Missions and Church Planting: Intermediate Study Bundle

by Michael W. Goheen; Logos Mobile Education; Don Fanning; Timothy Sisk

and

2 more

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2014–2019

Overview

In the Missions and Church Planting: Intermediate Study Bundle you’ll build a deeper understanding of missions and church planting. You’ll study church planting methods, learn how to minister compassionately and effectively in urban areas, and examine how to minister and plant churches in multiethnic contexts. These courses will guide you toward deeper engagement with the church’s mission in growing cities and diverse cultures.

Product Details

• Title: Missions and Church Planting: Intermediate Study Bundle
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
• Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
• Courses: 10
• Video Hours: 58

MI101 Introducing Global Missions

• Instructor: Don Fanning
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 7

Introducing Global Missions (MI101) introduces the reality of the rapidly changing sociopolitical world of the last 70 years. Dr. Don Fanning explores the development of a theology of mission, reviews a history of missions from the first century to the present, and assesses possible directions for global missions in the future based on current trends. Dr. Fanning also discusses practical matters of preparing for missions, developing a strategy for a proposed mission, understanding cross-cultural considerations, fund-raising, and interacting with other religions of the world.

Contents:

Unit 1: The Mission of Missions Continues

• The Beginning of Missions
• Researching Early Christian Persecution with Studies in Early Church History
• Spreading throughout the Known World
• Researching Traditions about the Journeys and Martyrdom of the Apostles
• Post-Apostolic Expansion
• From Persecuted Church to Legalized Church
• Missions to Europe and North Africa
• Orthodoxy and Nominalism
• Arian Barbarians
• Patrick Evangelizes Ireland
• The Christianizing of Europe Continues
• Expansion to the East
• The Re-Evangelization of Europe
• Eastern Europe
• Confrontation with Islam
• Effects of the Crusades
• Islam and the Mongols
• Marco Polo
• The Black Death
• The Muslim Offensive into Eastern Europe
• Roman Catholic Missions
• More Roman Catholic Missions
• Unit 1 Quiz

Unit 2: Missions in the Reformation

• Pre-Reformation “Evangelicals”
• Desire for Reformation Grows
• The Matter Comes to a Head
• The Reformation Begins
• The Institutes of the Christian Religion
• Sacramental Controversy
• Restart Rather Than Reform
• Separation of Church and State
• All Ceremonies Not in the Bible Are Idolatry
• The Reformation Comes to England
• Purifying the Church of England
• Catholicism Colonizes Central and South America
• Baptist Beginnings
• A Vision for the Unreached Peoples of the Globe
• A Mission to Native North Americans
• Pietism
• Christian Community at Herrnhut
• Moravians and Missions
• The Moravians’ Influence on Wesley
• Using the Timeline Tool to Find Relevant Historical Concurrences
• The First Great Awakening in America
• The Second Great Awakening in America
• Another Mission to Native North Americans
• The Third Great Awakening in America
• Unit 2 Quiz

Unit 3: The Golden Age of Missions

• The Status of Missions in 1800
• Clarifying Some Missiological Terms
• The Great Century
• William Carey
• Performing a Heading Text Search on William Carey
• Carey Goes to India
• Robert Morrison to China
• David Livingstone to Africa
• Revival, Evangelism, and Missions
• The Haystack Prayer Meeting Sparks Missions
• Adoniram Judson in Burma
• Luther Rice Organizes Missions Support at Home
• Three Eras of Evangelical Missions
• The Faith Missions Concept
• The Pioneer of Faith Missions
• Slow Start of Missions in Other Areas
• Examining Applications of the Three-Self Church
• The Bible Institute Movement
• The Student Volunteer Movement
• Four Stages of Mission Development on a Mission Field
• Colonialism
• Ecumenism and Global Mission
• The Ecumenical Movement
• Liberal Theology
• Missions’ Reaction to Liberalism
• Two World Wars Undo Colonialism
• The Evangelism Scale
• Unit 3 Quiz
• Midterm Exam

Unit 4: Missions in Transition

• Everything Is Changing
• The Retreat of the West
• Communist Expansion and Defeat
• Vatican Council II
• Basic Search for Articles on the Second Vatican Council
• The Pentecostal/Charismatic Boom
• Changes in Missionary Personnel
• New Attitudes toward Indigenous Missionaries
• Innovations in Methodology
• What’s Next?
• Unit 4 Quiz

Unit 5: Hearing God’s Call

• The Call to Salvation
• Called to a Purpose
• Call or Guidance?
• The Term “Missionary”
• Using BDAG to Study New Testament and Ancient Uses of Apostolos
• The Church’s Mandate for Mission
• Does the Need for Workers Constitute a Call?
• What Does It Take to Be Used?
• The Call to Full-Time Ministry
• The Spirit’s Guidance
• Who’s Speaking?
• Start with Obedience; God Will Lead You from There
• How to Know It’s God Who’s Guiding
• Seven Motivating Incentives
• Studying the Greek behind the English Words “Good” and “Evil”
• Unit 5 Quiz

