Practical Ministry Training Course Descriptions
Practical Ministry Training
PMT401–Homiletics I. This course will provide an introductory understanding of Homiletics related to theological disciplines and public speaking. Students will learn to articulate a theology of/for/from preaching, discover the use of one’s voice in authoritative preaching, learn the basics of sermon preparation, and develop an exegetical preaching outline. Submission of written sermon outlines will be required. In addition, students will have the opportunity to give mini-sermons reacted to by the instructor and fellow students.
PMT402 –Church Administration. This course will focus on Christian organizations only. The course is designed to help students become more effective church leaders in the theory and, more importantly, practice. Students will learn about goal setting, organization, delegation, human relations, group dynamics working effectively with non-staff on church boards, and the discovery of individual leadership styles. In addition, students will work through scenario assignments.
PMT403– Pastoral Counseling. This course is intentionally not designed to lead to licensure credentials in counseling. It analyzes the development of a biblical theology for pastoral counseling. It will consist of a basic understanding of the biblical principles of the nature of all people, why people respond as they do and what is essential in meaningful change. The primary focus is to provide basic biblical principles related to emotional and spiritual well-being, enabling Pastors to lead their parishioners through difficult times. Recognition of the limitations of Pastoral counseling along with the development of a referral resource are addressed.
PMT404-Effective Ministry Teams This course will help church leaders recognize that effective team-based leadership is an effective way to
develop local church leadership. Students will learn basic principles of creating high-performance teams, walking team members through team conflict, integrating biblical principles with team leadership principles, and empowering effective ministry teams.
PMT405-Homiletics II The prerequisite for this course is PMT401. This course will help preachers become faithful expositors of God’s Word. It consists of advanced expositional techniques, focusing on creativity, structure, style, sermon development, and delivery. It will focus on practical communication skills, contextual awareness and basic hermeneutical procedures, and the core traditional approaches to preaching: topical, textual, contemporary, and expository.
PMT406-Organization & Leadership in Christian Education. This course will introduce importance of a properly functioning Christian education program in the local church. This course is geared toward pastors and other congregational leaders to promote understanding of learning and teaching in religious contexts and support faith formation for all ages. It will help current or prospective pastors understand their role as the rallying point in the church’s educational ministry so that faith will flourish in a rapidly changing world.
PMT407–Developing A Music Ministry for a Small Church. This course will address the development of an effective music ministry for a smaller church. The course will give attention to the most common principles for making the music ministry supportive of the preaching and worship experience with the Pastor as a key role.
PMT408 – This course provides for actual preaching and conducting other essential functions of worship in the church, e.g., Communion service, conducting a formal business meeting of a church, and conducting a funeral service. Experience will be provided in the following areas:
- Two 15-minute Sunday Worship sermons (expository style), one O.T. and one N.T. However, writing out a sermon on paper to be handed in is expected.
- Ten-minute wedding homily and performing a mock wedding and funeral.
- A 15 – minute church business meeting. Class members will always assist the student performing the service.
This class will focus on STUDENT PRACTICE.