Youth Ministry

Students who choose the youth ministry emphasis will complete five theology courses, one psychology course, and six credits of ministry practicum, in addition to completing the general course requirements for a theology degree.

• Foundations of Mission and Ministry: A study of the Bible’s teaching about the mission of the people of God and how the Christian Church understands mission and ministry. The course also explores the contextualization of the gospel in the Western and global Church.
• Foundations of Worship: A study of the Scriptural foundation for worship and of the components of worship. There will be a brief study of historic patterns of worship, leading to the preparation of liturgies and the practice of worship-leading skills.
• Teaching the Bible: This course explores the Reformational approach to teaching the Bible. Its primary goal is to equip lay and professional ministry practitioners and teachers with the skill of preparing and presenting biblical content to diverse audiences. Interpretive attention will be given to the text of Scripture, the situation of the learner, the process of preparation, the art of presentation. The course will cover theological and pedagogical foundations as well as the practical content of teaching Bible. This course is relevant for those teaching in a local church context as well as for those developing curriculum to teach the Bible in a high school classroom setting.
• Gospel, Church, and Culture: Study of a Reformed approach to ministry in the context of the congregation and contemporary culture. The course includes the study of a Reformed philosophy of ministry, the nature of the church, cultural dynamics that affect both ministry and the church, and the character of leadership that takes all these factors into account.
• Leadership and Discipleship: This course explores leadership from a Reformational perspective by focusing on such issues as discipleship, character formation, working with teams, conflict resolution, leading small groups, and communication. The purpose of this course is to help students cultivate the insight and discernment needed to develop a biblical approach to leadership in dialogue with the fields of communication, organizational theory, and Christian ethics.
• Lifespan Development: This course studies the growth and maturation of persons throughout the entire lifespan, including examination of physical, cognitive, personality, social changes, faith development, and other developmental tasks. This course will also focus on evaluating the theoretical issues and
  descriptive information portraying the growth of an individual from conception through late adulthood. Students will develop a biblically informed vision of who we are as image-bearers of God and what it means to be humans living in God’s creation.
• Helping Skills: Class focus is on developing the foundational interpersonal and helping skills required for psychology students interested in human service practice. Topics include active listening, attending, problem-solving, challenging, brainstorming, and group counseling skills. The course is organized around an experiential learning model and students are given feedback on their helping skills.
• Ministry Practicum: Students will engage in field experience in a ministry related area under the guidance of both a site and a department supervisor. Three hours of course credit will be based on 126 hours of involvement.

See the course catalog for more information.