School of Christian Ministries
The School of Christian Ministries
The School of Christian Ministries has 3 departments offering biblical and ministerial degree programs for students pursuing various vocational ministries. These departments include: Bible & Theology, Global Ministries, and Ministry & Leadership. All programs include 30 hours of Biblical and Theological courses, practical application experiences, community service, and outreach. Some programs have a summer internship. The professors are experienced and prepared to guide students towards their professional ministry goals. TFC and the School of Christian Ministries are a wise choice for those pursuing vocational ministry.
Bible & Theology Department
The world needs leaders who have thought deeply about the Christian faith and the implications of the Gospel for today. Churches need pastors who create vibrant Christian communities grounded in faithful interpretation of Scripture. The Academy needs scholars who dynamically contextualize biblical truth and theology in order to engage culture. Society needs followers of Jesus who communicate truth with philosophical rigor and theological coherence in a compelling way.
Our professors help train the future leaders, pastors, scholars, and disciples who will carry out these tasks. Our majors challenge students to examine deep worldview questions such as the nature of truth, the authority of Scripture, the uniqueness of Christ, the origin and goal of creation, the problem of evil and suffering, and the nature and being of God, through rigorous study of Scripture and the great traditions of the Christian faith.
Global Ministries Department
The Global Ministries Department (GMD) seeks to develop disciple-makers who, in cooperation with the church, holistically minister the good news of Jesus Christ to people of other cultures. We offer three majors: Global Engagement, Cross-cultural Business Administration, and Sustainable Community Development. We also offer minors in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Cultures (TESOL), Anthropology, and Cross-cultural Studies to name a few.
We seek to develop disciples who are wholeheartedly devoted to Christ, have a biblically informed manner of living, possess a scholarly based knowledge set in their field of ministry, have skills to live incarnationally among diverse peoples and be empowered to make disciples of Christ among the unreached. The requirements of our majors are designed to meet the qualifications of mission organizations, denominations, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and to prepare graduates to live, work, and minister successfully in another culture. All our majors provide practical experiences embedded in various courses. Also, each major requires at least a 6-week internship within a culture different than the students. There is also the Semester Abroad program where those six weeks become 16 weeks of a cross-cultural experience.
Professors in the GMD approach the teaching/learning context from having served long-term in cultures different from their own, equipping them to bring to the learning environment practical experiences and knowledge. Our graduates are serving all over the world in a variety of ministry contexts addressing diverse needs.
Ministry & Leadership Department
The Ministry and Leadership Department prepares men and women for specializations in disciple-making ministries in the church and faith-based organizations. It builds upon a strong biblical and theological base while integrating insights from the social sciences and educational technology. This program contributes to an understanding of the biblical imperative for church training and discipleship, the ability to communicate effectively the significant role that teaching has in personal growth and leadership development, and capacity to construct a biblically sound philosophy of ministry that will endure sociological and cultural change. It also provides the ability to teach and effectively minister to selected age groups as well as the ability to design, administer, and evaluate educational ministries within the local church and faith-based organizations.
We offer two majors (Ministry Leadership and Outdoor Leadership Education) including concentrations in: Church Planting, Faith-Based Organizations, Multi-Generational Ministries, Pastoral Ministries, and Youth Ministries. We also offer Minors in Homiletics, Outdoor Leadership Education, Multi-Generational Ministries, Pastoral Ministries, and Youth Ministries. All of our professors are highly qualified educators, currently involved in their fields, and committed to building meaningful relationships with our students. Our classrooms are characterized by lively, interactive and experiential learning, and professors are regularly engaged in many life-on-life conversations with students. This includes meeting in their offices, Odyssey Coffeehouse, the dining hall, and all the spaces in between! Our graduates are well-prepared to serve in a wide range of ministry-related vocations, both domestically and internationally.