Certificate in Missional Theology & Practice

What is God's mission and what's our role in it?

These are the two main questions we will explore in our certificate in missional theology and practice.

This two-semester program includes the following courses: 

• The Drama of Scripture
• The Symphony of Mission

Together with a group of fellow learners, you will meet weekly over the course of two semesters to discover how the biblical story reveals God's mission to save God's world through Jesus Christ. You will also read through the entire Bible, learning how it unfolds as a literary masterpiece that draws us to Jesus and equips us for his mission. We'll then challenge each other to put what we've learned into practice through intentional, missional living.

Completing both courses in two semesters will require a time commitment of approximately 6 hours per week. This includes attending the weekly group meeting and setting aside an average of four hours per week for reading, reflection, and other assignments.

Tuition is $350 per semester

Course Descriptions

COURSE 1 • THE DRAMA OF SCRIPTURE

The Church’s missionary mandate does not merely rest on the Great Commission passages alone. Rather, the whole Bible itself is a missional phenomenon. It is both the product of and witness to God’s redemptive mission. So “mission”  is not just one item on a list of things that the Bible is about. It’s what it’s all about. The reason we have the Bible is that the Triune God is on a mission to reveal himself and his salvation to the world. From beginning to end, it is an epic story of God’s mission through God’s people to save God’s world. This story finds its focus and fulfillment in the good news of Jesus Christ. As we digest God’s story, we will discover how it stands in stark contrast to the rival idolatrous stories being told in our contemporary setting and how it truly is a better story. 

The primary texts for this course are the Bible and The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (3rd Edition) by Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen. We will also watch a number of Bible Project videos that demonstrate how "the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus."

During this course, you follow a Bible reading plan that sets you on pace to read through the entire Bible by the time you complete the Symphony of Mission course.

This course is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters and is a prerequisite for the Symphony of Mission course in this certificate program.

COURSE 2 • THE SYMPHONY OF MISSION

In this course, we will examine the comprehensiveness of God’s mission and the honor of joining him in it. Regardless of our station in life, we can join him in restoring all things. We will explore the relationship between “mission,” which refers to the comprehensiveness of God’s restoration, and “missions,” which refers to taking that mission to every tongue, tribe, and nation. We’ll learn how every local church and every believer can cultivate habits that join us integrally with taking the message and power of the gospel to our neighbors and the nations. Toward the end of this course, you will tie everything together in a personalized missional plan. 

The primary texts for this course are the Bible and The Symphony of Mission: Playing Your Part in God's Work in the World by Michael Goheen and Jim Mullins. We will also explore other content to help us find our role in God's mission.

During this course, you complete the Bible reading plan begun in the Drama of Scripture course.

This course is offered in the Fall and Spring semesters.

Our Commitment

Our commitment to you is to guide you through the course, facilitate the weekly group discussions, provide feedback on your work, and coach you to put into practice what you are learning. Most of this will happen in the context of the group meetings and we will all be learning from one another. 

Your Commitment

Each course involves commitment. Your presence and participation in the weekly group times, as well as your completion of the assignments, will affect not only your own experience but also that of others. Commitment to each course involves an average of 6 hours/week of time set aside to: 

• Participate in the weekly group times (2 hours/week)
• Complete the assignments (~4 hours/week). Weekly assignments include:
• Assigned reading (or listening) from the course book and Bible 
• Written responses to reflection questions based on the reading
• Keep up with the Bible reading plan (~20 minutes/day)
• Quizzes on the Bible Project Videos
• Assignments aimed at putting what you learned into practice
• Tuition is $350 per semester