This page is part of the seminary catalog
Developing the Skills of Ministry
Course descriptions and scheduling are subject to change by administrative decision. See course offerings booklet for current offerings. Some courses will be offered on a two- or three-year rotation.
Congregational Life and Work (SMCL)
510 Seminar in Youth Ministry (3 SH)
This course will explore issues of youth ministry beyond the introductory level. Students who have had another youth ministry course or extensive youth ministry experience are invited to be a part of this class. Together the class will investigate matters such as sexuality, the influence of mass media, youth culture in society at large, the development of skills in conflict management, counseling of youth, multi-cultural issues, money management, alternative programming for youth, and the inclusion of youth in the worship life of the congregation. Specific directions for this course will be dictated by the needs and interests of the students and professor.
520 The Teaching Church (3 SH)
This introductory course provides a map of the terrain, surveying and evaluating a variety of approaches to Christian education. The course will examine the philosophical, theological, psychological and sociological foundations on which the purpose and practice of religious education are based. Attention will be given both to continuity with historical tradition and to changes reflected in contemporary experience. Specific approaches to the educational task will be discussed, such as: religious instruction, faith community as teacher, personal dynamics of spiritual and moral development, interpretation as a task of education, and liberation as it relates to education. Students will be encouraged to develop their own theory of education.
540 Dramatic and Visual Worship Arts (3 SH)
This course is designed to equip students to explore and develop dramatic and visual arts for Christian worship. It is grounded in an understanding that artistic expression can assist us in opening ourselves to God's movement in us, in the church and in the world. Primary attention is given to how we use the scriptures for developing dramatic and visual arts. Reflection on the relationship of Christian faith and the arts will also be a part of this course. Students will be given the opportunity to practice their skills in visual arts, scripture reading, biblical storytelling, dramatic interpretations of biblical themes, the reading of litanies and calls to worship.
550 Song of the Christian Church (3 SH)
This course is designed for singing and studying hymns. It is organized historically and teaches students the many historical styles of hymn singing, newer styles of congregational song and international styles. Both unaccompanied and accompanied styles of hymn singing are included. The course explores the role and importance of congregational song in worship.
560 Ministering in Times of Trauma (1 SH)
Traumatic life experiences come in many forms, touch multiple networks of relationships and systems, and call for a complex set of responses. The church must be equipped to respond. This course examines the physiological, psychological, spiritual and social impact of trauma. It explores how the Christian narrative/community with its transforming practices of truth-telling, forgiveness, reconciliation, restorative justice and peacebuilding can lead to the shalom of God's present and coming kingdom, both within the church, and through the church, to the larger world. Pastors, church leaders, missionaries, counselors and others who seek to become agents of trauma healing will examine a healing path that integrates theology, spiritual practices and counseling skills.
580 Pastoral Counseling I (3 SH)
This course is for both students with a pastoral counseling concentration and other seminary students interested in learning the introductory level of the art and science of pastoral counseling. The course will examine the basics of a counseling relationship and give the student the opportunity to practice a “counseling” relationship and skills in the context of the course. Topics to be covered include: theory overview, skills work, typical cases encountered, issues related to ethics, culture, theology, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Special attention will be given to the dynamics of counseling in the context of the congregation or faith community.
600 Foundations for Christian Preaching (3 SH)
The primary focus of this course is the effective communication of the Christian gospel in the context of the congregation. This course aims to help students master the basic principles and skills of preaching. Through lecture, assigned readings, and class discussion, students will explore the nature, function, and design of effective sermons. Students will be guided through the various stages of preaching, from idea development to sermon delivery in the class or a congregational context. To enable students to develop competence in basic preaching skills, both the instructor and other class members will seek to offer constructive feedback to sermon presentations. Prerequisite to all preaching courses.
610 Pastoral Care (also offered online) (3 SH)
A critical reflection on what it means to be a caregiver in the ministry of the church. Among the issues examined are the assumptions one brings to caregiving, the relationship between caregiving and counseling, and various models for pastoral care and counseling. Specific pastoral care events such as births, weddings and funerals are also explored. Professional and ethical issues related to caregiving and counseling are introduced. There will be a brief introduction of basic counseling skills.
620 Pastoral Assessment (3 SH)
Assessment and diagnosis are central skills for any caregiver whether one is a pastor, counselor or some other helping professional. This course will offer the student the opportunity to learn the basic skills of assessment and diagnosis. Assessment and diagnosis will be addressed from a number of perspectives with primary attention given to psychological, theological, and spiritual perspectives.
630 Managing Congregational Conflict (3 SH)
This course will focus on managing conflict in churches. Attention will be given to ecclesiology and theology related to conflict, development of skills for dealing with interpersonal conflicts, managing polarities, teaching communication in the congregation, and intervention skills for addressing deeper, more difficult conflicts in the congregation. The course will be taught with primary attention to the role of pastors, congregational leaders, conference ministers and overseers in managing congregational conflict and creating healthy churches. Class sessions will include lectures, videos, case studies, role plays and sharing of personal experience.
