Planting a church takes great wisdom, patience and a lot of hard work.  Employ the latest understanding in biblically-based worldview issues, church planting missiology and practical team work principles gleaned from studying examples from the New Testament and from 70 years of church planting experience. Use teamwork and relationship principles in order to engage with your teammates and serve the people you are working with.

Semester 1

Big Picture: Examine God’s eternal purposes; His overarching plan and intention to glorify Himself throughout all the earth, principally through the redemption and reconciliation of people to Himself. Observe His plan unfolding throughout the human history, it’s fulfillment in Christ and it’s realization in the church era and see how it is fleshed out in local contexts.

Philosophy of Foundational Bible Teaching: Examine the principles behind the concept of presenting the gospel through teaching the Bible Chronologically. Discover and learn to apply biblical principles for teaching methodology in church planting.

Child Protection: Children are our most precious and vulnerable resource. Learn about the devastating realities of child abuse and how to recognize it. Discover methods of protection from and prevention of abuse in cross-cultural and domestic contexts.

Family Life: Strong and healthy relationships are foundational to an on-going fruitful ministry. Discover biblical principles that will promote healthy single’s ministries, husband and wife relationships and parent and child relationships.

Semester 2

Families in Ministry I: Realize the benefits of writing a family mission statement. Survey the spectrum of choices available for your child’s education on the mission field. Learn to assist your children to face the transitions and challenges that come with cross-cultural work.

Animism: Discover the complexities associated with an animistic world view. Learn to predict and address the barriers that hinder the animist from a proper understanding of God’s Word.

Folk Religions: Learn the basic tenets of Islam and Catholicism. Explore the issues of ministering in an environment in which those tenets are syncretized with aspects of animism.

Yurok: Learn to practically apply the principles learned in studying Animism and Folk Religion by examining the culture of the Yurok people of Northern California. Use the cultural information acquired to appropriately contextualize God’s Word for maximum understanding through the development and teaching of curriculum specifically designed for this people group.

Curriculum Development: Discover the important principles and guidelines for developing and implementing a Foundational Bible Teaching program in a cross-cultural setting among an unreached people group.

New Testament Church Principles: Identify the principles for establishing and planting a church. Get a glimpse of what a church looks like that is moving towards maturity. Discover the foundational principles evident in New Testament churches in any cultural context.

Planting the Church:

  • Evangelism: Review the basics of the Foundational Bible Teaching program and discover important church planting principles to be implemented during the initial cycles of a Foundational Bible Teaching program.
  • Beginning Church: Explore the cultural opportunities and challenges facing new tribal believers during the beginning stages of a new church.
  • Developing Church: Survey the early church in the book of Acts to distinguish the principles important in a developing tribal church.
  •  Maturing Church: Identify the issues missionaries will face in the process of seeing an indigenous tribal church developing towards maturity.

Semester 3

Semantics and Translation: Learn the principles and guidelines for meaning-based translation. Explore the procedures and processes of translation and practice implementing them with a passage from the Bible.

Literacy: The written word of God is foundational to the growth and development of a healthy church. Study the components of a strong literacy program and grasp it’s importance in the process of a church plant.

Field Ministry Presentation: Prepare and deliver a ministry presentation to be used during your time of developing ministry partners. Use the feedback and evaluation you receive to improve it for the future.

Planting the Church: (20 hours)

  • Beginning Church: Explore the cultural opportunities and challenges facing new tribal believers during the beginning stages of a new church.
  • Developing Church: Survey the early church in the book of Acts to distinguish the principles important in a developing tribal church.
  • Maturing Church: Identify the issues missionaries will face in the process of seeing an indigenous tribal church developing towards maturity.