Program Distinctives



What is distinctive about our program can be summed up in three factors.

Integrated approach

First, we have an integrated approach which is very unique in that we blend theological, biblical and educational principles together as we approach the complex process of discipleship. What do theology and the bible tell us about spiritual growth? And more than that, how do education theory, curriculum theory and development theory inform us in the process, so we bring an integrated approach? Bible, theology, education and the social sciences; the social sciences are important because when we come to church and we approach people we need to have the tools to exegete the context in which we are working.

Expert faculty

What are some of the distinctives of the Christian Education & Formation Program?

The second thing is the faculty that we bring in. I [Dr. Yau Man Siew] am the coordinator of the program but I bring in adjunct faculty from all over Canada and the United States, and these are people who have expertise in different areas. We have Tom McCormick who is a linguist and has a PhD in Communicational history and philosophy. We have Bruce Martin who is a seasoned pastor in Alberta. He is the one who teaches on the pastor as educational leader in the church. We have Scottie May from Wheaton College and she is an expert in Children's ministry and we bring her in to help us develop children's ministry and education in the church. We have Elaine Becker whose expertise is in adult education; she was formally a major in the Salvation Army. So all these people are very important. I desire to expose my students to a wide variety of expertise, people who have been in ministry and who are trained in those areas to help us.

Relevant curriculum

The third distinctive would be our curriculum. In Christian Education and Formation we want to make sure that pastoral leaders are equipped in a number of areas. One, what really are educational ministries about? Two, how do we learn from the history and philosophy of education, what are some of the lessons that the history of the subject has taught us about teaching and learning in the life of the church and society in general? Thirdly, curriculum theory, what does it mean to organize a program that will truly be effective to help people to grow spiritually? Yes, we understand the bible and theology and they are vital topics to cover, but curriculum is also about modern depths. It is needs assessment, organizing teaching/learning events that are effective, it is assessing whether the program is really transforming lives and people. And then fourthly there is human development and learning; is there a way that people develop cognitively, socially, morally and in their faith, and if there are structures of development how do we organize more development to be the appropriate learning for people to grow in their faith? Lastly we have a course on research methods which we call ethnographic research, and that's where the social science comes in. We want to equip students with a tool or tools so that they can understand how the class and learning is really impacting people and how to find out the needs of people, how to identify key informants within the social groups, to ascertain the effectiveness of our teaching.

 

For more information about the Christian Education and Formation concentration and what courses are needed to fulfill its requirements, click here.