Courses

This course will explore some essential foundations of Christian ministry such as the call to ministry, the importance of understanding our context, the essential content of Christian ministry and the challenge of the ongoing cultivation of our practice of Christian ministry. The gospel of Matthew and Jesus’ own development and work with the twelve as it is depicted in this gospel will serve as a foundation for the course  as it unpacks each of these themes. We will explore the inner challenges of ministry life as well as the outer ones that must be addressed if we are to serve Christ faithfully in our given context. The goal of the course is to help orient students to some of the foundational internal, external and theological factors that anchor ministry as we also consider their connection to the actual practice of ministry.

As a modified hybrid course, we will be using a course shell provided by McMaster University’s Avenue to Learn as well as other online technology. Information about accessing and using these sites will be provided prior to the beginning of the course and as needed. If you have questions about the technological aspects of the course or have any problems with the technology, please contact the instructor. I will do my best to help and if I am not able to answer your questions, I will work with our IT support team to get an answer for you as soon as possible.

Knowing

• Upon completion of this course students will understand a number of key experiences and practices that contribute to personal formation for ministry.
• Upon completion of this course students will gain insight into the integrative nature of experience and knowledge in ministry formation.
• Upon completion of this course students will be able to identify many of the key challenges in the ongoing practice of Christian ministry.

Being

• As a result of this course students will have reflected on their past and ongoing experiences as a way to consider how they are being formed for ministry.
• As a result of this course students will consider their present needs in their ongoing development in ministry formation. 

Doing

• Upon completion of this course students will have developed a personal philosophy for ministry formation.