Course Description

“Missio Dei” is the idea that God is actively working to reconcile His creation to Himself through Jesus Christ. This course presents an overview of the theology of missions, as well as current trends in missions.

Course Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Outline a biblical rationale and the theological imperative for world evangelization.
• Identify and describe some key movements and individuals in the history of the global expansion of the Christian movement including those within one’s own denomination.
• Articulate some of the problems and skills involved in the complexities of communicating the gospel cross-culturally, taking into account insights from applied anthropology.
• Give a biblical rationale for development and social change and outline ways the Church is involved at home and abroad.
• List some basic components necessary for local congregations to be involved in the missionary task of the Church.
• Explain the task yet to be accomplished and describe important trends and selected strategies being used in contemporary world mission outreach.

Course Requirements

A. Technical Requirements

• Download and install a browser other than Microsoft Internet Explorer. We suggest Firefox or Google Chrome.
• The E-learning system performs better with Firefox or Google Chrome browsers.

B. Academic Requirements

• Lessons (25%) – Complete the weekly lessons
• Final exam (25%)
• Textbook Reading Reports ( 25%)
• Bible Reading Reports ( 25%)

C. Grading Scale

A = 94-100 Excellent
B = 84-93 Above Average
C = 74-83 Average
D = 64-73 Below Average
F = 63 & Below Failure

Assignments

1. Textbook Readings

Read the assigned textbook readings. Text reading will be reported by submitting 150 words or more of reflection on that day’s reading. On the first line of your reading report, specify whether you read all (worth up to 25 points), 75% (worth up to 20 points), 50% (worth up to 17 points) or 25% (worth up to 12 points).

Stumped on what to write? The book chapters have discussion questions at the end. Use your answer to one of those questions as the content of your reading report.

• Bible Readings

Report the reading of selected Bible passages. Write 150 words or more about the relevance of these passages to the task of world evangelization. Do one or more of the following:

• Reflect on one of the passages (“These verses appear in the middle of a section on …”)
• What similar themes run through the passages selected for a particular day?
• Report any new insights that came to you as you read
• Reflect on why you were asked to read this particular passage (“I think you asked us to read this because . . .”)
• Describe how the passage or passages might be used in a sermon or Sunday school class presentation. As you do these readings, don’t be content with off-the-cuff remarks (after all, this is God’s Word).
• Your reflection can even take the form of a written prayer. We are sometimes conditioned to think of the Bible as “God’s Word to me individually.” It will be helpful in this assignment to ask yourself: “What do these passages mean for the People of God?” The grading criteria on this assignment will center on how well you articulate the relevance of these particular passages to the cause of global evangelism.

Required Textbooks

Gailey, Charles R., and Howard Culbertson. Discovering Missions. Kansas City, Mo: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2007. ISBN: 978-0834122574