The Bible instructs the believer to not only obey the purpose for the believer’s existence (Matt. 28:18–20), but to fulfill this purpose in the local church (Eph. 4:12). Therefore, the believer should have a heightened value for the local church and thereby intelligently minister in it. This course is a practical study for the vocational ministry student as well as for the student who desires to be more informed of his/her role as a lay minister in the church. The student will, as never before, focus on the “big picture” of local church ministry and value all of its intricacies. Emphasis will also be put on the activities that make a church healthy.

Textbook readings and video presentations

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Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussion

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt for the discussion. The thread must be at least 300 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other discussion threads. Each reply must be at least 200 words. (CLO: C, D, F)

Philosophy of Ministry: First Draft Assignment

The student will write a paper expressing his/her perspective on basic ministry functions. This paper will serve as a baseline for growth as the student proceeds to study The Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. This assignment must be at least 750 words. The student must use at least two sources for this assignment. (CLO: A, B, E)

Case Study: Discipleship Process Assignment

Application of the principles learned in this course can be applied through a case study. The student will interview a church staff member or pastor regarding the church’s discipleship program. After the interview, the student will discuss observations made and his/her opinion on how this can help in his/her personal philosophy of ministry. The student will include a minimum of three observations with citations from the textbooks that support his/her observations. (CLO: A, B, C, F)

Spiritual Gifts Report Assignment

After completing a spiritual gifts assessment, the student will discuss how his/her spiritual gifts will impact ministry. The student will complete a report template discussing his/her findings. (CLO: D, E, F)

Philosophy of Ministry: Final Draft Assignment

Assimilating the information from this course, the student will expand his/her initial thoughts on ministry philosophy as it relates to a healthy church. This assignment must be 1000-2000 words and contain at least 4 resources. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E, F)

Quizzes (3)

The student will complete three quizzes throughout the duration of this course. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes.  Each will contain 50 questions with the exception of the final quiz which will contain 75 questions. Quizzes will be made up of multiple choice and true/false questions. Each quiz will have a 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes time limit. (CLO: B, C, D)