Ministry Courses

The majority of the classes Christian Leaders Institute offers fall into the category of Ministry. Every Christian Leaders student begins their journey with MIN  010, 015, and 100. These courses establish our mission and teach the basics of our ministry. Beyond these courses, topics such as Chaplaincy, Influence, Anger Management, and Life Coaching are taught in order to appeal to the wide range of interests and opportunities that exist in ministry.

MIN 010 Christian Leaders: Getting Started (0 credits)

MIN 015 Christian Leaders Institute Admissions  (0 credits)

MIN 100 Getting Started: Christian Leaders Connections (3 credits)

Students enter Christian Leaders Institute (CLI) via this class, Getting Started: Christian Leaders Connection. This course explores their calling to ministry and their walk with God. This class also helps students develop a reproducible walk with God and gives them an orientation to CLI. Successful completion of this class grants students a scholarship to receive the free training for the unofficial awards. 

  Outcomes:

1. Explore and clarify personal sense of calling to ministry.
2. Grow in zeal to be an agent for God for revival in church and society.
3. Develop spiritual disciplines and strengthen your personal walk with God.
4. Find a personal mentor and prepare to become a mentor for others.
5. Understand vision and academic policies of Christian Leaders Institute.
6. Become a participant in the online Christian Leaders Network, giving and receiving encouragement in connection with other Christian leaders.
7. Gain familiarity with the structure of online classes and become well prepared to take other classes successfully.

MIN 101 Ministry Foundations (3 credits)

Ministry 101 gives you a great foundation for pursuing basic ministry and developing your Christian leadership. This course is foundational for those who want to serve in a voluntary (bi-vocational) or salary position in ministry.  

This course is divided into three sections:

1. The Calling of A Christian Revival Leader – Professor Henry Reyenga
2. The Core Principles of Leadership for the Christian Leader – Dr. Bruce Ballast

III. Personal Assessment for the Effective Christian Leader – Professor Ron Carter

Outcomes:

1. See how early Christianity launches revival for today. 
2. Tie in the Renew, Restore and Revive work of God. What will be your role?
3. Discern your calling to serve
4. Explore the role of a mentor in your ministry training
5. Learn what it takes to become an effective leader.
6. Learn the key difference between a leader and a manager. 
7. Get a working knowledge of the leadership levels.
8. Understand the dark side of leadership so that you will stay effective in your leadership. 
9. Learn the Biblical Foundations for Leadership
10. Develop assessment strategies for personal growth as a leader
11. Learn how to write a leader mission statement. 
12. If you have not done so in the Connections class, you will also have the opportunity in this class to test out of the Christian Basics Course. Successfully completing that Christian Basics comprehensive exam earns you the Christian Basics Award.

MIN 151 People Smart for Ministry (3 credits)

This course discusses people intelligence for life and ministry. This class will help you identify common principles for effective communication and how to improve in your effectiveness. This course also will help you minister to people better as you learn to hear what they are really saying. This course is designed for you learn how to express your love in ways that people will understand.

 Outcomes:

1. Learn basics of communication, such as attentive listening and wise speaking. 
2. Learn best practices for elements of communication such as first impressions, presentation, starting a conversation, and keeping a conversation going.
3. Learn elements from communication theory that the academic business community has identified as crucial for effective enterprise, with application for ministry.
4. Learn how to conduct interviews or be interviewed.
5. Use humor to bless others and become a person who is more fun and accessible.
6. Ability to deal with troublemakers, such as “dragons in a church.” 
7. Develop positive people skills and communication habits.

MIN 210 Pastoral Care (3 credits)

This course discusses caring for others pastorally as well as strengthening your own marriage. Whether you are married or not, this course gets at the spiritual principles of what makes a powerful kingdom partnership as a husband and wife become one spiritually, emotionally and sexually. If you are married it is recommended that your spouse participate with you in going through this course.

  Outcomes:

1. Develop character and ability for shepherding others on behalf of the Good Shepherd.
2. Learn biblical essentials of marriage.
3. Cultivate health in one’s own marriage (if married) and in the marriages of others.
4. Improve listening skills, self-awareness, and healthy boundaries.
5. Learn to deal wisely with conflict and live in the peace of Christ.
6. Know how to minister to the sick in Jesus’ name.
7. Understand some of the major legal issues in pastoral care.

