The Salvation Army Continuing Education Program (SACEP) is required for all officers in the first five years of service.  The program consists of two parts; online courses, and residential retreats.  Officers will need to successfully complete four (4) online courses during the five years following commissioning.  Officers will attend an annual Connection Retreat each year in May.  Credits earned under the former residential program transfer to the new program.

English Language Courses – Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) & Indiana Wesleyan University – IWU- & Nazarene Bible College
Beginning in 2022, select courses have been offered through Indiana Wesleyan University Bridge Initiative. These courses can be taken for credit toward meeting SACEP requirements and can be applied to the completion of a degree if desired. Please check out the “Course Offering—IWU” link to view all available coursework. Courses through IWU are offered through scheduled offering times that are posted with the course in the database. 

Nazarene Bible College is now offering English-based courses for SACEP officers. These courses, also, can be taken for credit toward meeting SACEP requirements and can be applied to the completion of a degree if desired. Please check out the “Course Offering Spring/Summer 23—NBC” link, here, to view the limited available courses.- Each semester these courses will change, and not all will be available each term. Do not let a course pass you by if you are interested. A required online orientation is required for students new to NBC, so plan with enough time in mind.

A program of continuing education, developed in partnership with Olivet Nazarene University, consisting of online courses began in January 2019. Four (4) courses must be successfully completed within five years of commissioning to meet the educational requirements for the consideration of confirmation of officership and promotion to captain.  Please contact the ORD department for the current offerings from ONU.

Spanish Language Courses – Nazarene Bible College (NBC)
Beginning in January 2019, Spanish-speaking officers may choose to take online courses from NBC to complete SACEP requirements.  Four (4) courses must be successfully completed within five years of commissioning to meet the educational requirements for the consideration of confirmation of officership and promotion to captain.  The course descriptions highlighted here are available for SACEP credit. A Mandatory Orientation course must be completed prior to registering for a SACEP course. Please contact ORD with questions. 2023 – 2024 Schedule and registration.

Connection Retreat (formerly SACEP Retreat)
A three-day, Connection Retreat, held each year in May is required. The Retreat will consist of: interviews with the Secretary for Personnel for fifth-year officers, sessional break-out meetings, structured and individual opportunities for spiritual formation, corporate worship, corporate instruction in a topic related to officership, and unstructured time for fellowship.  Specific details for the annual retreat will be found under the link “Connection Retreat.”

Degree Completion
Once completed with SACEP, Officers seeking to complete a degree started with ONU, NBC, IWU or another institution may do so under the Officer Education Assistance Program (OEA). Application to OEA is available to all officers seeking to develop their skills and capacity for ministry and service. Officers enrolled in the ONU or the NBC (Spanish) tracks for SACEP may choose to continue their coursework to complete the full degree, or choose from a selection of available programs. Please refer to the “Degree Completion with ONU or NBC or IWU” links for additional information.  For other Degree Completion options, see “Education Resources for Officers” link on the ORD main page or the “Other Degree Completion Options” link to the left.