Unit 6: Preparing a Missionary to Go

• Identifying Potential Missionaries
• Three Types of Training
• Spiritual Formation
• Ministry Skills
• Seven Wisdom Steps
• Saying “Yes”
• Biblical Basis for Mission Boards
• Types of Mission Boards
• Choosing a Mission Agency
• Functions of Mission Agencies
• Problems and Challenges
• Strategic Trends
• Strategies for the 21st Century
• Where Do We Go from Here?
• Unit 6 Quiz

Unit 7: Preparing a Church to Send

• The Sending Church
• Churches Are Not Just Senders
• Involving the Congregation in Missions
• Educating the Congregation
• Training Prospective Missionaries
• Two Necessary Policy Decisions
• Caring for Missionaries on Home Assignment
• The Sending Church/Missionary Partnership
• Three Types of Missional Churches
• Unit 7 Quiz
• Conclusion
• Missions Show the Heart of God
• Final Exam

Appendix

• Special Terms to Know, Part 1
• Special Terms to Know, Part 2
• Special Terms to Know, Part 3
• Special Terms to Know, Part 4
• Special Terms to Know, Part 5

Dr. Dan Fanning, director of the global studies department at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in Lynchburg, Virginia, has over 30 years of experience sharing the gospel in Latin America. He served as a jungle pilot evangelist and church planter in Colombia, and helped plant churches in Argentina, Paraguay, and the US. He served as academic dean at Word of Life Argentina Bible Institute, and founded both Libros Aguila Publicaciones and Branches Publications in the US.

MI102 Current Issues in Missions

• Instructor: Timothy Sisk
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 6

In Current Issues in Missions (MI102), Dr. Tim Sisk discusses the changing world situation since the beginning of the modern missions movement in the mid-19th century and introduces new mission opportunities and approaches these changes have created. He explores the impact and implications of globalization and the shift of the “Christian center” from Europe and European-derivative cultures to the southern hemisphere. Dr. Sisk also introduces the contemporary debates regarding appropriate contextualization and the relationship between evangelism, humanitarian relief, and issues of justice.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Transforming and Transitioning World Missions

• The Changing World
• The Difference a Hundred Years Makes
• From Edinburgh to Cape Town
• Growth in Global Christianity
• A Snapshot of Global Christianity
• 20th-Century Changes in Global Christianity
• Whose Religion Is Christianity?
• Previewing Global Theology Resources
• The Impact of Globalization
• The Changing Global Context
• The Changing Missionary Movement
• Emerging Leaders in Global Missions
• Changing Roles for Western Missionaries
• 21st-Century Paternalism
• Listening to the Global Church, Part 1
• Listening to the Global Church, Part 2
• Transforming Missionary Training
• Search for Articles on Missional Scripture Reading
• The North American Church’s Future Role in World Missions

Unit 2: Tent Making and Business as Mission

• Introduction to Business as Mission (BAM)
• Exploring Trends behind Tent Making and Business as Mission
• Reasons for and Models of Tent Making and Business as Mission
• Biblical and Historical Examples of Tent Making and Business as Mission
• Understanding the “T” Scale
• Positive Aspects of Tent Making and Business as Mission
• Negative Aspects of Tent Making and Business as Mission
• Basic Search on Protestant Clergy-Laity Dualism
• The Effect of Affluence on Mission
• Attitudes toward Affluence
• Barriers to Mission Created by Affluence
• Living in Intentional Simplicity

Unit 3: National Missionaries and Short-Term Missions

• National Missionaries from Indigenous Churches
• Positive Characteristics of National Missionaries
• Cautions regarding Use of National Missionaries
• Evaluating Support of National Missionaries
• Short-Term Missions
• Challenging Some Short-Term-Missions Presuppositions
• Listening to the Hosts
• Cautions regarding Short-Term Missions
• Potential Benefits of Short-Term Missions
• Your Role in Short-Term Missions

Unit 4: Ethics in Missions

• Run, Walk, Limp, Fall, or Finish Well
• Ethical Guidelines and Guard Rails
• Areas for Ethical Consideration

Unit 5: Theological Issues in Missions

• Theological Drift?
• Starting a Study on “Hell” Using the Bible Word Study
• Views Held on Hell and Salvation
• Defining “Hell” from Scripture
• Performing a Morphology Search on Jesus’ Use of “Gehenna”
• Do Theological Views Diminish a Passion for Evangelism?
• Is the Problem Solely Theological?

Unit 6: Spiritual Conflict and Missions

• Models for Spiritual Conflict
• The Mass Marketing of Spiritual Warfare
• A Warning and Some Observations
• Animism and Secularism
• Territorial Spirits
• Evaluating Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare
• Demonization and Deliverance
• Using the Bible Sense Lexicon to Study Demons
• Encounters with Demons in the New Testament
• Avoiding Demonic Influence

Unit 7: Dreams and Missions

• The Underappreciated Importance of Dreams
• Dreams in the Bible
• Using the Bible Sense Lexicon to Find Dreams in the Bible
• How Dreams and Visions Are Used by God
• Current Research on Dreams Leading to Conversion

Unit 8: Contextualization

• Contextualized Mission to Muslims
• Defining Contextualization
• Contextualization or Syncretism?
• Contextualization in Scripture
• Researching Contextualization in the Lexham Bible Dictionary
• Guidelines for Contextualization
• Creating a Faithlife Group for Missionaries
• Contemporary Evangelism and Contextualization
• Searching Themelios for “Insider Movement”
• Cautions regarding the Insider Movement

