Starting fall 2026, It Is Written’s Soul-winning And Leadership Training (SALT) program will be held on the campus of Union Adventist University. This new SALT initiative will be in addition to the existing SALT program held at Southern Adventist University (Southern) in Collegedale, Tennessee. Alex Rodriguez joins the new program as director, with Felicia Sanders filling the role of outreach coordinator.
Founded in 2011, SALT — the It Is Written school of evangelism — is designed for individuals willing to dedicate one semester to intensive Bible worker training. Participants study and grow with other committed students as they attend practical, Bible-based classes and apply what they learn through hands-on outreach. Classes are taught by university professors as well as It Is Written speakers, and university credits are available and apply toward a religion minor or religion general education credit for other degrees.
“SALT is high-impact, faith-building evangelism training. For almost 15 years, SALT has been a successful partnership between It Is Written and Southern Adventist University,” said John Bradshaw, It Is Written president. “There are lots of people whose ministry is being transformed because of their experience at SALT, people in all different walks of life who are really serious about sharing their faith. And we are thrilled to be expanding that impact to Union. We believe that more lives and more places are going to be transformed because SALT is now going to be based in Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as Collegedale, Tennessee.”
SALT students have come from many conferences in the United States, and even other countries like New Zealand and Nepal. In addition to full-time students who participate in SALT, people of all ages and backgrounds have completed SALT over the years with the intention of reaching their home conference for Christ. For some time, it has been clear that the SALT program needed to grow, said Bradshaw, as evidenced by the largest class to date of 46 students this semester. He was enthusiastic when approached by Jeff Scoggins, Minnesota Conference president and Union board member, a couple of years ago with the idea of expanding the program to Union.
“The vision that Minnesota is working under is to become a premier producer of pastors, teachers, missionaries and tent makers,” said Scoggins. In line with that vision, his wife Becky approached him with the idea of bringing SALT to Union to teach young people how to make ministry a way of life. “I hope and pray that it won’t be just religion and theology majors who participate in this program,” Scoggins said. “I want to see nurses and business majors and international rescue and relief and history and education and everybody. I hope SALT will change each person’s life and make their entire career about ministry.” And thanks to donors, the Minnesota Conference, in partnership with It Is Written, is able to fund this endeavor at Union.
Union leadership looks forward to the impact SALT will have on campus and the Mid-America Union. “I am excited to support and grow a new kind of faith learner and practitioner at Union Adventist University,” said Dr. Yami Bazan, Union Adventist University president. “Long known as the College of the Golden Cords, Union has always focused on developing professionals committed to sharing the gospel of Jesus as a way of living out their faith. The SALT program aligns beautifully with our mission and our love for Jesus.”
Alex Rodriguez is joining Union’s faculty as the SALT Program Director. He brings nearly two decades of experience in pastoral ministry and evangelism. He has always had a passion for evangelism and is already familiar with the SALT program, with two of his children being recent SALT graduates. A third plans to attend next year.
“I believe in SALT and its core mission. I’m a strong believer in mobilizing churches, in mobilizing laity. The work is going to be finished at the local level,” Rodriguez said. “I’m excited about what I have seen SALT at Southern produce. And I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to grow what God has tremendously blessed at Southern Adventist University and expand that into mid-America.”
Felicia Sanders will be the other half of the program’s leadership team and will direct outreach efforts. A SALT graduate, then SALT mentor for three years, Sanders comes well-equipped to help get the new program off the ground. “Felicia is outstanding,” Bradshaw shared. “She’s enthusiastic about sharing her faith, she is dynamic, and to have her on board signals to me that God’s hand is on the SALT project.”
Rodriguez has just completed the SALT program at Southern, learning about the program from Southern’s SALT director Douglas Na’a. Na’a will continue to lead the program there, and the two plan to work together to keep the programs tightly knit. “The best way to envision this is one program offered on multiple campuses,” said Rodriguez. “There is room for personalization, but the core will remain the same.”
To learn more about the SALT program at Union, visit uau.edu/salt
by Cassie Matchim Hernandez, marketing and communications specialist at It Is Written