Year 1
SPIR I801 Spiritual Formation
One-week retreat course which seeks to develop a biblical-theological spiritual theology and addresses central aspects of the Christian spiritual life such as prayer, meditation, the spiritual disciplines, the role of Scripture in the Christian life, the place of worship and sacraments and community. Students will begin the pattern of reading the whole Bible in a year, to be continued throughout the program. There is an additional cost for the retreat. Required reading must be completed before the course begins (see course syllabus).
OLDT I802 Old Testament Theology & History
An overview of the Old Testament narrative, surveying key historical moments in the life of Israel and developing a theological understanding of the Old Testament. Special attention is given to the identity and vocation of Israel as God’s people living amidst their cultural environment.
NEWT I801 & NEWT I802 Elementary Greek I & II
An intensive introduction to the fundamentals of Greek for the study of the New Testament
MVIM I800 Internship
This course starts in year one and continues throughout the cohort portion of the program. Students will complete a mentored internship learning experience in order to come to a deeper level of self awareness. Through a combination of classroom reflection and engaging in accountable relationships with a counselor, spiritual director and ministry mentor the student will come to a deeper appreciation of who they are and how this will affect their ministry. More information is provided on the internship page.
NEWT I803 Greek Exegesis I
This course involves continued work with the Greek New Testament to sharpen exegetical skills.
NEWT I804 New Testament Theology & History
An overview of the New Testament and moves toward developing an integrated biblical theology from the standpoint of a missional hermeneutic. Special attention is given to the formation of community and its role as witness to the Kingdom of God.
Year 2
LEAD I810 Forming Missional Leaders
This one-week intensive course, held at a retreat centre, deals with the nature of congregational leadership in a missional paradigm, including the role of the leader in fostering community, equipping lay leadership, modeling missional engagement, preaching and teaching, team building, discernment and vision and leading through transition and change. There is an additional cost for the retreat.
NEWT I806 Greek Exegesis II Ephesians
Built around the study of Ephesians, it is designed to sharpen exegetical skills and develop further abilities at moving from Greek exegesis through to sermon preparation.
MISS I805 Gospel, Church and Culture
This course, which will interact extensively with the preceding biblical courses, provides the basis for a theological-missiological understanding of the missional nature of the people of God, sent into the world as witnesses to Christ and His Kingdom. There will be off-campus sessions.
BIBL I807 Missional Hermeneutics in a Postmodern World
This course, which will use the Greek NT as well as the English Bible, seeks to develop skills in biblical interpretation, both in terms of exegetical methods as well as hermeneutics. Students learn how to use the latest exegetical tools and reference materials. Attention is given to moving from exegesis to sermon.
HIST I808 & HIST I809 History of Christianity I & II
A two-part course examining the major movements, events and ideas in the development of Christianity from the early Church to the present. Special attention will be given to examining the ways in which Christian communities were formed and ways in which the Gospel sought to engage culture.
Year 3
PAST I814 Pastoral Care in a Missional Framework
This one-week intensive course is held at a retreat centre. The course refines student skills in key areas of pastoral care and oversight, such as listening skills, the pastor's role as a spiritual director, a basic awareness of pastoral counselling issues, crisis intervention, death and dying and other topics. Time will also be spent exploring the role of the community in providing care and the place of the healing community in the mission of the church. There is an additional cost for the retreat.
THEO I811 & THEO I813 Systematic Theology I & II
The first half of this two-part sequence deals with the doctrines of God, Trinity, Christology, Creation, revelation and salvation. The second part deals with the doctrines of justification and sanctification, church, sacraments and last things. Particular attention will be given to the formation of a missional theology, especially its implications for spiritual formation, community identity, ethics and public witness.
INTD I812 & INTD I815 Integrative Seminar I & II
These courses involve one-day seminars devoted to examining major Christian pastor-theologians in order to explore their understandings of the Gospel, the witness of the church, engagement with culture and spiritual formation. The first semester will examine such figures as Cyprian, Ambrose, Gregory of Nazianzus, Hildegard von Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux and Menno Simons. The second semester will focus on more contemporary leaders, such as Lesslie Newbigin, John Perkins, Vinay Samuel, Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Primary source readings as well as biographical materials will be examined for each figure.
INTD I817 Faith and the Marketplace: Forming Missional Leaders for the Marketplace
Explores the workplace as a setting for the church’s missional engagement. It will develop a lay theology of the workplace and doctrine of vocation and equipping Christians for the integration of faith and work. The course will involve interaction with Christian professionals and ministry partners whose work is focused on business and professional sectors.
Year 4
MISS I816 Mission of the Church in the City
This course explores the challenges of ministry in contemporary urban contexts. The course will examine the dynamics that shape urban life, such as wealth and power, poverty, homelessness and others. The course will involve "hands on" participation in various forms of urban ministry, as well as interaction with political leaders and ministry partners whose work is focused on urban concerns. This ministry is set against the backdrop of understanding the particular cultural context encountered in Canada, with special attention to the contextualization of Christian witness in light of patterns in Canadian church history and Canadian social values.
INTD I818 Contextual Ministry
This course prepares students to engage in a lifetime of integrative missional ministry by developing the skills necessary for ministry in specific contexts. Students will participate in detailed study, using empirical tools and biblical-theological insights, of both their local congregations as well as their immediate communities, in order to develop a "local theology" appropriate to that congregation. This final course is designed to enable the student to integrate their learning throughout the program by developing an individualized project tailored to their future ministry needs.