Unit 9: Words and Deeds

• Finding the Balance
• Three Approaches to Words and Deeds
• A Brief History of the Debate
• An Evangelical Debate
• The Primacy of Evangelism

Unit 10: The Local Church in Mission

• Can “Small” Succeed where “Big” Fails?
• Christ, Church, and Kingdom
• Changing World, Changing Missions

Unit 6: Spiritual Conflict and Missions

• Models for Spiritual Conflict
• The Mass Marketing of Spiritual Warfare
• A Warning and Some Observations
• Animism and Secularism
• Territorial Spirits
• Evaluating Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare
• Demonization and Deliverance
• Using the Bible Sense Lexicon to Study Demons
• Encounters with Demons in the New Testament
• Avoiding Demonic Influence
• Unit 6 Quiz

Unit 7: Dreams and Missions

• The Underappreciated Importance of Dreams
• Dreams in the Bible
• Using the Bible Sense Lexicon to Find Dreams in the Bible
• How Dreams and Visions Are Used by God
• Current Research on Dreams Leading to Conversion
• Unit 7 Quiz

Unit 8: Contextualization

• Contextualized Mission to Muslims
• Defining Contextualization
• Contextualization or Syncretism?
• Contextualization in Scripture
• Researching Contextualization in the Lexham Bible Dictionary
• Guidelines for Contextualization
• Creating a Faithlife Group for Missionaries
• Contemporary Evangelism and Contextualization
• Searching Themelios for “Insider Movement”
• Cautions regarding the Insider Movement
• Unit 8 Quiz

Unit 9: Words and Deeds

• Finding the Balance
• Three Approaches to Words and Deeds
• A Brief History of the Debate
• An Evangelical Debate
• The Primacy of Evangelism
• Unit 9 Quiz

Unit 10: The Local Church in Mission

• Can “Small” Succeed where “Big” Fails?
• Christ, Church, and Kingdom
• Changing World, Changing Missions
• Unit 10 Quiz
• Final Exam

Dr. Timothy Sisk, professor and chair of world missions and evangelism at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, has been in vocational ministry for nearly 30 years. He specializes in church planting, history of missions, and global theology.

Dr. Sisk and his wife, Donna, served as missionaries for 14 years in Japan and Bolivia. He also coauthored The Third Wave Movement and Missions Today and coedited Reflections on Urban Mission for the Twenty-First Century.

TH191 Missional Approach to World Religions

• Instructor: Michael W. Goheen
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 8

In this course, Dr. Michael Goheen provides a framework for understanding and analyzing world religions. He discusses the theology of religions and gives an overview of three major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Goheen examines the heart or core behind the beliefs and practices of these religions and discusses how Christians might begin to dialogue with people of these faiths.

Contents:

Unit 1: Religious Plurality: An Urgent Issue

• The Fact of Religious Plurality
• Finding Charts That Represent World Religions
• Religious Pluralism
• Unit 1 Quiz

Unit 2: Proper Approach to Studying World Religions

• Missionary Encounter
• The Comprehensive Scope of the Gospel
• Creating Notes from the Resource Christ and Creation
• Religion as a Comprehensive Vision and Way of Life
• Comprehensive Religion: Testimony from the Third World
• Two Approaches that Undermine Missionary Encounter
• Western Humanist Faith
• Christian Pluralism
• Critiques of Pluralism
• The Need for a Theology of Religions
• Creating a Collection of World Religions Resources
• Unit 2 Quiz

Unit 3: The Truth of the Gospel

• Public Truth and Comprehensive Scope
• The Finality of Christ
• Exclusivism and Inclusivism
• Salvation of Those Who Have Never Heard
• Strong and Weak Inclusivism
• Questions about Inclusivism
• Unit 3 Quiz

Unit 4: God’s Revelation in Creation

• Revelation beyond Scripture
• Adding Resources on General Revelation to a Bibliography
• The Locus Classicus: Romans 1:18–32
• Performing an Exegetical Study of Romans 1:18–32
• Beneficial Effect of God’s Revelation in Creation
• Unit 4 Quiz

Unit 5: Theology of Religions

• Origin and Nature of Religion
• Religious Consciousness and Empirical Religions
• God’s Revelation and Humanity’s Sinful Response
• Content of Religious Consciousness
• The Rise of Empirical Religions
• Orienting Core and Various Components of World Religions
• The Orienting Core of Religions
• Using The Apologetics Study Bible to Study World Religions
• Unit 5 Quiz

Unit 6: A Missionary Approach

• Introducing a Missionary Approach
• Insider, Sympathetic Approach
• Outsider, Critical Approach
• Continuity and Discontinuity
• Subversive Fulfillment
• Subversive Fulfillment in the Bible
• Unit 6 Quiz
• Midterm Exam

Unit 7: Hinduism

• Introduction to Hinduism
• Using the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics
• Vedic Period: Vedas
• Vedic Period: Upanishads
• Period of Classical Hinduism
• Hinduism through the Ages
• Four Goals for Life
• Atman, Brahman, and Moksha
• What Does It Mean to Be Human?
• What Kind of World Do We Live In?
• Four Paths to Moksha
• Supreme Being: Transpersonal or Personal?
• Religious Pluralism
• Christian Outsider Analysis of Hinduism
• Unit 7 Quiz

