Mission Development Academy

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

COMMUNITY LIFE RETREAT
All participating Mission Outreach Teams will come together before the courses begin for orientation and team building, preparing them to be spiritual leaders.

DEVELOPING AND WORKING A MINISTRY PLAN
This course will provide the framework to develop a ministry plan for a new mission, allowing the remaining courses to be contextualized for a particular ministry situation. Beginning with a demographic analysis of the community, students will learn about a variety of mission-oriented models for ministry in order to select and prepare a ministry plan.

GRACE-DRIVEN OUTREACH: THE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘I GOTTA’ and ‘I GET TO’
Learn to present a witness that is couched in the language of grace and privilege rather than the language of law or duty. This course sets forth the Lutheran understanding of grace-driven witness and evangelism, contrasting it with other popular understandings that undermine our Lutheran understanding and influence us all to one degree or another.

LEADERSHIP IN A MISSIONARY AGE
Understand the mission of the church from a biblical perspective and the theological imperatives for doing mission in a missionary age. Teams will explore Jesus' leadership model, including his strategy for developing mission leaders and doing mission as a team.

CULTURE LEARNING and MISSIOLOGICAL BRIDGE-BUILDING
The Christian witness is always about the task of relating God’s unchanging Word to an ever-changing world. This course will explore the culture(s) in which we live and the religious, philosophical and artistic influences that must be taken into account as we shape our approach to proclaiming the Gospel to our contemporaries.

EVANGELISM AND WITNESS THROUGH GROUPS ABLAZE
Using interactive Bible studies, students will gain skills in the high impact behaviors of praying, reaching, caring, and empowering. This course will equip you to initiate new harvest-oriented small groups, equip others in peer coaching, and facilitate seeker-oriented Bible studies. Sharing the Gospel happens person to person; experience an excellent method of reaching others through a small caring community.

BUILDING THE BODY OF CHRIST: SEE HOW THEY LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Develop a healthy and caring community for ministry by examining biblical principles and various relational practices that create healthy communities of faith. Learn to view the congregation as a system of interrelated parts and understand how you can positively influence its health by developing healthy patterns of living together in community.