If you have looked at our website, hopefully you noticed our emphasis on "missional theology." At first glance, this may seem like a mere rephrasing of the well-established way of doing theological education. However, we aim at something more profound, beginning with the relationship between God’s mission and the Bible. 

It’s common in missionary circles to talk about the "biblical basis of missions" and look for passages in the Bible that relate to God's plan to redeem people from every nation. While following this biblical thread from Genesis to Revelation is necessary, if this is all that shapes our understanding of mission, then we've missed something essential about the Bible and even God himself. Therefore, while a Doctrine of Scripture course must deal with topics such as divine inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy, it must first explore why we have the Bible in the first place. It is because the Triune God is on a mission to reveal himself and his salvation to the world. Our understanding of mission cannot rest on the "Great Commission" passages alone. Rather, we must see the Bible itself as a missional phenomenon. It is both the product of and witness God’s redemptive mission human history. This mission culminates in the gospel of Jesus Christ and results in the restoration of the entirety of human life and all creation for all who believe. 

Thus when it comes to biblical education and ministry preparation, we want a robust theology of God’s comprehensive mission to shape all subjects. We do not merely want to add more courses on missions, evangelism, culture, church planting, etc., as helpful as those are. Rather we are exploring how a missional theology will realign the whole curriculum to the goal of equipping the Church for our role in God's mission. This is not a rejection of the rich theological heritage we have received from the historical Church and the insights of various theological disciplines. Instead, as Michael Goheen advocates, we seek "to engage the same material and reframe it with a missional lens." 

Likewise, a course on hermeneutics will teach us principles of interpretation in light of Scripture's role in God's mission. As students learn to attend to the original author, audience, and meaning of a passage, they will learn also to listen for the Spirit's address to the Church then as well as now, drawing people to faith in Jesus and equipping them for God's mission. It will teach students to consider how the gospel shapes our missionary engagement with the cultural idolatry of our day. 

A Doctrine of God course will undoubtedly explore the attributes of God. But to remain true to God's character, it must also attend to how these attributes are revealed only in the context of the story of the Father who sent the Son who sends the Spirit who sends the Church to embody and proclaim this story to the ends of the earth. Thus the Church's mission is based not primarily on the command of God but on the character of God. 

A Church History course will not only explore key leaders, councils, and events but do so in light of the redemptive timezone between Christ's ascension and his return, a time that only makes sense in light of God's plan to redeem a people for himself from every tongue, tribe, and nation. The historical and theological developments since Acts 28 are testimonies to the Church's faithfulness (or lack thereof) to our missional identity as the gospel engaged new cultural frontiers.

These are just cursory examples, but hopefully, it gives you a feel for how we want to approach theological education. From beginning to end, the Bible is an epic story of God's mission through God's people to save God's world. This story finds its climax and center in the good news of Jesus Christ. Because of Christ's finished work, the story's conclusion at his return is the restoration of the whole creation and all of human life to God's eternal praise and glory. We want our students to be thoroughly shaped by and take up their roles in this incredible story! Thank you for partnering with us!