to 2009.

History
For many years, Rev. J. Stephen Chitty, D. Min., lead pastor of Christian Life Church in Columbia, South Carolina, desired to develop a young adult discipleship program. In late 2005, Christian Life began the first phases of its new discipleship ministry. Chitty asked Rev. Darren Hileman to join Christian Life and help found and direct South Carolina Master's Commission.

Hileman was a full-time associate pastor at a small church in West Columbia, South Carolina for 16 years. He then joined the faculty of Valley Forge Christian College in April 2001 as the college's Youth Ministries Specialist. In 2003, Hileman collaborated with Jeanne Mayo to found and direct Master's Commission Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. In February 2006, he returned to South Carolina as the Executive Director of South Carolina Master's Commission (SCMC).

South Carolina Master's Commission (SCMC) was inaugurated on September 9, 2006, with a first year class of 18 students. In the first four years since its inception, the program's enrollment grew by more than 500%.

The name "Master's Commission" is a registered trademark of Master's Commission International Network (MCIN). A Master's Commission program must operate for one full year before it can affiliate with MCIN. As SCMC began the process of affiliating, several discrepancies in program structure arose; some of which, if changed, would have altered the program from what Hileman and Chitty intended. These included allowing students to work part-time jobs, first-year academics, affiliation fees, and including "South Carolina" in the name. As a result, on July 1, 2009, SCMC officially became South Carolina School of Leadership.

Accreditation
SCSL is an Extension Site of Valley Forge Christian College. VFCC is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and holds affiliate membership with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Students who fulfill all graduation requirements at SCSL will earn 12 credits (per year) from their coursework with VFCC. These course credits are transferrable to any other accredited higher education institution ; however, the receiving institution reserves the right to determine how credits will transfer, as credit-for-credit or as an elective.

Because South Carolina School of Leadership is not a sovereign, full-time academic institution, it is not eligible for accreditation by the South Carolina Department of Education or the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. As a result, students are typically unable to apply state or federal scholarship, grant or loan monies toward their tuition.

Upon fulfilling the graduation requirements at SCSL, students are given the opportunity to become credentialed ministers with the Assemblies of God denomination.

About the Program
South Carolina School of Leadership is a nine-month program designed to give its students a year for personal development based on a Christian foundation. While many students use SCSL as an opportunity to take a gap year between high school and college, students may attend at any time. Students must have a high school diploma or GED to attend, and most range in age from 18 to 25. SCSL is a nine-month program, however students may apply for a second year as part of the student leadership and a third year as a ministry intern.

Program Structure

 * Daily Morning Prayer
 * Academics (see above)
 * Cymbrogi Men's & Women's Discipleship
 * AC Family small groups
 * Student Life/Student Housing
 * Community Outreach
 * Missions Trips
 * Travel Ministry
 * Leadership Training
 * Internship