Bible & Christian Ministry

A study of the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy. Special attention will be given to exploring the literary and theological themes in the Pentateuch, from creation to the formation of the nation of Israel. Covenant, law, election, worship, and other major topics will be studied considering their original context and in light of their interpretation in the New Testament.

In-depth study of the book of Acts. Topics include the progress of the gospel and the growth of the early church through the power of the Holy Spirit, the life of the Apostle Paul, methods of interpreting Acts, and consideration of how to apply the message of Acts in the modern church.

Spanning nearly 800 years of Israel's history, there are twelve books in this part of the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. These books were composed at different times and places but have been arranged in a sequence that tells the story of God's people from the conquering and possession of Canaan, the reigns of the judges, the establishment of kings, the division of Israel into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, the fall of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria, the exile of the Southern Kingdom into Babylon, and the return to Jerusalem under the leadership of people like Nehemiah and Ezra, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem into the Persian period. An examination of each book’s principal themes and topics will be considered the story of God as revealed in this section of the Old Testament.

An overview of Romans through Revelation. The course primarily emphasizes the main themes and theological emphases of each book and their application to the modern church but also covers introductory issues such as authorship, setting, date, and literary structure of each book.

This course is designed to give the student advanced instruction and practice in the process of inductive Bible studies, focusing on the steps of observation, interpretation, and application, along with charting of Scripture. The goal is to improve the student’s ability to accurately study Scripture and apply it with relevance to unleash the transforming power of God’s Word.

*Prerequisites: BI 1303 or BI 1304 and GE 1301.

This course includes a study of the Old Testament's poetic books and wisdom literature. The Psalms regarding meaning, form, structure, and context will be studied. The wisdom books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes will be studied regarding message, form, structure, and wisdom theology.

This course provides introductory principles for leadership at all levels of Christian leadership, from the newest ministry team members to the church's senior pastor.

A biblical and theological study of the call upon leaders and disciples to guide people to conform their lives to the likeness of Christ. Students will look at the life of Jesus as the exemplar of the biblical shepherding of people into their purpose. Old and New Testament “shepherds” will also be given attention to learn principles and practices in leading God’s people. Extensive attention will be given to what the Bible teaches about growth towards God’s created purpose for man for each student to develop a scripturally based theology of shepherding.

This course will explore servant leadership's ethical, practical, and meaningful aspects. It will begin with Christian ethics and the question: how should we live as Christians? That will be followed by accounts of leaders in the Old Testament, the teachings of Jesus, and the question: as Christians, how should we lead? Servant leadership will be defined, and the critical practices of servant leaders will be explored. Students will use their knowledge of servant leadership to evaluate the characters in an assigned movie and will identify a need in the community and develop a plan to meet the need.

This course introduces students to theological thinking and methodology and introduces the doctrines of God's revelation, theology proper (the person of God and the Trinity), Christology, anthropology (the nature of humanity), and hamartiology (the nature of sin).

This course develops the student's ability to think theologically and introduces the doctrines of soteriology (salvation and growth), pneumatology (the Holy Spirit), angelology, ecclesiology (the church), and eschatology (future things).

A contextual overview of the Christian church as it developed and spread through the world from its beginning in Jesus to the modern times. The cultural, intellectual, and political context of the growth of the Christian church will be considered, including the theological and doctrinal issues the church has contended with throughout history. Implications and application to our lives in the twenty-first century will be a significant dimension of this journey.