Unit 8: Buddhism

• Buddha’s Quest
• The Four Noble Truths
• The Eightfold Path
• Basic Beliefs
• Three Rafts
• Amida and Zen Buddhism
• Vajrayana Buddhism
• Christian Outsider Analysis of Buddhism
• Unit 8 Quiz

Unit 9: Islam

• Introduction to Islam
• Saving Links to Websites in Logos
• Muhammad: The Seal of the Prophets
• Times of Muhammad
• Muhammad: Preparation for Public Ministry
• The Night of Power
• Helpful Resources for Studying World Religions
• Hijra and Political Power
• Ummah and Its Mission
• Unit 9a Quiz
• Pillars of Belief
• Pillars of Religious Duty
• The Qur’an
• Who Is Allah?
• Historical Developments of Islam
• Using Timelines to Establish Historical Context
• Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi Sects
• Islam in the 20th Century
• Christian Outsider Analysis of Islam
• Unit 9b Quiz

Unit 10: The Mission of the Church

• Missional Dimension and Missional Intention
• Review of Important Concepts
• Christian Witness in Plural Society
• Point of Contact: Attitude and Disposition
• Point of Contact: Fulfilling Religious Longings
• Point of Contact: Subversion
• Point of Contact: Universal Human Issues
• Fear of Dialogue
• Dialogue Based on Confessional Commitment
• The Importance of Dialogue
• Words, Lives, and Deeds
• Unit 10 Quiz
• Final Exam

Dr. Michael W. Goheen, professor of missiology at Calvin Theological Seminary, served as the Geneva Chair of Worldview Studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, and teaching fellow in mission studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

He has taught worldview, biblical theology, mission, and world Christianity at Redeemer University College and Dordt College. He began his professional life as a church planter and pastor in the Toronto area. He is also recognized as a leading scholar on the thought of Lesslie Newbigin.

Dr. Goheen has authored several books, including A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church in the Biblical Story (Baker, 2010) and As the Father Has Sent Me, I am Sending You: J.E. Lesslie Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology (Zoetermeer, 2000). He also coauthored the best-selling Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Baker, 2004), Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview (Baker, 2008), and The True Story of the Whole World: Finding Your Place in the Biblical Drama (Faith Alive, 2009). He has also coedited two volumes on globalization and the gospel, and on the unity of the church.

Dr. Goheen lives in the Vancouver area where he is minister of preaching at New West Christian Reformed Church. He’s been married to his wife, Marnie, for 33 years and has four married children and four grandchildren.

PC101 Pastoral Ministry in a Missional Church

• Instructor: Michael W. Goheen
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 7

In this course Dr. Michael Goheen examines the identity of the church according to the Bible and then considers the implications of this identity for the church’s mission. Beginning with the concept of a missional community in the OT, Goheen traces God’s work among His people into the NT community of believers and offers perspective on how the ministries of today’s church can be structured to fulfill God’s calling.

Contents:

Unit 1: Missional Church in the Biblical Story

• Starting with the Gospel
• Understanding How Jesus Used the Term “Gospel”
• The Bible as One Story
• How to View the Bible Text without Editorial Additions
• The Story of God’s Mission
• A Missional Hermeneutic
• Unit 1 Quiz

Unit 2: Missional Community in the Old Testament

• The Importance of the Old Testament
• An Overview of the Formation of God’s People
• Two Hermeneutical Lenses
• Blessed to Be a Blessing
• Bringing about the Promise
• A Display People
• Israel in the Land
• Failure and the Prophets
• A People Gathered and Renewed
• Intertestamental Period: Missional Vision Lost
• Unit 2 Quiz

Unit 3: Missional Community in the New Testament

• Jesus Gathers a Community
• Gathering and the Arrival of the Kingdom
• Finding the Metaphorical Uses of “Sheep”
• Jesus Restores the Missional Vocation
• Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
• Jesus Commissions His Gathered People
• A Witnessing Community
• Exaltation: Lordship of Christ
• Pentecost: Spirit of Mission
• Jerusalem Community
• A Distinctive Community
• Gathering Israel
• Antioch Church
• Using the Logos Deluxe Map Set
• A Missional Church in Acts
• Missionary Encounter with Culture
• Studying the Ministry of Barnabas Using the Bible Facts Tool
• Continuing the Story
• Unit 3 Quiz
• Midterm Exam

Unit 4: Pastoral Ministry in a Missional Church: Nurturing Ministries

• Nurturing Ministries in a Missional Church
• Nurturing New Life
• Scripture as a Tool of God’s Mission
• Preaching Christ
• Preaching the True Story of the World
• Preaching to Confront Other Stories
• Preaching a Gospel That Is the Power of God
• Preaching to Orient God’s People Outward
• Worship in a Missional Church: Thick and Comprehensible
• Worship Thick Enough to Nourish a Missional Church
• Worship and the Book of Revelation
• Researching Worship and the Roman Emperor in Revelation
• Sacraments: Nourishing a Missional Congregation
• Unit 4a Quiz
• Worship: Orienting the Church Upward and Outward
• Worship: Comprehensible Enough to Be Understood
• Fellowship: Gifts
• Fellowship: “One-Anothering”
• Creating a Categorized List of Uses of Allelon in the New Testament
• Prayer in the Missional Church
• Using the Topical Index of An Exposition on Prayer in the Bible
• Training Parents for Their Task
• Pastoral Care
• Unit 4b Quiz

