Certificate in Theological Studies
For bivocational pastors, lay leaders, and professionals.
The Certificate Program consists of 27 seminary credit hours. Its purpose is threefold:
- To prepare bivocational pastors who may need to hold another part-time job.
- To prepare people for part-time or team ministry, or lay leaders who carry leadership roles and desire basic training in certain ministry areas (basic Bible study skills, pastoral counseling, spirituality, evangelism, etc.).
- To provide an opportunity for theological reflection and spiritual enrichment for people in professions of health care, education, administration, agriculture, business, transportation, etc. For such people, this program might be one year of study with a focus in Bible, theology, history, or ethics.
This program serves all three of these types of needs and may be done over an extended period of time (three or five years) or in one year on campus. To prepare for bivocational or team ministry, we recommend courses that contribute basic knowledge in the various areas of the seminary curriculum and those that develop skills for ministry.
Supervised ministry courses
It is desirable for the student to have a mentor from the conference or congregation to whom he or she will be accountable for his or her preparation for ministry. This mentor, along with an AMBS academic adviser, can counsel the student in order to make the educational experience most profitable. For lay leaders and professionals who seek to enrich their lives and vocations spiritually, biblically, and theologically, a small group seminar may be provided for a context of discernment and discussion of vocational, ethical, and theological issues.
Fifteen hours in this Certificate Program must be taken in AMBS offerings, either on campus or from one of the AMBS extension sites.
Sample program
Although the program has no required courses, a sample program is nine courses selected from the following list. (Note: Not all of these courses are offered in any given year.)
Bible
| Reading the Bible | 3 |
| A Bible book study | 3 |
History, Theology, and Ethics
| Anabaptist History and Theology | 3 |
| Thinking Ethically | 3 |
Church and Ministry
| Human Development and Christian Formation | 3 |
| Principles of Pastoral Care | 3 |
| Marriage, Family, and Pastoral Care | 3 |
| Conflict, Communication, and Conciliation | 2 or 3 |
| Christian Formation in the Congregation | 3 |
| Foundations of Worship and Preaching | 4 |
| An evangelism or mission course | 3 |
| A youth ministry course | 3 |
Interdepartmental
| Mission and Peace: The Church's Ministry in the World | 3 |
| Theology of the Church | 3 |
| Christian Formation Seminar | 1 |
Total credit hours — 27 hrs.