Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Pioneer Ministry and Church Planting (Online/Blended-Learning) (THET07002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Divinity |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | The course is aimed to equip those who enrol - who are likely to be members, elders and ministers in the Church of Scotland, and their equivalents in other Christian denominations - with a grounding in the theological understanding and practical knowledge needed to begin new worshipping communities or 'fresh expressions of church', through pioneer ministry and church planting.
Students will have access to a recorded lecture and participate in an online tutorial for six of the eight weeks, and attend two Saturday afternoon workshops at the School of Divinity.
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| Course description |
Academic description:
The course will be of interest to all those within Christian churches, whether lay or ordained, who are already engaged in, or wish to explore the possibility of, the creation and sustaining of innovative forms of Christian community beyond present institutional structures i.e. 'fresh expressions of church' through pioneer ministry or church planting.
As in the pilot course, it will focus on missiology, ecclesiology, personal spirituality, and social and cultural analysis. Participants will be expected and encouraged to envisage and implement practical application within their contexts, which will be guided throughout class discussion and in final assessment.
Syllabus/Outline Content:
The course will be focused on five units, each with two sessions: 1.ourselves: spiritual and personal formation for mission; 2. our contexts: Scotland and religion; 3. our thinking: theory and practice of mission and church; 4. our work: beginning a fresh expression of church; and 5. our future: nurturing and growing a fresh expression of church. This will include material on spirituality; Scottish social and church history; the relationship of faith and culture; analysis of church and community; theologies of mission and church; and practical insight and engagement into beginning and sustaining a 'fresh expression of church'.
Student Learning Experience Information:
The course will be context-informed, and will have contributions from those with experience in practice and in training. It will be practically focused on the student's potential or current experience of forming a 'fresh expression of church' in their context. The course will be delivered in a variety of ways, including recorded short lectures and both online and workshop-based discussions based on set readings, to be read by the student in preparation for each class. The experiences of those taking the course will be drawn upon throughout, and a peer-learning supportive 'network' encouraged.
If the student is taking the course for credit, there will be an assessed reflective project which will demonstrate that the learning outcomes have been achieved. The project may also be completed for feedback by those not seeking credit.
The course fee will be £200 per student, whether taking the course for credit or not, following the fee levels and policy of the Centre for Open Learning.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | The course fee will be £200 per student, whether taking the course for credit or not, following the fee levels and policy of the Centre for Open Learning. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | The course is open to the general public. The course will be open also to students and ministry candidates at the School of Divinity. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate the ability to reflect on personal and spiritual formation.
- Develop a fuller understanding of how to analyse and interpret contemporary culture, the place of religion in post-Christendom Scotland, and the student¿s immediate context in church and society.
- Develop a critical appreciation of global theologies of mission and church, as applied to local context.
- Engage with the initial practical steps in forming a ¿fresh expression of church.¿
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the important stages and pitfalls in nurturing and sustaining a ¿fresh expression of church.¿
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Reading List
Indicative Bibliography
¿ Jonny Baker & Cathy Ross eds, The Pioneer Gift; Explorations in Mission, (Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2014)
¿ Jonny Baker, ¿The Pioneer Gift¿, in Baker & Ross eds. supra (2014), 1-19
¿ Stephen B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology, (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1992, revised and expanded 2002)
¿ Stephen B. Bevans & Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today, (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2004)
o Prophetic Dialogue: Reflections on Christian Mission Today, (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2011)
¿ Ryan Bolger ed, The Gospel After Christendom: New Voices, New Cultures, New Expressions, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012)
¿ David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, (New York: Orbis, 1991)
¿ Paul Bradbury, Stepping into Grace, (BRF, 2016)
¿ Church Army Research Unit: ¿Seeing the Bigger Picture¿ four reports 2016, shift from 2012 to hard evidence, ¿The Day of Small Things¿ (George Lings), ¿Who¿s There¿ (Clare Dalpra and John Vivian), ¿Sustaining Young Churches¿ (Andy Wier), ¿What Happens after Research (Elspeth McGann).
