Course Catalogue 2025-2026

This course surveys the Jewish liturgical calendar and Jewish life cycle as well as fundamental rituals such as kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) with the purpose of creating a foundation of comprehension of the meaning, purpose and beauty of Jewish spiritual life in the context of providing spiritual care. It is important that students understand the theoretical issues upon which practices and rituals are based and that students appreciate the contexts, texts, and axioms behind the rituals for comprehensiveness. Topics include the holy day cycle, the life cycle, the dietary laws, and ritual garments with an eye on how to bring its lessons to the spiritual care setting.

This course is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for biblical preaching by exploring the implications of preaching a text and preaching the gospel. Preaching the gospel is considered from historical, biblical, theological, pastoral and creative perspectives with a view to producing sermons that engage the world and offer hope. A four-step methodology is taught that can be adapted to various sermon forms.

This course lays the foundation for exploration of selected areas of the Jewish past that will aid students in acquiring Jewish historical literacy. Studying Jewish history as an academic discipline is not the overriding goal of this course. Rather, it is to explore Jewish memory as a sacred concept that is rooted in Torah, liturgy, calendar, peoplehood, thought and ritual. The purpose is to strengthen the students’ relationship with Jewish memory and open new ways to understand Jewish personal and collective identity as it developed over the centuries. We will then apply this understanding of Jewish memory in providing spiritual care.

This course will explore various theories of human development, stages of human growth, and lifespan spiritual journey in correlation to human growth, and will discuss implications for Christian Ministry. We will reflect on our own growth and journey along with theories of human growth and spiritual journey.

Reformed Christians believe that the Bible belongs to the community of faith and is interpreted by the community through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The community requires training and education if it is to take ownership of the word and apply the word to lived experience. This course considers the role of the Teaching Elder (Minister) in a congregation; explores how individuals are equipped to engage with God’s word through the lifespan; and explores best practices and resources for teaching Bible and theology in the church. Paying attention to the post-Christendom context, in which knowledge of Christian scriptures and traditions is no longer assumed, this course equips leaders to foster faith formation in intergenerational, diverse contexts.

Children are whole beings – physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual – and God desires for them to flourish in every way. This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of and framework for holistic ministry with children. Students will explore the biblical foundations of ministry to, for and with children as well as effective strategies for their protection, nurture, evangelism and discipleship in the context of their family, church and community. These learning experiences will guide students in developing a personal philosophy of holistic ministry to children and families.

Children are whole beings – physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual – and God desires for them to flourish in every way. This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of and framework for holistic ministry with children. Students will explore the biblical foundations of ministry to, for and with children as well as effective strategies for their protection, nurture, evangelism and discipleship in the context of their family, church and community. These learning experiences will guide students in developing a personal philosophy of holistic ministry to children and families.

This course is Part One of a two-part introductory survey. It aims to acquaint students with issues that scholars have found significant in New Testament interpretation, including textual criticism and the world of the New Testament, with special focus on the canonical Gospels - the most well-known stories of Jesus. It also aims to help students understand the relevance of this kind of study for their ministry.

Exploration of the content of New Testament writings, especially the canonical gospels and Pauline corpus. Emphasis will be placed upon understanding these writings in their original socio-historical contexts, and on methods of interpretation.

The focus of this course is on the various methodologies for reading and analyzing the New Testament rather than theology and spirituality. The sad events of our own world illustrate some of the dangers of superficial and overly literal readings of religious writings. Biblical literacy should not be the privilege or duty of a select few, but the right and responsibility of all Christians. The purpose of our study is to provide the tools necessary for an in-depth reading of the New Testament utilizing a variety of methodologies. No one methodology is definitive or exhaustive; each one examines the text from a different perspective and reveals another aspect or layer of the passage in question. Although the material might seem technical and esoteric at times, providing the people of God with a biblical message that is rich, life-giving, and based on a sound understanding of the text is an eminently pastoral undertaking.

The focus of this course is on the various methodologies for reading and analyzing the New Testament rather than theology and spirituality. The sad events of our own world illustrate some of the dangers of superficial and overly literal readings of religious writings. Biblical literacy should not be the privilege or duty of a select few, but the right and responsibility of all Christians. The purpose of our study is to provide the tools necessary for an in-depth reading of the New Testament utilizing a variety of methodologies. No one methodology is definitive or exhaustive; each one examines the text from a different perspective and reveals another aspect or layer of the passage in question. Although the material might seem technical and esoteric at times, providing the people of God with a biblical message that is rich, life-giving, and based on a sound understanding of the text is an eminently pastoral undertaking.

This course is an introduction to the texts, theologies, and socio-historical context of selected texts from the New Testament, as well as scholarly methodologies for studying them. Our focus will be on these ancient texts, and how they reflect the interests of the communities in which they were written.
Upon successful completion of this course engaged students will be able to
1) accurately apply the methodologies of New Testament Criticism
2) integrate critical exegetical skills with theological questions
3) distinguish the literary style, historical context, and theological perspective of selected New Testament texts.