MIN 220 Church and Ministry (3 credits)

This course explores some key aspects of pastoring a church including: Your Family and Ministry, Leading the Leaders, Helping People Through Grief, The Nine Facets of Training your Ministry and Small Group Volunteers (Carl George), Sharing the Gospel, Hospitality, and tools for pastors as they set up a discipleship culture in homes of those they influence. This course also offers guidance for dealing with important transitional events, such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

Outcomes:

1. Understand and embrace a ministry model of forming disciples of Jesus in a community of believers.
2. Prioritize sustainable, healthy self-care and discipling of family members.
3. Learn to train leaders for ministries and small groups.
4. Develop skills for guiding people through life transitions and important rituals such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals.
5. Develop vision and skills for evangelism and hospitality.

MIN 230 Introduction to Chaplaincy (3 credits)

This course is designed to give the student an introduction to the ministry of chaplaincy — with the additional idea that we can also, via the internet, be chatplains who bring healing to others by our presence in the Name of God.

While this course uses the term chaplain most of the time, keep in mind the idea of being a chatplain. Some of the material is specifically created for people who provide chaplaincy via the internet. It is by means of the chat function which is increasingly popular for businesses to use as a way to assist their customers that chaplains can bring the “product” – a new or closer relationship with God – to those encountered on the internet.

This course is meant to be an overview of several differing ways of being a chaplain. The various modules will address several of the possibilities of working as a Christ follower in bringing hope and healing to those who are hurting. 

Outcomes:

1. Know biblical principles and practical guidelines for chaplains.
2. Develop personal qualifications and skills to be a chaplain.
3. Understand basic practices for ministering to the ill, grieving, and dying.
4. Know several types of chaplaincy positions and general guidelines for serving in them, including fire house chaplain, military chaplain, and prison chaplain.
5. Recognize theological aspects of chaplaincy. 

MIN 235 Ministry Care Conversations (3 credits)

This course looks at many of the human relational dynamics that occur in most families. These insights are very helpful for Christian Leaders to lead people into God-glorifying wholeness. The Ministry Care Conversations class will spur healthy dialogue resulting in specific ways you can help those in your care. President Henry Reyenga surveys many books of Dr. Kevin Leman in the lectures. President Reyenga also links to YouTube Videos of Dr. Leman.

  Outcomes:

1. Integrate biblical wisdom and observational wisdom about human development and interaction from the insights of Christian psychologists.
2. Understand healthy sexuality, courtship and marriage, and gender differences between men and women.
3. Understand parental authority and strategies, impact of birth order, and differing parental roles in relation to sons and daughters.
4. Pursue constructive conversations between husband and wife, and between parents and children.
5. Use wisdom about human personality and relationships when engaging in leadership, teaching, and pastoral care.

MIN 237 Influence Smart (1 credits) 

Have you ever been around a leader who makes it fun to accomplish something? Have you ever noticed that some leaders know how to influence others in their thinking or in a team setting? 

Have you ever thought about becoming a person of influence or helping others become influencers?  

The dictionary defines influence as “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.” 

Outcomes:

1. Understand the habits that hurt your influence

2. Learn what the Bible says about influence from the book of Proverbs

3. Learn some of the ways influence is thought about in culture

MIN 240 PeaceSmart Relationships (3 credits) 

PeaceSmart Relationships teaches students how to bring Biblical peace culture to every relationship in their lives. This course is increasingly important for those in ministry or those who are pursuing enterprise-related activities. Professor Brian De Cook practiced law for over 25 years. In this practice, he saw how many families, churches and businesses suffered greatly because of conflict. This in-depth course will help you thrive in your bi-vocational or vocational calling! 

Outcomes:

1. Discern and pursue God’s purpose in situations of conflict.
2. Discern and avoid harmful reactions to conflict.
3. Understand and use God’s reconciling power through loving confrontation, confession, and forgiveness.
4. Seek God’s presence in conflict through humility, faith, love, and sacrifice.
5. Learn to apply Peace Smart principles in families, organizations, and evangelism.

MIN 245 Restoring Relationships – Transforming Justice (3 credits)

This course teaches you to think about justice and conflict in a new way. We all have conflict stories that mark our lives. This course examines the dynamics of conflict and offense from a restorative justice perspective. It presents a way of processing conflict that encourages redemptive conflict stories grounded in a relationship of relentless reliance on Jesus Christ.

Outcomes: 

1. Learn the dynamics of conflict from a Biblical perspective.
2. Develop skills to identify the opportunities that exist in every conflict you encounter.
3. Embrace the challenges that face you as an individual on parole/probation and establish a plan to change the dynamics of conflict in your life.
4. Recognize your existing approach to conflict and how it can be improved.. 

