Customizable Certificate Program
The Customizable Certificate is presented to students who satisfactorily complete the required 21 credit hours that are included in the certificate progression. Each Certificate can be completed in one year, with the exception of the Language Certificates (due to the necessary sequence of the language courses).
Appalachian Ministry Studies Certificate
Appalachian Ministry Certificate students will
- Demonstrate theological discernment through the exercise of a theological taxonomy that distinguishes between biblical and early Christian essentials, local Appalachian community distinctives, personal Appalachian convictions, and common theological questions and opinions that Appalachian people share.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence through an intensive focus on loving, knowing, and teaching the Word of God in an Appalachian ministry context.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that matures from a knowledge of God to worship and an integration of traditional and contemporary Appalachian spiritual disciplines and community.
- Exercise ministry competence through projects designed for future use as the student seeks to fulfill his/her ministry calling in an Appalachian ministry context.
Biblical Studies Certificate
Biblical Studies Certificate students will
- Demonstrate theological discernment through the exercise of a theological taxonomy that distinguishes between biblical and early Christian essentials, local community distinctives, personal convictions, and questions. The Certificate of Biblical Studies provides an opportunity for the practice of biblical theology.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence through a balanced integration of Auxiliary Bible courses and Bible Study courses requiring efficiency both in text and context.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that develops from the centrality of the Word of God to the Christian spiritual experience of the Holy Spirit.
- Exercise ministry competence through projects designed to equip students to handle the Word of God resulting in the advancement of the student’s ability to fulfill his/her ministry calling.
Christian Apologetics Certificate
Christian Apologetics Certificate students will
- Demonstrate theological and philosophical discernment through the exercise of a theological taxonomy that distinguishes between cultural, biblical and early Christian essentials, local community distinctives, personal convictions, and questions.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence through the study of both general and special revelation, featuring a systematic approach to theology, which displays the unified witness of Scripture on core themes, and the study of growing the intellect and developing the life of the mind.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that matures from a knowledge of God to worship through traditional spiritual disciplines and community. Exercise ministry competence through ministry projects designed for future use as the student seeks to fulfill his/her ministry calling.
Christian Counseling Certificate
Christian Counseling Certificate students will
- The student will correlate levels of theological convictions with counseling approaches for the counselor and counselee.
- Practice biblical and contextual intelligence through the implementation of biblical worldview to engage contemporary issues and challenges to the spiritual life.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion by integrating biblical spiritual disciplines into counseling methods and practices, not as merely formula performed to achieve predetermined results, but as genuine seeking of the power and presence of God in the counseling strategies and occasions.
- Exercise ministry competence through awareness, understanding, practice of Christian ethics, proper reporting, risk assessment, preparation, organization, and professional discernment regarding the variety of resources the Christian counselor may need to help someone achieve wholeness and spiritual maturity.
Christian Education Certificate
Christian Education Certificate students will
- In Christian Education, the student must learn to practice theological discernment in a variety of environments—the broader Christian community, one’s own local Christian community, in accordance with one’s own doctrinal convictions, and how to manage one’s own opinions and questions as well as those of others.
- Practice biblical and contextual intelligence for the sake of integrity and consistence in leadership, peacemaking in relationships, strategy for mission and vision, and blessing in the community.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion cognizant of (faithful and unfaithful) biblical examples of leadership and the centrality of the life of the Spirit, prayer, and the practice of community to the ministries of Christian teaching and leadership.
- Exercise ministry competence through the practice and assessment of a student’s calling as a steward, shepherd, or servant in the teaching and leadership needs of one’s own local church or para-church ministry setting.
Greek Language Studies Certificate
Greek Language Studies students will
- The GNTS Certificate emphasizes textual critical, grammatical, syntactical, and exegetical disciplines as foundational to theological inquiry and discovery.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence through a textual critical, grammatical, syntactical, and exegetical disciplines.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that matures from a knowledge of God through His Word to worship through the traditional spiritual disciplines of Bible study and community.
- Exercise ministry competence through Greek language projects designed for future use as the student seeks to fulfill his/her ministry calling.
Hebrew Language Studies Certificate
Hebrew Language Studies students will
- Emphasize textual critical, grammatical, syntactical, and exegetical disciplines as foundational to theological inquiry and discovery.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence through a textual critical, grammatical, syntactical, and exegetical disciplines.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that matures from a knowledge of God through His Word to worship through traditional spiritual disciplines of bible study and community.
- Exercise ministry competence through Hebrew language projects designed for future use as the student seeks to fulfill his/her ministry calling.
Ministry Studies Certificate
Ministry Studies students will
- Appreciate the unity of essentials and the variety of non-essentials by which the mission of God in the church advances.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence for the development of biblical core values and timeless theological truths by which ministry environments may be evaluated and ministry goals and objectives obtained.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that matures from a biblical and theological knowledge of God’s love and plan for his people to fulfilling a ministry calling in a local Christian community.
- Exercise ministry competence through projects designed for future use as the student seeks to fulfill his/her ministry calling.
Missiological Studies Certificate
Missiological Studies Certificate students will
- Demonstrate theological discernment through the exercise of a theological taxonomy that distinguishes between biblical and early Christian essentials that unite all Christians everywhere for all times, local community distinctives, personal convictions, and questions.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence by developing a biblical theology of the themes of the imago Dei and the mission Dei and by developing correlations between New Testament missiological methods and contemporary missiological methods.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion capable of articulating key missiological relationships between worship and mission, between the Word and prayer, and between the church’s commission to give, go, and send.
- Exercise ministry competence for fulfilling the missional call God has placed on the life of the student as a steward, shepherd, servant, or as one who is sent.
Theological Studies Certificate
Theological Studies Certificate students will
- Demonstrate theological discernment through the exercise of a theological taxonomy that distinguishes between biblical and early Christian essentials, local community distinctives, personal convictions, and questions.
- Acquire biblical and contextual intelligence through a systematic approach to theology, which displays the unified witness of Scripture on core themes.
- Cultivate spiritual devotion that matures from a knowledge of God to worship through traditional spiritual disciplines and community.
- Exercise ministry competence through projects designed for future use as the student seeks to fulfill his/her ministry calling.