¿ Paul Cloke & Mike Pears, Mission in Marginal Places: The Theory (London: Paternoster Press, 2016)
¿ Paul Cloke & Mike Pears, Mission in Marginal Places: The Praxis (London: Paternoster Press, 2016)
¿ Graham Cray, ¿Turning the Ocean Liner: The Fresh Expressions Initiative¿, in Bolger ed. supra, 327-338
¿ Andrew Dunlop, Out of Nothing: A Cross-Shaped Approach to Fresh Expressions, (London: SCM Press, 2018)
¿ Evaluation Support Scotland, How to Evaluate Asset-Based Approaches in an Asset-Based Way, (Evaluation Support Scotland, 2017)
¿ Annemarie Foppen et al, ¿Personality Traits of Church Planters in Europe¿, Journal of Empirical Theology, (2017), Vol. 30:1,
¿ Doug Gay, Remixing the Church: An Emerging Ecclesiology, (London: SCM Press, 2011)
¿ Doug Gay, ¿Prospective Practitioners: A Pioneer¿s Progress¿, in Baker & Ross eds. supra (2014), 39-54
¿ Eddie Gibbs & Ryan Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Communities in Postmodern Cultures, (London: SPCK, 2006)
¿ Goodhew, Roberts & Volland eds, Fresh: An Introduction to Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneering (SCM Press, 2012)
¿ Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2006)
¿ Alan Hirsch with Darryl Altclass, The Forgotten Ways Handbook (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing, 2009)
¿ Tina Hodgett and Paul Bradbury, ¿Pioneering Mission is a Spectrum¿, Anvil, Vol.34(1), 30-34
¿ King¿s College, London, Calling Far and Wide Project, (2015)
¿ George Lings, ¿A History of Fresh Expressions and Church Planting in the Church of England¿, in David Goodhew ed., Church Growth in Britain: 1980 to the Present, (Farnham: Ashgate, 2012), 161-178
¿ Dave Male, Report from Ordained Pioneer Ministry Survey, (January 2016)
¿ Dave Male, How to Pioneer (Even if You Haven¿t a Clue), (London: Church House Publishing, 2016)
¿ Andy Milne, The DNA of Pioneer Ministry, (London: SCM Press, 2016)
¿ Ann Morisy, Journeying Out: A New Approach to Christian Mission, (London, Continuum, 2006)
¿ Michael Moynagh and Rob Peabody, Refresh: A Not-So-New Guide to Being Church and Doing Life (London: Monarch Books, 2016)
¿ Michael Moynagh, Church for Every Context ¿ An Introduction to Theology and Practice (SCM, 2013)
o Being Church: Doing Life (SCM, 2014)
o Church in Life: Innovation, Mission and Ecclesiology (London: SCM Press, 2017)
¿ Stuart Murray, Church after Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World, (Milton Keynes: Paternoster Press, 2004)
¿ Stefan Paas, ¿Mission among Individual Consumers¿, in Bolger ed. supra (2012), 150-163,
¿ Stefan Paas, Church Planting in the Secular West, (Eerdmans, 2016)
¿ Phil Potter, Pioneering a New Future (BRF, 2015)
¿ Anita Ruddick, ¿Transformation: A ¿How To¿ Guide, in Baker & Ross eds. supra (2012), 55-72
¿ Lamin Sanneh, Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1989).
¿ Andy Schofield and Liz Clutterbuck, Pioneer Mission Leadership Training: Five Years On ¿ An Evaluation for CMS (Co-Create: 2015)
¿ Robert J. Schreiter, Constructing Local Theologies, (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1985)
¿ Stephen Spencer, SCM Study Guide to Christian Mission, (London: SCM Press, 2007)
¿ Michael Volland, The Minister as Entrepeneur (SPCK, 2015)
¿ Andy Wier, Sustaining Young Churches: A Qualitative Pilot Study of Fresh Expressions of Church in the Church of England, (Sheffield: Church Army Research Unit, 2016) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Commitment to lifelong learning
- Ability to attend to others and respect others' views
- Ability to gather, evaluate and synthesise different types of information
- Ability to engage critically with the meaning of documents and recognise that meanings may be multiple
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| Keywords | Christian Mission,Theology,Missiology,Fresh Expressions of Church |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Rev Peter Wood
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Mr Jamie Smith
Tel: (0131 6)50 8913
Email: |
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