640 Sacramental Theology and Liturgical Practice (3 SH)
This course explores the biblical, historical, and theological issues underlying sacramental life in the church. A comparative study of ecumenical experience provides the student with critical tools to examine specific liturgical practices within his/her own faith tradition. Students will gain an appreciation of the underlying issues that help shape Christian worship in its various forms, and practical guidance in leading that shaping. Prerequisites: CTH 500 and 510
650 Experimental Congregations— Field Research (3 SH)
A fresh approach to congregational dynamics, this course offers numerous opportunities to examine local church life on the growing edge, identifying those congregations that are actively re-configuring their programs and structures to engage their contexts with the Gospel. Field trips and case studies with detailed comparisons bring new insights, taking participants into settings quite different from their own and from the conventional. Students learn to read a congregation like a book—some novel, some classic, but each with drama and intrigue.
660 Rituals of the Christian Church (3 SH)
In this course, students will examine the meaning of "ritual" and the formative and transformative functions that rituals serve in the life of the church. Both the theology and practice of the primary rituals of the Christian church will be explored. The rituals of baptism, the Lord’s supper, wedding ceremonies and funeral services will receive the most attention. Rituals of healing, ordination and dedication or blessing will be studied as well. This course will prepare students to effectively lead congregations in meaningfully practicing the rituals of the church.
670 Introduction to Conflict Tranformation (3 SH)
This course familiarizes students with the literature and practice of conflict resolution in interpersonal, family and congregational settings. Special emphasis is placed on the development of biblical, theoretical and practical responses to situations of conflict facing the contemporary church. Students are expected to work with relevant writings and gain personal skills useful in mediation and conflict resolution strategies.
680 The Practice of Christian Worship (3 SH)
This course is designed to prepare students for planning and leading congregational worship and to generate appreciation for the formative and transformative role of worship in the life of the church. Primary attention is given to the practical aspects of creating worship experiences based on biblical texts. Students will practice writing their own worship resources and become acquainted with published worship resources. This course will familiarize students with using the liturgical calendar and the Revised Common Lectionary as resources for worship planning. Prerequisites: CTH 500 and 510
690 Family Education and Spirituality (3 SH)
For better or worse, families influence our character, values, and beliefs more profoundly than any other institution. This course will look at a church-based vision for rebuilding the infrastructure of families. It is designed to examine changes affecting today’s families in light of a biblical theology of family and will look at how family culture can be frontline mission agenda for the church of the next decade. The course will assist students in developing a theological and educational framework for thinking about family ministry. The course will also equip pastors and church educators with specific resources related to parenting skills, home-based spiritual formation, and peace and justice concerns.
720 The Craft of Teaching for Faith (3 SH)
This course is designed for persons in leadership roles who want to grow in their self-understanding as teachers and in their ability to teach and communicate. The course examines basic methodologies of the art of teaching and of curriculum development which can be applied either to a church or a classroom context. Persons will be encouraged to envision a comprehensive educational strategy and develop concrete plans for enhancing their teaching ministries.
730 Preaching as Pastoral Ministry (3 SH)
Preaching as Pastoral Ministry provides practical instruction for the preparation and delivery of sermons that enhance pastoral ministry in the congregational context. Pastoral ministry employs words, acts, and relationships to enable congregants to experience the reality of God’s presence and love in their lives. This course helps students develop the art of preaching in ways that enhance the pastoral ministries of healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling. Evaluation for the course will assess the student’s preaching skills, the student’s grasp of the readings for the course, and the student’s level of engagement in class interaction. Prerequisite: Foundations for Christian Preaching or the experience of preaching regularly in a congregational context.
740 Pastoral Counseling II (3 SH)
This course is for both students with a pastoral counseling concentration and other seminary students interested in learning the art and science of pastoral counseling. The course will examine the ministry of pastoral counseling at a more advanced level. It will give the student the opportunity to engage in a sustained counseling relationship with one other person. Topics to be covered include: an in-depth review of counseling theories, advanced skills work, and issues related to ethics, culture and theology. Diagnosis and treatment planning will be given sustained attention. Prerequisite: Pastoral Counseling I (SMCL 580)
750 Marriage and Family Counseling (3 SH)
This course provides an introduction to family systems theory and its relevance to ministering to marriage and family issues in the congregation. Each student will have the opportunity to develop a multigenerational family genogram and reflect on its impact on one’s own functioning and ministry. Various theories of marriage and family counseling will be examined. Students will be empowered to more helpfully address marriage and family issues in the congregation. Some of the topics covered in the course include: the single life, premarital counseling, wedding preparation, post-wedding involvement with couples, ministry to various family needs and issues, divorce and remarriage issues, marriage and family enrichment, etc. SMCL 610 is recommended as a prerequisite.
