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THEOLOGY/BIBLE
1.1 Introduction to the New Testament- this course is taught at a university level and will involve one week of study in a seminar format, and face-to-face teaching (approximately 30 hours of instruction). The course will focus on the development of basic knowledge and understanding of the formation of the New Testament, the backgrounds of the New Testament (Greco-Roman World, Hellenism, Inter-Biblical Period, Geography of Palestine, etc.), Gospel accounts and the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the birth and expansion of the Early Church (Acts), the Pauline epistles, epistles, Johannine epistles, and apocalyptic literature (Revelation). Special attention will be given to the various interpretations of key NT materials throughout church history among its various branches and manifestations.
1.2 2 Corinthians – an exegetically based overview and commentary on the book of 2 Corinthians, including identification of the key issues in the Corinthian church, Paul’s relationship to the church, Paul’s self-awareness, “weakness” as a sub-theme, etc. (30 hours, seminary level).
1.3 Basic Systematic Theology- An overview of basic systematic theology as it has been understood over the history of the church. The focus will be on gaining an understanding of the fundamentals of the faith in regard to the following: 1) what is revelation?, 2) Who is God?, 3) What is a human ?, 4) What is sin?, 5) Who is Christ?, 6) Who is the Holy Spirit? 7) What is salvation?, 8) What is the Church?, 9) What is the Christian Hope? (30 hours, university-level course).
1.4 The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit- An overview of the key biblical materials, from both testaments, on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, theological understanding through the history of the church, and trinitarian understandings of the Holy Spirit as third person of the Godhead (30 hours of instruction, seminary level).
1.5 Psychology of Religion- The goal of the course is to provide a survey of the psychological aspects involved in religion, religious practices, religious phenomena, and beliefs. Attention will be given to the cultural and psychological realities that influence the student’s perception of reality (ontology) and knowing (epistemology). (30 hours of instruction, seminary level).
1.6 Introduction to Philosophy of Religion – An introduction to the philosophy of religion, wherein the student will develop a constructive and biblically informed worldview and relate it to models in philosophy and theology. The course will deal with the basic issues of this task: how do we know (epistemology), what is real? (ontology), what is beauty (aesthetics), authority in religion, basic logic, faith and reason, science and religion, creation, history, and philosophy of history, what is a human? (anthropology), ethics, evil and suffering, demonic, eschatology and philosophy, the afterlife, etc. (30 hours of instruction, seminary level).
Introduction to Christian Ethics- An overview of the basic aspects of Christian ethics, including an apologetic for the study of ethics, how ethics is taught, formative factors in ethics, ethics, and faith development, ethics, and holiness, how worship informs ethics, the relationship of ethics to philosophy and a philosophy of ethics, ethics and calling, love and ethics. (30 hours, seminary level).
1.7 The Doctrine of Salvation- A biblical overview of the key scriptures and themes of the Bible in regard to salvation, including the examination of the relevant Old and New Testament texts, with a view toward formulating the doctrine in 3 primary aspects- 1)Basic Human Responses to the Gospel, 2) The Action of God in our Becoming a Christian, 3) the Christian Life (30 hours in instruction, seminary level).
1.8 Biblical and Practical Theology of Evangelism- in this course the student will learn that evangelism is founded in the very nature of the Triune God and how Christianity is not simply a doctrinal system but a way of life. This course is a theological-doctrinal apologetic and defense of evangelism and in through the church. In this study, we will come to understand how evangelism is rooted in the revelation of God in the creation, the conscious, and the Christ, the teaching of Jesus about the Father as related to evangelism, the person and work of Christ as they related to evangelism, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the gospel, the ascension and the gospel, the Holy Spirit and the gospel, the filling of the Spirit and evangelism, the 5 R’s of filling with the Spirit, the Holy Spirit’s role in salvation, the four-fold ministry of the Spirit in salvation, the 7 roles of the Spirit in witnessing, prayer and evangelism, 8 principles of intercessory prayer, the ways in which a church grows, factors that keep churches from growing, dynamics of church growth and how to help a church grow, spiritual gifts and the church, and effective evangelism leadership in the church, (30 hours, seminary level). I believe this may be the most important course in this catalog.
Pastoral Ministry
2.1 Introduction to Ministry- This training module is a functional overview of the Christian ministry and a guidebook dealing with the practical aspects of Christian ministry in the local church. The course will deal with pastoral calling, pastoral ministry in general, pastoral theology, ministry in the bible and in Christian history, qualifications for ministry, ordination, stress in ministry, worship and worship planning, theology of worship, pastoral care of families, pastoral care in grief, children and pastoral care, mental illness and pastoral care, and other related aspects of ministry in the local church or clinical settings (30 hours of instruction, seminary level).
2.2 Basic Preaching: Steps to the Sermon- participants in this training will receive an overview of preaching (what it is and what it isn’t), discuss exegetical (textual-based preaching), why it is so important, truths concerning textual-based sermons, and them move through the basic steps in the building of the textual-based sermon. Attention will be given to selected texts, and participants will practice discerning the central truth of the text (30 hours, undergrad level).
2.3 Introduction to Biblical Interpretation- in this course the participants will learn fundamental principles on biblical interpretations, common mistakes made in interpretation, figures of speech, literary genre in the bible and interpretive principles, exegesis vs. eisegesis, interpreting Hebrews poetry, parables, historical narrative, parallelism, understanding apocalyptic literature and its interpretive principles, etc. (30 hours, seminary-level course).
2.4 Obedience-based Bible Study for Small Groups- in this training participants will learn the basics of obedience-based bible study, how it is effective for believers and non-believers, how it can be used in a variety of cultural settings, and then participate in actual studies, with a view toward starting groups in the ministry context (open to all believers and leaders, one-day duration).
Evangelism
Our focus in evangelism training is verbal personal witness focused on sharing of the gospel message in personal and relevant ways. Personal witness is also related to the witness of caring, ministry (caring for others in tangible ways), and service.
3.1 Introduction to Evangelism- This training will focus on the following: Identifying the misconceptions of evangelism, the biblical basis of evangelism, understanding the oral, Spirit-empowered activities in the New Testament, identify and address problems in personal evangelism, understand the biblical meaning of “being lost,” the meaning of salvation in the New Testament, understand the eternal security of believers, discuss “what about those who have never heard?”, understand the incredible urgency of personal witness for Christ, discuss spiritual maturity and personal witness, identify the qualifications of a personal witness, understand the two primary views of predestination and the meaning of the term itself, two understandings of God’s will, answering skeptics who don’t believe the bible, personal testimony and its development (3 paragraphs), approaches and practical aspects of witness, four aspects of an effective witness (FIRE and FORM methods), prayer of the sinner (Four basic elements: confession, repentance, faith, and thanksgiving), follow-up in evangelism, Servanthood evangelism – 10 positive aspects. (30-hour course, seminary level).
3.2 Introduction to Personal Evangelism (one-hour training)- This training seeks to equip any and all believers to share their witness in one hour. This will consist of 1, writing a personal testimony- 15 minutes, 2) practicing verbalizing that testimony with another believer also involved in training- 15 minutes, 3) Introducing the Covenant of God’s Love and how to use it in personal witness contexts and follow-up- 20 minutes, 4) commissioning – 10 minutes. (level is a teenage believer to any level of education. This is for the church).
After commissioning, many teams have headed out on the streets or community in pre-selected areas to give out the Covenant of God’s love. The approach is to make verbal contact and then tell the recipient- “we would like to give you a free gift of God’s love.” Then the covenant is handed to the person. Also, teams have recorded one prayer requests from the recipients. Then teams can follow up within 10 days.