A course designed to develop leadership potential in students and to give them a familiarity with the various elements of the administrative process, including: goal setting and achieving, organization, delegation, human relations, group dynamics, supervision and the training of other leaders. Though the principles are universal, the focus of the course is the local church.

An examination of the process of interpersonal communication and conflict management in human relationships within Christian organizations, with attention given to communication models, self-concept, non-verbal messages, stress and other strategies that will assist the Christian leader in developing interpersonal communication skills and the productive use of conflict.

A church leader wears many hats. In this course learners discover how to maximize productivity in the various functions of church leadership. The course examines the biblical foundation and practical functions of administrative leadership in churches and Christian organizations, and focuses on developing successful, biblical attitudes and skills among team leaders.

Students will analyze basic leadership principles from secular and evangelical sources, analyzing them through a biblical/theological grid. (This advanced course is built on ITS course CE 501 Church Leadership and Administration. However, CE 501 is not a prerequisite for this course.)

It is the purpose of this course to focus on the anatomical, physiological, intellectual, sociological and spiritual development of the human organism from conception until death. The major theorists in the area of human development will be researched and the various major theories of human development will be critically compared.

Specifically, this course views human growth and development as a psychological, biological, and spiritual process that demands an integrated analysis. The course addresses the development and wellness of individuals and families throughout the life cycle.

The aspects of development including biological, social, cognitive, emotional, and moral will be covered.

The course will examine how the abilities, needs, problems, and concerns of humans change throughout life, and how people are shaped by their experiences throughout their development.

This course includes a study of the major religious and secular developments in history and education along with a comparison of those developments with biblical principles.

The goal is to develop an understanding of the church's role in education and to develop a personal philosophy of Christian education. The course also teaches introductory concepts related to education in a the local church and Christian School contexts.

This course reviews development of infants and children in several dimensions; cognitive, emotional, social, and religious. Parental, family, church, and institutional-agency ministry reviewed with the purpose of encouraging students to develop a starting theology of ministry to persons in this age group and to practice skills fundamental to such ministry.

This course reviews development of teenagers and young adults in several dimensions: cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual. Parental, family, church, and institutional-agency ministry critically reviewed with the purpose of encouraging students to develop a starting theology of ministry to persons in this age group and to practice skills fundamental to such ministry.

This course includes a study of the principles and aims of curriculum development, with an emphasis on selection and creative use of curriculum materials and resources to fulfill the educational task of the church. Students will be presented with various views on the means of knowing God and differing views of Scripture, as well as how each of these views influences development and choice of curriculum.

Students will be introduced to the inductive Bible study method, as well as a method of lesson planning known as the HBLT approach. Students will be led through a consideration of how both of these methods can be adapted to teach different age students, including adults, youth, children and pre-schoolers.

Students will be presented with Maslow's and Herzberg's research on individual needs, along with an instrument for assessing learner's needs in a classroom setting. Bloom's Taxonomy will be used to motivate a consideration of the aims of a Bible lesson and the methods available to creative Bible teachers.

Students will be exposed to common practices of truly great teachers, factors that motivate learning, and a method for evaluating the teaching-learning process. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to see the learner as an individual who, depending on age and experience, is motivated in different ways to achieve unique ends.

This course is designed as an introduction to basic methods for teaching from a dynamic biblical viewpoint. The purpose of the course is to assist the theology students in understanding the essential elements of effective instruction and learning. Students will be introduced to different genres of writing in the Bible, as well as appropriate methods of interpreting each genre.

For any given biblical passage to be taught, students will be encouraged to consider the big idea that needs to be conveyed to students, how to bridge the gap between the world of the Bible and the students� world, and problems that might be encountered at the planning and presentation levels for the lesson.

Students will be challenged to think about how their own teaching can be improved in terms of fostering active learning, motivating learning, communicating clearly, personalizing biblical truth, and building a constructive classroom atmosphere.

Students will be guided through the process of choosing a lesson topic and theme, leading students to discover the thematic and structural unity of the biblical passage through the method of inductive Bible study, and evaluating the results of instruction and learning.

This is a study of the nature of leadership. It will introduce a practical definition of what leadership is, briefly consider the recent history of leadership research, reflect on changing paradigms in Christian leadership today, and study the differences between leadership and management. Particular focus is given to the nature of transformational leadership.

The underlying purposes of the course are to:

1) provide students with an understanding of the nature of leadership and leaders,

2) lead the students in personal evaluations of their own roles as leaders and managers,

3) guide the students in making personal plans for their improvement as leaders,

4) give students a clear conceptual framework within which to understand the differences between leadership and management, along with the practical implications of those differences, and

5) increase students' critical thinking, writing skills and report preparation.

This course is a study of evangelism ministry with special attention paid to the context of a local church setting. Students will be encouraged to make specific applications of the lectures and assignments to the particular setting of their present or intended ministry (e.g., urban core, commuting suburban, rural, single professionals, ethnically diverse, and so forth).

The course begins with a study of the biblical and theological foundations for evangelism. On this basis we will study methods of personal and group evangelism, how to equip laity to witness (and why most Christians don't respond to training seminars on evangelism), the use and development of church and para-church structures in evangelism (both on-going and special), the care of new converts and discipleship, and selected current issues in evangelism.

Assignments focus on practical application of workable solutions for evangelism in the local church. Those in para-church ministries will find much to relate to their particular and often unique needs.

How do you view reality? What is the source of your knowledge? Do you live what you believe? Such are the questions that a worldview answers.

This course examines the nature and function of belief structures, and the value of developing and living a distinctly Christian life. The course develops a Christian worldview from a redemptive history model of Biblical theology, which is then clarified using the philosophical categories of metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology.

Learners will gain an understanding of modern and postmodern thought and how to critique them biblically, and are encouraged to develop and apply a Christian worldview to life and ministry.