MIN 250 Life Coaching Ministry (3 credits)

This course teaches you how to do life coaching ministry. Christian Leaders Institute is privileged to not only offer this Life Coaching Ministry class but also a minister ordination program, life coaching certification, and many specialized badges (increasing with time). This program is different from the traditional “life coaching certification” programs, which certify you in the general principles and practices of life coaching. The traditional approach certifies you as a “life coach” who may or not be a minister. This approach certifies “ministers” to be life coach ministers.

Outcomes:

1. Learn the principles of the exciting field of life coaching 
2. Learn how ministry connects to life coaching.
3. Learn the skills of life coaching and how they differ from pastoral care or counseling. 
4. Develop skills in life coaching that will allow you to minister more effectively in a local church or local life coaching ministry. 
5. If interested, get certified by the Christian Leaders Alliance and ordained as a Life Coach Minister. (Fees do apply for certification and ordination. 

MIN 255 Self-care and Recovery (formerly Domestic Tranquility) (3 credits)

This course provides students with a Biblical framework for learning and developing Godly, healthy living skills that promote self-care and community support. Students will learn the foundations of the 12-step recovery process, best practices of conflict management and how to manage one’s dark side. Students will also survey the fundamentals of healthy relationship skills in personal and professional sectors, learn and apply love languages, God-given temperament patterns and how to go from the self to community in the context of the church.  

Outcomes:

1. Learn the foundations of personal spiritual health and wellness in the context of Scripture.
2. Learn and apply the 12-steps of recovery and its full process as originated from Scripture. 
3. Learn and apply Bible-based conflict management principles and best practices.
4. Discover the dark sides of life and leadership and how God uses them to shape and form the Christian believer.   
5. Understand healthy community life via the church in the context of Scripture, the 12 steps of recovery and daily moral inventory. 

MIN 256 Anger Management (1 credit)

This course focuses on helping people to manage unchecked behaviors that lead to poor judgment, acting out, self-destructive behaviors, and feeling out of control. Instead, attitudes and behaviors can be cultivated that are conducive to long-term success and peace of mind.

Outcomes: 

1. Learn about anger issues and their causes
2. Reduce and prevent exhibited anger behaviors
3. Discovery of anger examples called undiscussable
4. Internalize the antidote to acting out anger
5. Name Self-protective strategies that bring anger into the open
6. Learn anger’s impact on health and wellness
7. Overcome the overwhelming
8. Learn behaviors essential to anger management success
9. Understand the mistakes and how we learn from them
10. Choose an extraordinary emotional management path
11. Communicate with precision/ Neuro-linguistic programming
12. Develop relationships restoration and building

MIN 260 Marriage Ministry (formerly Thriving Marriages) (4 credits)

Ministry leaders need more training on marriages. This advanced Marriage Ministry  class surveys marriage from the pre-counseling phase all the way to finishing well in marriage. Professor Kristine Koetje-Balder brings over 25 years of experience to help ministry students know how to lead in their communities.

Outcomes:

1. Learn the basic principles of a Christian marriage and how to help marriage thrive.
2. Learn content that you can use for a pre-marriage ministry.
3. Develop skills for marriage counseling. 
4. Get skills necessary for being a chaplain or for other ministry roles.
5. Learn biblical skills that will help your own marriage if you are married.

MIN 270 Youth Ministry (3 credits)

This course teaches you the foundations for youth ministry.  One Hope Ministries has created this Youth Ministry foundation course to help you identify and learn some best practices in youth ministry. One Hope’s mission is to affect destiny by providing God’s eternal Word to all the children and youth of the world. 

Outcomes:

1. The importance of youth ministry.
2. The stages of faith development and how to incorporate that knowledge in youth ministry. 
3. Some best practices of Discipleship of Youth. 
4. The essential skills in teaching the Bible to youth. 
5. The essential practices in sharing the gospel with youth. 
6. Skills related to recruiting volunteers. 
7. To survey issues of crisis in youth ministry.
8. How to empower youth to lead.
9. To examine your own calling for youth ministry.
10. How to work in a team with others.
11. To become aware of Youth Ministry Minefields and setting up proper safe boundaries. 

MIN 310 Evangelism: Presenting Grace (3 credits)

This class looks at mighty things the Holy Spirit does in the thought, work, and practice of presenting God’s grace to others through evangelism.