770 Leadership & Administration (also offered online) (3 SH)
This course involves an exploration of leadership and administration primarily in the context of the congregation. Various frames (personal/experiential, biblical/theological, systems theory, etc.) are used to examine the realities of leadership and administration with the goal of personal reflection and application on the part of the student. Students will engage a number of assignments and exercises which will afford opportunity to clarify and refine one’s understanding of leadership and administration.
This course provides a setting for students to explore homiletical perspectives on theological and exegetical problems discussed in other courses in the seminary. The course enables students to integrate their academic and practical ministry goals by helping them develop sermons that draw on insights gained from other course work. Students will work together through all phases of the preaching task, from conception of the ideas to the delivery of sermons. The expectation for this course is that a student will take it simultaneously with another course which lends itself to the development of sermon themes. Approval must be granted by the instructor of the workshop. Students may take the course a maximum of three times. Prerequisite: SMCL 600 Foundations for Christian Preaching.
Missions and Evangelism (SMME)
510 Growing Missional Churches (3 SH)
“The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning”(Brunner). Since humans are created with great potential for good and ill, at the heart of God’s mission is making new disciples and forming new churches, new cells of God’s kingdom of grace, justice, truth and peace. This course focuses on how churches lose their missional identity, and how it can be recovered. Attention is also given to the dynamics and processes involved in leading congregations to missional fruitfulness and forming new congregations in various contexts. The course includes a research project in a new or developing church.
520 Evangelism as Initial Spiritual Guidance (3 SH)
Various activities called evangelism center in making authentic new disciples. The disciplines of “initial spiritual guidance” are practiced in this course to help people encounter God, receive God's forgiving, healing grace, enter God's arriving reign, learn the Christian disciplines of the Spirit, be joined into the body of God's people, and learn to take part in God’s own saving, healing, transformative mission in the world. This course includes reflection on the history, theology and practice of making disciples with special concentration on practicing the disciplines of evangelism as initial spiritual guidance among people who are strangers to the church.
610 Healing Ministry in the Missional Church (3 SH)
Jesus taught his disciples to confront the kingdom of darkness by announcing the arrival of God’s kingly reign, inviting repentance, loving enemies, embracing the excluded, forgiving sinners, and healing the sick and demonized. This course focuses on the biblical mandate for healing ministry, the current recovery of healing ministry, and the crucial place of healing ministry in the church’s life and mission. Special emphasis is placed on learning through experience some of the dynamics of spiritual ministries for healing and deliverance in collaboration with social action, psychotherapy and medical care. Special attention is given to facing squarely some of the hard questions related to healing ministry and its abuse.
Held for 3 weeks in June on the campus of Lancaster Mennonite School. This institute is co-sponsored by Eastern Mennonite Missions, Mennonite Christian Leadership Foundation, and the seminary’s John Coffman Center. Students join with new mission appointees and experienced missionaries for cross-cultural mission education. Field experiences are combined with classes led by a variety of experienced resource persons. Further details on this offering are available from the John Coffman Center.
The Church in Mission (3 SH)
Mission in Cultural Context (3 SH)
Cross-Cultural Church Experience (3 SH)
Ministry Internship (2-6 SH)
Field Education (SMFE)
Formation in Ministry I, II (Field Education) (3 SH), (3 SH)
See FS 600 and 610.
730 Ministry Internship (2-6 SH)
An intensive experience in supervised ministry normally in an off-campus setting. Internships may range in length from three to 12 months. They may be arranged in settings such as pastoral ministry, urban ministries, church planting and overseas missions. Credit earned is generally elective credit. In some settings, the intern may take a limited amount of study at a local seminary. Internships operate according to guidelines established by the seminary. Internships in church planting or overseas missions are led by the director of the John Coffman Center. Prerequisite: Minimum of one year of seminary study; FS 600 and 610.
740 Teaching Mentorship (3 SH)
EMS students may apply for a Teaching Mentorship in the EMU Bible and Religion Department. This mentorship includes practice teaching at the undergraduate level under the direct supervision of a faculty member assigned to the course. The faculty member functions as a teaching mentor and provides oversight and evaluative feedback at regular intervals during the mentorship. Participation in this mentorship will follow Formation in Ministry I & II (or equivalent) and the completion of at least 18 hours of seminary coursework. The number of mentorships each semester will be limited to one. Application shall be made to the EMS Field Education office.
600 Clinical Pastoral Education I (3 SH)
610 Clinical Pastoral Education II (3 SH)
This course is a guided learning experience in ministry in an institutional and/or congregational setting under a certified ACPE supervisor. Program components include verbatim writing, lectures, individual supervision and the interpersonal experience of a group of peers in a common learning experience. This course is offered during the summer in the format of a ten-week intensive unit and during the school year as an extended unit spanning six months, with three hours of credit each semester.
Directed Studies
Directed studies may be taken in any department subject to the approval of the instructor and the associate dean. For more information click here.
790 MAR Thesis (1-6 SH)
Research project done in the area of the student’s concentration and under the direction of the faculty supervisor.