Unit 5: Pastoral Ministry in a Missional Church: The Calling of the Church in the World

• The Calling of the Missional Church
• Missional Analysis of Culture, Part 1
• Missional Analysis of Culture, Part 2
• Missional Engagement with Culture
• Being a Distinctive Community
• Pastoral Task in Shaping a Distinctive Community
• The Importance of Training People for Their Calling in the World
• Training the Local Congregation for Their Calling
• Evangelism, Part 1
• Evangelism, Part 2
• Involvement in the Neighborhood
• The Gospel of Charity in the Early Church
• Mission and Missions
• Missions and the Local Congregation
• Unit 5 Quiz

Unit 6: Pastoral Ministry in a Missional Church: Organizing to be Missional

• Importance of Structures
• Small Groups and the Life of the Church
• Missional Communities
• Importance of Leadership
• Two Resources Useful for Studying Early Church Leadership
• Leadership Training
• Unity and Mission
• Examples of Missional Ecumenicity
• Budgetary Issues of a Missional Church

Unit 7: Conclusion

• Next Baby Steps
• Missio Dei: It Is God Who Works
• Unit 6–7 Quiz
• Final Exam

Dr. Michael W. Goheen, professor of missiology at Calvin Theological Seminary, served as the Geneva Chair of Worldview Studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia, and teaching fellow in mission studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

He has taught worldview, biblical theology, mission, and world Christianity at Redeemer University College and Dordt College. He began his professional life as a church planter and pastor in the Toronto area. He is also recognized as a leading scholar on the thought of Lesslie Newbigin.

Dr. Goheen has authored several books, including A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church in the Biblical Story (Baker, 2010) and As the Father Has Sent Me, I am Sending You: J.E. Lesslie Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology (Zoetermeer, 2000). He also coauthored the best-selling Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Baker, 2004), Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview (Baker, 2008), and The True Story of the Whole World: Finding Your Place in the Biblical Drama (Faith Alive, 2009). He has also coedited two volumes on globalization and the gospel, and on the unity of the church.

Dr. Goheen lives in the Vancouver area where he is minister of preaching at New West Christian Reformed Church. He’s been married to his wife, Marnie, for 33 years and has four married children and four grandchildren.

MI201 Church Planting

• Instructor: Timothy Sisk
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 6

In this course, Dr. Tim Sisk asks students to consider church planting as participation in the mission of the church. He establishes the biblical foundation for church planting as a work of the Spirit to call and empower believers to participate in the Great Commission in this specific missional way. He looks at the methods and models used in biblical examples of church planting and examines church planting throughout history.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Church Planting

• Built on the Rock
• We Are God’s Fellow Workers
• Church Planting: A Rationale
• Three Pragmatic Reasons for Planting Churches (Reason 1)
• Three Pragmatic Reasons for Planting Churches (Reasons 2 & 3)
• Objections to Church Planting
• Ethical Guidelines for Church Planting
• A Brief History of Church Planting
• Historical Development of Protestant Church Planting Philosophy
• Gospel-Planting Movement
• Development of Church Planting Movements

Unit 2: Biblical Foundations for Church Planting

• Where Do People Get Their Ideas of Church?
• Historical Definitions of “Church”
• The DNA of the Church
• Our Culture’s Expectations for “Church”
• Ekklēsia:The New Testament Word for Church
• Sorting Different Uses ofEkklēsiawith Louw-Nida
• Luke’s Description of a Functioning Church
• New Testament Images of the Church
• Finding Metaphors for “Church” Using the Bible Sense Lexicon
• Some Contemporary Definitions of the Church
• Five Contemporary Images Describing the Church
• Church Planting in the Book of Acts
• The Ministry of Jesus and His Disciples
• Researching the Date of Acts in Commentary Introductions
• Paul, the Church Planter
• Paul’s Methods for Church Planting
• Strategy, Spontaneity, and the Leading of the Spirit
• Using the Bible Facts Tool with References to the “Holy Spirit” in Acts
• The Pauline Cycle of Church Planting, Part 1
• The Pauline Cycle of Church Planting, Part 2

Unit 3: The Church Planter in the 21st Century

• Characteristics of 21st-Century Church Planters
• Church Planter Assessment
• Characteristics of a Successful Church Planter, Part 1
• Characteristics of a Successful Church Planter, Part 2
• Using the Prayer List Tool for Church Planting
• Church Planting Teams
• Some Potential Strengths of a Team Approach to Church Planting
• Some Potential Weaknesses of a Team Approach to Church Planting
• Structuring a Church Planting Team
• Characteristics of Church Planting Teams
• Searching on Biblical Conflict Resolution

Unit 4: Vision Leads the Way

• The Importance of Vision
• Vision Motivates
• What is Vision?
• The Power of Vision
• Biblical Examples of Vision
• Vision Comes from God

Unit 5: Values Shape Vision

• Different Values Cause Different Expressions of a Vision
• Values Shape Styles
• Other Influences on Style
• Why We Do What We Do
• Identifying Our Core Values
• A Biblical List of Church Core Values
• Core Values of Contemporary Churches
• Midcourse Review