  Outcomes:

1. Understand and articulate God’s grace revealed throughout biblical history and given fully in Jesus.
2. Understand how salvation by grace relates to God’s law and Christian freedom.
3. Witness vocally and clearly to others in the Holy Spirit’s power about salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.
4. Recognize and overcome barriers and objections to vocal witnessing.
5. Develop a pattern of evaluating and increasing knowledge, courage, strategy, and skill for vocal witnessing.

MIN 312 Multiplying Disciples (2 credits)

Multiplying Disciples is a course designed for ministers who are passionate about spreading the movement. The benefit of studying this course material is that you will be able to lead others with the same material. This two-credit course will assist you in:

• Serving as a local volunteer, part-time or career minister
• Leading a Small Group
• Planting a New House Church
• Developing a new local church launch team
• Reaching others in evangelism
• Becoming a Life Coach Minister with the Discipleship Badge

Outcomes

1.  Learn the Biblical Framework of Discipleship identity and practice. 
2. Develop practices that help you as a minister to live as a disciple and as a personal embodiment of the church.
3. Learn how to study the Bible to be effective as a small group or house church leader. 
4. Survey the Old and New Testaments and the essential knowledge needed to lead a small group or church.
5. Study the essential theological issues that allow you to disciple others.
6. Discover your role in spreading the gospel in the discipleship framework.

MIN 313 Church Planting (4 credits)

This class takes many principles of marketing and integrates them with a biblical framework for planting sustainable, reproducible churches. (This class can be used as a marketing core requirement for the Degree program or as an elective in all programs. You can only use this course once in your program.)

Outcomes:

1. Form godly character and spiritual mentality to become a church planter.
2. Understand need and opportunity for planting more churches.
3. Develop vision, strategy, and skills for healthy, sustainable church planting.
4. Identify and overcome hindrances to church planting.
5. Consider various church planting models and evaluate a target community.
6. Know how to cultivate leaders, form small groups, build stewardship, publicize a church launch, and accomplish other practical aspects of church planting.

MIN 320 Leadership (3 credits)

This course explores how godly leaders, relying on the Holy Spirit, can help guide, motivate, mobilize, unify, and equip God’s people to pursue God’s mission for them.

Outcomes

1. Explore the mission model of the apostle Paul and its relevance for contemporary leadership in mission and ministry.
2. Understand the leadership process.
3. Understand himself/herself as a leader, and to identify the various aspects of personality and baggage that will affect his/her leadership.
4. Understand and be able to articulate the issues of culture in their situation.
5. Understand the best way of developing a vision for the future within his/her cultural situation.
6. Define a vision of a preferred future for the organization/ministry of which he/she is a part.
7. Be able to develop a strategic plan for implementation that will move the organization toward the preferred future.
8. Understand the importance of prayer in the process, and develop a structure for supporting the vision with prayer.

MIN 340 Disability Smart (3 credits)

People with Down syndrome, autism, ADHD, learning differences, dementia, medical challenges, and other differences of ability are treasured by God and should be treasured in every church. This course provides the framework and practical tools to shape a congregation where people of varying abilities and disabilities can participate and belong.

Disability Smart refers to interacting wisely and well with people of differing abilities. The word “disability,” though widely used, can be misleading if understood negatively. God endows people with differences of ability. So the word “disability” is often less helpful than phrases such as “differences of ability” or “all abilities.” Although the course is titled “Disability Smart” to keep it short, the subtitle better expresses the purpose of this class: Creating Congregations of Belonging for People of All Abilities.

As church leaders oversee worship, education, fellowship, and service opportunities for people in their congregations, it’s important to recognize that the congregation consists of people of all abilities. Children’s programs may include a child with Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorder. Adult programs may include individuals who are struggling readers or a person diagnosed with dementia. When we worship as a community, there will be people gathered who represent a wide variety of abilities and disabilities. This course will equip you to make your congregation a community where each one can participate and belong. Pastors, worship leaders, children and youth leaders, and others involved in leading church programs will benefit from this course.

Outcomes:

1. Learn a framework (known as the 3-part plan) for effective ministry with people of all abilities.
2. Explore the Puzzle Piece Perspective (Part 1 of the plan), as a Scriptural understanding of God’s design of individuals and communities.
3. Learn and apply principles of Universal Design for Participation (Part 2 of the plan) in various ministries within your congregation.
4. Learn and apply principles of Responsive Design (Part 3 of the plan) that will allow you to plan for individuals.
5. Discover some areas of difference, such as autism spectrum disorder, dementia, mobility differences and medical conditions, and how to apply the framework (3-part plan).
6. Learn how to embrace the God-given gifts of each person God has arranged as part of your community and strategies that allow individuals to use their gifts.
7. Recognize that learning and spiritual growth can happen in different ways for different individuals, but that each one is designed to fill an important part of the Kingdom.
8. Discover ways to introduce people to Jesus who take in information differently than you do.
9. Learn how to worship with persons with dementia, address challenging behaviors and discover important cultural dimensions of ministry with people of varied abilities.
10. Be confident that the setting you oversee can provide places of belonging for people of all abilities.

