The Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina has voted to establish a formal partnership with Clamp Divinity School at Anderson University.

Clamp Divinity School will be the designated center for graduate theological education for the 1,100 predominantly African-American churches of the BEMCSC. Anderson University is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention.

“[This] will be a blessing to our member churches and to present and future generations of ministers who will benefit from seminary training through this relationship,” said James Blassingame, pastor of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Sumter and president of BEMCSC.

Michael Duduit, dean of the Clamp Divinity School, said the partnership will strengthen Clamp Divinity School’s outreach and service to congregations in the state. “Our focus is to provide graduate training for pastors and church leaders that is solidly biblical and intensely practical,” said Duduit, “and in that we share a common kingdom mission with the churches of the BEMCSC.”

Members of participating BEMCSC churches will qualify for a scholarship for students enrolled in the master of divinity and master of ministry degree programs at Anderson.

The BEMCSC was founded in 1877 and represents 230,000 individual church members. The denomination supports two liberal arts colleges, Morris College and Benedict College, but did not previously have a formal affiliation with a seminary or divinity school.

Clamp Divinity School was established in 2009 and offers master of divinity, master of ministry and doctor of ministry degrees. Anderson University was founded in 1911.