Unit 6: Reaching the Community with Christ

• How Did Jesus See People?
• One-to-One Contexts Are Unique
• Studying Acts 16 in the Faithlife Study Bible
• Three People, Three Contexts, Three Approaches
• The Context of Culture
• Earning the Right to Speak
• Research the Community Context
• Describe Your Audience
• Personal Examples of Describing the Audience
• Engaging the Audience
• Ministry and Style
• Exegeting Your Church’s Culture
• Getting the Word Out, Part 1
• Getting the Word Out, Part 2

Unit 7: Church Planting Models

• A Changing Church for a Changing World
• A Sampling of Church Planting Models
• Church Planting Movements
• Evaluating Church Planting Models, Part 1
• Evaluating Church Planting Models, Part 2
• Churches: Start Healthy, Stay Healthy
• Another Look at Characteristics of Healthy Churches

Unit 8: Issues Church Planters Face

• Four Key Issues in Church Planting
• Evangelism and Discipleship
• Historical Examples of Mass Evangelism
• Contemporary Examples of Mass Evangelism
• Evaluating Mass Evangelism
• Attractional, Missional, and Incarnational Models of Church
• Defining Authentic Discipleship
• The Core Competencies of Christian Discipleship
• Developing as a Leader
• Appropriate Leadership Style
• Sketches of Leaders in Scripture
• Leading in Different Cultures or Communities
• The “Perfect” Leader
• How Did Jesus Develop Leaders?
• The Emergence of Leaders
• Transitioning to New Leaders
• Accessing Constitutions and Bylaws
• Structural Considerations
• Financial Considerations
• Bivocational Church Planters
• Breaking Financial Dependency
• Churches Indigenous to the Culture and Community
• The Meeting Place

Conclusion

• Some Things to Remember
• Closing Thoughts

Dr. Timothy Sisk, professor and chair of world missions and evangelism at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, has been in vocational ministry for nearly 30 years. He specializes in church planting, history of missions, and global theology.

Dr. Sisk and his wife, Donna, served as missionaries for 14 years in Japan and Bolivia. He also coauthored The Third Wave Movement and Missions Today and coedited Reflections on Urban Mission for the Twenty-First Century.

MI251 Biblical Theology of Urban Ministry

• Instructor: John Fuder
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 6

Roughly half of the people on the planet today live in globalized cities with populations of 100,000 or more. God’s heart beats for the nations, and Scripture is filled with narrative about cities—well over a hundred cities are specifically mentioned in the Bible. Explore God’s heart for the city from Genesis to Revelation, and discover God’s love for all people. Focus on being Christ centered by loving your neighbors and getting involved in your neighborhood. Find ways to practically love your neighbors and be involved in ways that demonstrate great love and compassion for those who are on your doorstep.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker

Unit 1: The Background of Poverty

• The Need for a Theology of Urban Ministry
• A Snapshot of Sodom
• Poorology: A Biblical Theology of the Oppressed or Neglected
• What Is Poverty?

Unit 2: Theology from the Pentateuch

• Joseph: A Model of Integrity
• Moses: A Model of Holiness
• God’s Heart for the Alien
• Engaging the Community

Unit 3: Theology from the Historical Books

• Gideon: A Model of Brokenness
• Hope in the Midst of Trials
• Nehemiah: A Model of Fearing God
• Esther: A Model of Risk-Taking

Unit 4: Theology from the Wisdom Literature

• Prayer for Shalom
• God’s Heart for the Oppressed
• God’s Heart for the Poor

Unit 5: Theology from the Prophets

• Isaiah: A Theology for the Streets
• God Builds a City
• Seeking the Welfare of the City
• Daniel: A Model of Discipline
• God’s Heart for Justice
• Levels of Doing Justice
• Jonah: A Compassionate Cry for the City

Unit 6: Theology from the Gospels

• Jesus and the City
• Jesus, the Poor, and the Marginalized
• Jesus: Our Model in Reconciliation
• A Spirituality for the City
• The Search for an Urban Jesus

Unit 7: Theology from Acts

• A Glimpse of Graeco-Roman Cities
• Lessons from the Early Church: Committed to Community
• Cultivating an Evangelistic Lifestyle
• The Community of the Early Church
• The Response of the Early Church
• The Appeal of Early Christianity

Unit 8: Theology from Paul

• The Church at Antioch
• First- and Second-Century Urban Ministry Principles
• A Theology of Doing Good
• A Tale of Two Cities
• God’s Holy City: The New Jerusalem

Conclusion

• Concluding Thoughts

Dr. John Fuder is the director of Justice and Compassion Ministries at Re:source Global and the director of city engagement for Park Community Church in Chicago. Dr. Fuder served in urban ministry for 15 years in California, and was professor of urban studies at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago for 17 years. Currently, Dr. Fuder is teaching, training, and coaching the broader body of Christ to engage more deeply in contextualizing the Gospel in their local communities.