MIN 370 Youth Discipleship Ministry & Movement (3 credits)

This Youth Discipleship Ministry & Movement course empowers Youth leaders to not only learn how to disciple youth but also learn how to create local movements for raising up indigenous Youth leaders including young Christian leaders. The professor for this class is Dr. Ted Travis one of the world leaders in mobilizing youth leaders in Urban areas. This class is made possible from a grant from the DeVos Urban Youth Leadership Initiative.

This course is centered around reaching youth in urban environments, but the principles can be applied successfully to any youth ministry. 

Outcomes:

1. Study Biblical principles for becoming a transformational leader
2. Know how to design programs that will motivate youth to participate and grow
3. Learn common pitfalls to avoid in youth ministries.
4. Know how to engage youth on issues that are important to them.

MIN 380 Sermon Construction and Presentation (4 credits)

This preaching class will strengthen your preaching as you learn basics of communication, study how to prepare and preach sermons, and watch a variety of preachers and teachers in action.

  Outcomes:

1. Pursue preaching as Scripture-based, Christ-centered proclamation of God’s message for people today.
2. Grasp and apply elements of preparation and crafting of sermon content.
3. Grasp and apply elements of nonverbal communication in preaching.
4. Sample a variety of preachers from the past and present.
5. Develop an individual preaching style that fits one’s own personality and abilities.

MIN 416 Developing House Churches (3 credits)

The early Christians set up house churches. They also had an operating system that made them work well. Professor Larry Keider, Dove International President leads this class. Dove International has been planting house churches and churches for over 30 years.  

Outcomes:

1. Know biblical principles and practical guidelines for leading house churches or cell groups.
2. Develop personal qualifications and skills to be a house church leader.
3. Embrace vision for relational ministry, spiritual parenting/mentoring, and every-member mobilization.
4. Recognize some common problems of house church ministry and know how to deal with them.
5. Rely on the Holy Spirit in leading others and forming new groups of believers.

MIN 430  Church Revitalization (3 credits)

This course examines the necessity for church revitalization, the contributing factors that contribute to decline, and the biblical principles which lead to health and vitality.

Outcomes:

1. Have a biblical understanding of the nature and purpose of the church.
2. Be able to define in your ministry context the contributing factors that have led to decline and stagnation.
3. Understand the critical importance of repentance and how to lead others through it.
4. The ability to distinguish between the church growth model and the healthy church model.
5. Examine the role of the leader from both spiritual and pragmatic perspectives.

MIN 475 Women’s Ministry (3 credits)

This course considers all general aspects of Women’s Ministry:  Is there a need?  Is it biblical?  How to start and maintain a ministry?

  Outcomes:

1. Know significant women and their ministry in Scripture and in Christian history.
2. Overcome obstacles and develop vision for purposeful ministry.
3. Know various ways of equipping godly women to minister to women in church, community, and world.
4. Build practical skills for event planning, team building, leadership training, Bible study selection, crisis counseling, and avoiding burnout.
5. Understand the importance of ministry tailored to the unique needs and perspectives of women.

MIN 480  Church Revitalization (3 credits)

This class cultivates the art and method of preparing and preaching effective sermons and/or formal Christian presentations. Drawing first upon the Bible and communion with the Spirit, students will deepen their calling as preachers, develop their skills in crafting and delivering powerful messages, and grapple with some practical challenges in preaching.

Outcomes:

1. Learn how to study the Bible in a way that will lead to sermons reflecting the truth that you learn. 
2. Develop a pattern of sermon making that uses the skills taught to prepare interesting and attention-getting introductions, organize the body of the sermon in a memorable way, and to conclude your message with power. 
3. Embrace your role and calling as a preacher as you understand where and how were called, and also the tremendous responsibility that we preachers have. 
4. Recognize that the called preacher must relate effectively to the congregation where he/she preaches.  Several examples are given of how to do this. 
5. Reflect on some of the practical issues of preaching, like preaching through pain, and preaching when people aren’t responding.