Undergraduate Programs
School of Theology Majors
Educational Ministry
Contact person: Dr. Robert Drovdahl
The field of educational ministry, traditionally known as Christian education, is an interdisciplinary area addressing the question of how we facilitate spiritual development in persons. To answer this question, the field explores the foundational theological disciplines, the social sciences, and educational philosophy.
A major in educational ministry is recommended for students interested in spiritual development and the educational/equipping ministry of the church. It provides a pre-professional course of study within a liberal arts perspective for students pursuing full-time ministry in a church or parachurch setting.
Occupationally, educational ministry majors work within church and parachurch organizations. Possible church roles include
- Director of Christian education
- Youth director
- Children’s director
Possible parachurch settings include
- Student development
- Christian service organizations
- Christian camping
- Curriculum design
Some students also combine a major in educational ministry with educational certification to prepare for elementary school teaching.
Educational Ministry Major Requirements
Christian Theology
Contact person: Dr. Douglas Koskela
As the study of Christian belief and practice with the goal of fostering faithful Christian life, theology is necessarily multidisciplinary. The Christian theology major is designed to cultivate an appreciation for how Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience rightly inform theological reflection.
The aim of this major within the liberal arts is to nurture those skills and capacities required of a thoughtful and articulate faith. As a result of majoring in Christian theology, the student is well prepared either for the workplace or for graduate study in the humanities or the professions.
Besides enriching the student’s life with God, this major also seeks to enhance the student’s service to the church.
Christian Theology Major Requirements
Quote
“…The Christian story is anchored in the biblical text. We need to know even better how to read that text. We need to develop effective theological tools. … Most of all we want to focus on our own campus: How can we all – faculty, staff, students, alums, trustees – become even more biblically and theologically educated? I would like to see us on the cutting edge of how to place the biblical text at the center of who we are as a university.”
President Philip Eaton,
from his 2006
State of the University Address