MI252 Philosophy and Practice of Urban Ministry

• Instructor: John Fuder
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 4

Build from the foundation of the biblical material that speaks about God’s heart for the city, and apply this to ministry in the city. Examine urban communities in the U.S. and overseas, and incorporate effective postures and practices of hands-on, engagement to your ministry.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Postures for Urban Ministry

• The Strategic Opportunity of Cities
• The Lifestyle of the Urban Apostle
• Servanthood and Brokenness
• The Biblical Principle of Compassion
• The Definition of Compassion
• Informed by Prayer
• Praying for Impact

Unit 2: Philosophies for Urban Ministry

• Incarnational Ministry
• Becoming an Insider
• Forming Friendships in a New Place
• Reimaging Relocation

Unit 3: Preparing for a New Culture

• Key Elements of Reconciliation
• Roadblocks to Effective Ministry
• The Culture of the City
• The Posture of the City Church
• Addressing the Felt Need
• Evangelism and Social Concern
• Holistic Discipleship
• Effective Cross-Cultural Communication

Unit 4: Practices for Urban Ministry

• Exegeting a Culture
• The Priority of Networking
• The Effective Urban Church
• The New Faces of the Church
• The Importance of Church Planting

Conclusion

• Course Review

Dr. John Fuder is the director of Justice and Compassion Ministries at Re:source Global and the director of city engagement for Park Community Church in Chicago. Dr. Fuder served in urban ministry for 15 years in California, and was professor of urban studies at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago for 17 years. Currently, Dr. Fuder is teaching, training, and coaching the broader body of Christ to engage more deeply in contextualizing the Gospel in their local communities.

MI301 Community Analysis: Exegeting Culture for Mission

• Instructor: John Fuder
• Publication Date: 2016
• Video Hours: 5

Learn to diagnose needs in a local community and to discover some of the felt needs in a neighborhood. Begin to think biblically and missionally about ways that a church or group of churches could be involved in responding to the needs in that community. Understand what the Scripture says about applying it to your life in a manner that is relevant to your church and community.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker

Unit 1: Understanding Your Community’s Culture

• Exegeting the Culture
• Beginning Community Analysis
• Ten Tips for Good Exegesis
• What Is Community Analysis?
• The Formula for Change
• Why Perform Community Analysis?
• Steps for Prayer Walking
• An Effective Church at Work

Unit 2: Preparing to Engage Your Community

• Who Performs Community Analysis?
• Becoming an Insider
• Preparing to Find a Community Insider
• Where Does Community Analysis Take Place?
• Beginning Analysis in a Specific Location
• An Example of Community Analysis
• When to Get Involved
• Discerning Your Preparedness: Part A
• Discerning Your Preparedness: Part B
• Getting Started with Community Analysis
• A Biblical Blueprint for Community Analysis

Unit 3: Precepts for Engaging in Ministry

• Practicing the Ministry
• Case Studies
• Network Well: Find the Stakeholders
• Listening to the Stories
• Survey Data
• The Life History Interview: Family and Living Situations
• The Life History Interview: Life Cycle and Friendships
• The Life History Interview: Beliefs and Motivation

Unit 4: How to Survey Your Community

• Basic Survey Practices
• Pilot Testing Your Survey
• Felt Needs and Attitudes toward Church
• Neighborhood Beliefs and Worldviews
• Sample Survey: College Campuses
• Ethnography Ministry Examples

Conclusion

• Concluding Thoughts

Dr. John Fuder is the director of Justice and Compassion Ministries at Re:source Global and the director of city engagement for Park Community Church in Chicago. Dr. Fuder served in urban ministry for 15 years in California, and was professor of urban studies at Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago for 17 years. Currently, Dr. Fuder is teaching, training, and coaching the broader body of Christ to engage more deeply in contextualizing the Gospel in their local communities.

MI211 Ministry in Multiethnic Contexts

• Instructor: Soong-Chan Rah
• Publication Date: 2017
• Video Hours: 5

Ministry in Multiethnic Contexts (MI211) addresses the challenges of cross-cultural ministry in both theological and practical ways. As demographics in America change, Christianity in America changes. This course prepares American Christians to understand and serve cultures who have historically been excluded, bringing healing to the divisions that history has seen.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: The Changing Face of Christianity

• Global Changes in World Christianity
• Trends and Projections of Global Christianity
• Changes in American Christianity
• Examining the Decline of Christianity in America
• Examining the Role of Ethnic Diversity on Church Growth

Unit 2: Social Realities in American Christianity

• Cultural Captivity
• Captivity to Racism
• The Diversity Disconnect
• How Segregation Is Perpetuated within the Church
• The Formation of Social Structures

Unit 3: A Theology of Culture

• The Need for a Theology of Culture
• The Creation of the "Other"
• Images of Multiculturalism in America
• Made in the Image of Our Creator God
• Made in the Image of Our Relational God
• Division, not Difference: The Curse of the Tower of Babel
• Unifying the Divided

Unit 4: Living as People of God

• The Relationship between Gospel and Culture
• The View from Many Angles
• The Culture of 1 Peter 2: The Choice to Stay or Run
• Living as Aliens and Strangers
• Responding to Change and Fear: Jeremiah’s Encouragement
• The Risks of Engaging in Culture: Jeremiah’s Warnings
• Learning from the Past
• The Influence of Cultural Lenses on Theological Views
• Privileged Praise and Marginalized Lament
• The Need for Lamenting Historical Pain and Suffering
• Empowering the Silenced Voices

Unit 5: Developing Cultural Competency

• Primary and Secondary Culture
• The Intersection of Primary and Secondary Culture
• Aspects of Cultural Competency: Part 1
• Aspects of Cultural Competency: Part 2
• Aspects of Cultural Competency: Part 3
• Building Cultural Intuition
• The Role of Social Capital
• Social Capital across Cultures

Unit 6: Frequently Asked Questions

• How Do I Involve My Congregation?
• Why Not Leave the Past in the Past?
• What Should Multicultural Ministry Look Like in Environments with Less Diversity?
• How Does Your Personal Story Intersect with the Content of This Course?
• What Are the Successful Models of Multiethnic Ministry?
• How Do We Create a Culture of Prayer Around a Multiethnic Ministry?

