By: Raquel Delgado
Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, pairs of Southern Adventist University students head
out into the community not just for a grade, but to build relationships. They knock on doors,
offer Bible studies and invite people to evangelistic meetings at local churches. This fieldwork,
known as Practicum, has been happening at Southern since 2011, according to Douglas Na’a,
director of Southern’s Soul-winning and Leadership Training (SALT) program.
Practicum is a class offered to students participating in SALT at Southern. SALT is a semester-long evangelistic training program in partnership with It Is Written that offers fully accredited
college classes, a Bible worker certification and hands on training, according to Southern’s
website.
The class Practicum was created when John Bradshaw, the founder of SALT and president of It
Is Written, and Alan Parker, a pastor and professor in the School of Religion at Southern, came
together with a shared vision.
“Both wanted something evangelistic,” said Na’a, who joined in August 2017 after years as a
pastor with an evangelistic focus.
Each semester, the program partners with a different local church, and students work in whatever
area that church calls home. This year, the program partnered with Collegedale Church of Seventh-day Adventists. Past partners include churches in Ringgold, Cohutta, Bowman Hills and
more.
According to Na’a, at the end of the semester, some students decide to get rebaptized or focus
on missions. He also said the impact goes beyond the students.
“Churches experience revival; churches experience more evangelistic focus and outward focus,”
Na’a said.
However, Na’a said, one of the challenges for SALT is normalizing missions on campus. His
goal is for evangelism to feel like a given at Southern; not an afterthought, but just “that’s what
we’re doing.”
According to students who have taken the course, the experience is hands-on from day one.
Samuel Calvelage, a sophomore theology major who completed SALT last fall, described the
program as a 16-week evangelism training course that certifies students in Bible working.
“It teaches you everything about evangelism, from friendship evangelism to evangelistic
preaching, to Bible working, to door-to-door, to giving Bible studies—all kinds of the realm of
practical theology,” Calvelage said.
Calvelage mentioned a sense of community as a reason to join SALT.
“It’s a great community,” he said. “Every single person that comes with SALT is there because
they’ve seen God work in their life, and they want to share that with others.”
Aidan Sammons, a junior theology major, explained how the SALT program works.
“You take a handful of classes centered around theology, spiritual life and evangelism and then
you get hands-on experience going door-to-door, giving Bible studies, hosting evangelistic series
and preaching,” Sammons said. “It’s not just learning the material in class; you’re applying the
material. …You’re not only learning about ministry, but you’re getting to do ministry and make
an impact in people’s lives.”
Jeanyvah Desarmes, a senior religious studies major who completed the SALT program in fall
2024, said she didn’t want to join at first.
“Some people think it’s for people who love religion, who are on fire,” she said. “In my personal
life, I didn’t really like theology and religion.”
However, during her first semester, God kept bringing up SALT, according to Desarmes, until
she finally asked for a sign.
“When I finally decided to do it, my parents wanted me to graduate as soon as possible,” she
said. “But Dr. Parker and the SALT staff were willing to work with me and format my schedule
so it wouldn’t push me back. The Lord provided.”
Going on a SALT mission trip to the Dominican Republic, Desarmes added, brought everything
together.
“SALT really does help prepare you for the things that can happen in ministry, and then the
mission trip kind of shows you [a] taste of ministry,” she said.
However, Desarmes is aware that not everyone on campus sees SALT that way.
“Some Southern students have [looked at] SALT as a little mini-Biblical cult, but I want them to
know that the people who do SALT love the Lord,” she said. “They have a genuine love for the
Lord, and they want to grow in His love and find a better way to be a better evangelist and
witness for Him.”
Na’a said that while SALT is a university program, it is about more than teaching techniques.
“We go beyond the mind; we also challenge the heart,” Na’a said. “The program challenges
students’ faith and then pushes them to apply it in the real world.”
