Educational Level: Lower undergraduate, Associate
Number of Credit Hours: 3 credit hours
Instructor: Dr. Curt Watke
Course Description
This foundational course introduces students to the biblical theology of mission by exploring God's redemptive purpose throughout Scripture and its implications for Christian living today. Drawing primarily from Christopher J.H. Wright's comprehensive work The Mission of God's People, students will discover that mission is not merely an activity of the church but the very heartbeat of God's character and the central narrative of Scripture.
Through systematic examination of biblical texts and themes, learners will understand how God's mission (missio Dei) encompasses creation care, blessing the nations, redemptive living, faithful witness, gospel proclamation, work in the public square, and worshipful living. Each module addresses fundamental questions: Who are we as God's people? What are we here for? How does our understanding of the biblical story shape our participation in God's mission?
This course is designed as an entry point for undergraduate students beginning their theological education, providing essential foundations for all subsequent studies in theology, ministry, and missional practice. The asynchronous format allows students to engage with course materials at their own pace while maintaining structured weekly learning objectives and collaborative interactions with peers.
How It Benefits Students
Students develop a comprehensive biblical theology of mission that transforms their understanding of Christian identity and calling. Through weekly application activities, they connect theological insights to personal contexts, equipping them for faithful participation in God's redemptive work. The course provides foundational knowledge for ministry leadership, cross-cultural service, and everyday discipleship.
Beyond academic learning, students gain practical skills in contextual analysis, missional discernment, and theological reflection that apply immediately to their current ministry settings or daily Christian living. The course cultivates a holistic missional worldview that integrates creation care, social justice, evangelism, worship, and vocation as unified expressions of God's mission rather than competing priorities. Students learn to read Scripture missionally, enabling them to discover God's purposes throughout the biblical narrative and apply these insights to contemporary challenges.
The reflective assignments and peer discussions foster transformative personal growth, helping students articulate their own calling within God's redemptive story. Graduates emerge with both theological depth and practical wisdom, prepared to lead communities of faith in faithful missional engagement whether serving as pastors, missionaries, marketplace Christians, or everyday disciples seeking to live all of life as participation in God's mission.
Why This Course Is Important
Understanding the mission of God is essential for all Christians, not just missionaries or pastors. This course establishes that mission flows from identity within God's story, providing the theological foundation for the entire Bachelor degree programs at Missional University. Students learn to read Scripture missionally and understand how all of life participates in God's redemptive purposes.
As a foundational freshman-level course, THM1000EN addresses critical questions of identity and purpose that shape students' entire theological education and future ministry. In an era where Christianity is often reduced to personal spirituality or institutional programs, this course recovers the biblical vision of God's comprehensive redemptive mission encompassing all creation, all peoples, and all dimensions of human life.
The course directly responds to the contemporary need for Christians who understand mission holistically—integrating evangelism with justice, worship with work, and personal piety with public engagement. Without this foundational understanding, students risk fragmenting their faith into disconnected activities rather than participating coherently in God's unified mission. By grounding students in Wright's rigorous biblical theology, the course equips them to think critically about mission, resist reductionist approaches, and develop theologically-informed strategies for faithful engagement in their specific contexts. This theological foundation proves essential for all subsequent coursework in the theological studies program.
- Teacher: Curt Watke
Educational Level: Upper undergraduate, Bachelor
Credit Hours: 3 Credits
Instructor: Dr. Joel Hamme
Course Description:
An exploration into the world and the message of the Old Testament prophets, analyzing the genre, structure, history, and possible original audiences of the prophets. The centrality of God's mission in the prophetic books will be emphasized, for the major purpose of this course is to emphasize the relevance of the prophetic messages for our contemporary society.How This Course Benefits Students:
(1)The student will acquire the ability to interpret biblical passages in prophetic books using basic exegetical methods and tools. (2). The student will be able to situate the prophets within their historical age, outlining their political, social and religious concerns. (3). The student will be able to appreciate the artistry and literary devices employed in the transmission of prophetic oracles. (4). The student will recognize the dominant theological themes and theologies within the prophetic books. (5). the student will be able to articulate the relevance of the prophetic message to the modern reader particularly the reoccurring global issues such as ethics, politics, violence, justice, human rights, gender and ecology in the prophetic writings. (6). The student will appreciate the descriptions of Gods mission to the world through the understanding of the prophetic writings from the perspective of mission.Why This Course Is Important:
The message of the Old Testament prophets is the pinnacle of Old Testament revelation, and thus there is the need to understand the historical background, literary character, artistry, themes and the dominant message of each prophetic book. Similarly, the presence of Messiah prophecies in the prophetic books and their later fulfillment in the New Testament clearly justify the need to study and understand the Old Testament prophets. This exercise on the Hebrew prophets is expected to also reinvigorate the spirituality and missiological commitments of the students to Gods mission.- Teacher: Joel Hamme
Educational Level: Upper undergraduate, Bachelor
Credit Hours: 3 Credits
Instructor: Dr. Terry Coy
Course Description:
An examination of the phenomenon of increasing global migration of people from both internal and external perspectives. The student will explore a theological understanding of how God has worked toward, with and through people in diaspora in their biblical and historical contexts. Application will be made to contemporary immigration, refugee, and justice issues.How This Course Benefits Students:
Every student is aware of changing demographics and of contemporary immigration and refugee issues. This course will enable him or her to engage these issues through the lens of a Biblical theology and engage cross-culturally with the people of the Diaspora.Why This Course Is Important:
Contemporary ministry and missions is virtually impossible without considering the global migration of peoples. This course will give the student both the theological foundation and the practical tools to missionally engage those of the Diaspora.- Teacher: Terry Coy
Combined lecture hall for THM3400/5400
- Teacher: Terry Coy
- Teacher: Curt Watke