Conclusion

• Concluding the Course

Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah is the Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago and the author of The Next Evangelicalism: Releasing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (IVP, 2009); Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church (Moody, 2010); and an upcoming commentary on the book of Lamentations, Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times (IVP, 2015). He is also coauthor of Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith (Zondervan, 2014).

After completing his BA in political science and history/sociology at Columbia University, Dr. Rah earned an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a ThM from Harvard University, and a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is currently in the ThD program at Duke University.

Dr. Rah was the founding senior pastor of the Cambridge Community Fellowship Church (CCFC), a multi-ethnic church focused on urban ministry and committed to living out the values of racial reconciliation and social justice in the urban context.

Dr. Rah lives in Chicago with his wife, Sue, who teaches special education, and their two children, Annah and Elijah.

MI212 Church Planting in Multiethnic Contexts

• Instructor: Soong-Chan Rah
• Publication Date: 2017
• Video Hours: 4

Church Planting in Multiethnic Contexts (MI212) ventures into uncharted territory for many in the majority culture. Building on an analysis of how the American church became segregated, this course takes an insightful look at the intersection of culture, church planting, and church growth, and discusses the impact of both our theological and cultural views in creating an environment where diversity is welcome.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: The Social Realities of Planting a Multiethnic Church

• The Hermeneutical Circle of Multicultural Ministry
• Shaping the Social Reality of a New Church Plant
• Responding to Diversity: The Model of the Acts 15 Church
• Diversity as the Work of God

Unit 2: Examining Segregation in the Church Growth Movement

• The Impact of Donald McGavran and Social Science on Church Growth
• When Principles of Overseas Missions are Applied to American Churches
• Two Branches of the Church Growth Movement
• Key Principles of the Church Growth Movement
• A Retrospective on the Church Growth Movement
• Segregation in the Church

Unit 3: Culture and Church Growth

• An Introduction to Primary and Secondary Culture
• Comparing and Contrasting Primary and Secondary Culture
• The Intersection of Primary and Secondary Culture and Its Relation to Church Growth
• The Acts 2 Model of Church Growth
• The Relationship between Church Growth and Self-Sacrificial Living
• The Growth of the Immigrant Church in America
• The Role of Language and Culture in Korean Church Growth
• The Role of Community in Korean Church Growth in America
• The Role of Social Status in Korean Church Growth in America
• The Role of Social Service in Korean Church Growth in America

Unit 4: The Impact of Our Theological Views

• Ecclesiology: Understanding the Church
• Cultural Captivity and Dysfunctional Ecclesiologies
• The Evolution of Worship
• The Influence of Western Culture on Models of Evangelism
• The Influence of Cultural Lenses on our Christology

Unit 5: Developing Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity

• Degrees of Formality in Multiethnic Church Plants
• Developing Cultural Competency
• Understanding Social Capital

Unit 6: Planning and Problem-Solving in a Multiethnic Church Plant

• The Concept of Systems Thinking
• The Consequences of Simplistic Problem-Solving
• The Unintended Negative Consequences of Linear Thinking
• The Cat and the Toaster: An Illustration of Systems Thinking

Unit 7: The Importance of Healthy and Purposeful Leadership

• The Influence of Leadership on Shaping a Church Plant
• The Need for Leadership to Reflect the Image of God
• Healthy Leadership: Where the Pastor Leads, the Church will Follow
• Planning the Identity of a Church Plant
• The Purpose and Impact of Defined Values in a Church Plant

Unit 8: Frequently Asked Questions

• How Do We Shift from Linear to Systems Thinking?
• How Do We Develop Culturally Competent Leaders?
• How Does Your Personal Story Intersect with Church Planting?
• What Encouragement Would You Offer for Multiethnic Church Planters?

Conclusion

• Concluding the Course

Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah is the Milton B. Engebretson Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago and the author of The Next Evangelicalism: Releasing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (IVP, 2009); Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church (Moody, 2010); and an upcoming commentary on the book of Lamentations, Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times (IVP, 2015). He is also coauthor of Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith (Zondervan, 2014).

After completing his BA in political science and history/sociology at Columbia University, Dr. Rah earned an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a ThM from Harvard University, and a DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is currently in the ThD program at Duke University.

Dr. Rah was the founding senior pastor of the Cambridge Community Fellowship Church (CCFC), a multi-ethnic church focused on urban ministry and committed to living out the values of racial reconciliation and social justice in the urban context.

Dr. Rah lives in Chicago with his wife, Sue, who teaches special education, and their two children, Annah and Elijah.