At Covenant Theological Seminary we are committed to equipping you to fulfill the Great Commission. Working in conjunction with Global Frontier Missions and GoToNations, we have built a comprehensive curriculum that is designed to help believers serve successfully on the fields of the world.
All courses are 3 credit hours unless otherwise designated.
IS 0513 History of World Missions
Textbook
Ruth A. Tucker
The story of missions from the days following the early church to contemporary times outlines the leaders, the legacy and the lasting impact of committed men and women of God throughout history. (Textbook: From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth A. Tucker)
IS 0523 Missions 101
CD/DVD
Dr. Jerry Williamson
Missions 101 is a two part course. Part One: Global Pathway is designed, step by step, on how to prepare the local church to become a Great Commission Church which impacts not only the local area, but fulfills its mission to the entire word. Part Two: Steps to the Mission Field is a track for full-time missionary service, giving the process for every minister to grow into his/her ministry.
IS 0533 Mission Addiction
Textbook
Dr. David Shibley
In this course you will discover a global Jesus generation that is creating discomfort in the church and change in missions worldwide. God is calling you to become part of a contagious epidemic of missions-hearted believers who will bring global fame to His Name. (Additional book: A Force in the Earth by Dr. David Shibley) (Also MN 5443)
IS 0713 Intercultural Studies Ministry Practicum
Because the best way to learn about missions is by getting out and doing it, we require students to participate in a domestic or international cross-cultural missions trip with Global Frontier Missions. Students will spend at least forty-five (45) hours of cross-cultural ministry among Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. There will also be practical teaching, training, coaching, and debriefing as students get hands-on experience reaching out to people from all over the world. This is required for anyone desiring to obtain their associate's, bachelor's, or master's of ministry in intercultural studies.
IS 0723 The Missionary Task
During this course, we will be learning about the call to missions as well as the importance of bonding to the culture in which you are trying to minister and following the incarnational model of Jesus (becoming one of us in order to reach us). We will also talk about how crucial it is to learn the heart language of the people and some of the differences between warm and cold climate cultures. We must understand the Great Commission and the task of remaining.
IS 0733 Contextualization and the Indigenous Church
This course focuses on what it means to plant indigenous churches. We will talk about the importance of churches being self-teaching, self-propagating, self-supporting as well as issues of dependency and reproducibility. The missionary’s job is to work ourselves out of a job and see the local people equipped so that they can make disciples of their own people. We will also talk about issues of contextualization and how the gospel fits into different cultures.
IS 0743 Church Planting Movements
This course teaches the universal elements of church planting movements. There are principles being used overseas that we can learn from where there is spontaneous, rapid multiplication of disciples making disciples and churches planting churches. We will study movements throughout the earth and talk about expansion of the kingdom.
IS 0753 Money and Missions
This course focuses on stewardship of finances. We will compare what this world teaches concerning money versus what Jesus taught his disciples about the kingdom view of riches. We will also be talking about the Biblical basis of raising support for missionary efforts and tips on how to go about vision casting and "friend raising". We will also cover topics such as budgeting, staying in touch with supporters, giving, etc.
IS 0763 Cults and World Religions
During this course, we will give an overview of the major world religions (Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism). We give a survey of each religion talking about where they came from, what their basic beliefs are, and some tips on reaching out to them. We also do a quick overview of some of the cults that are out there and what they are teaching.
IS 0773 Orality and Storytelling
During this course, we will talk about the most effective way to share the gospel with people of oral or non-literate cultures. We will talk about the power of storytelling and how chronological storying has been an effective tool in many missions contexts. We will also look at a lot of different audio and video resources that are being used overseas to disciple the nations. Storytelling is a tool that is being used all over the world in evangelism, discipleship, and church planting.
IS 0783 Revival and Community Transformation
This course takes us on a journey of discovering the universal principles of revival and community transformation. As we study moves of God throughout history and throughout the world, there are certain themes and principles that are evident in all of them. There are no formulas to seeing God move in this special way, but we can learn a lot from studying how God has moved in the past and how he wants to move again. We will also look at real testimonies of God transforming whole societies across the globe in our generation.
IS 0793 Community Development
This course talks about meeting physical needs in the world. We want people to get saved and come into the kingdom, but the Bible also says that taking care of orphans and widows is true religion. So, we need to have a holistic approach to ministry and try to meet physical needs in a way that doesn’t promote dependency. If we give a man a fish, he eats for a day but if we teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime.
IS 0813 Missions in a Pluralistic, Postmodern World
This course will be talking about church history because history tends to repeat itself and also because we can learn great things (good and bad) from our Christian heritage and missionary work from the past. We will also be talking about different forms (or wineskins) that the church has taken throughout history (house churches, traditional churches, mega-churches, emerging churches, etc.) Another major focus this week will be the shift in culture from a more modern to postmodern way of thinking and how that will affect the church, the mission field, and making disciples.