Educational Ministry
The mission of the Educational Ministries major is to equip students to provide skillful leadership for the educational challenges of contemporary society. Using some of the best concepts from the fields of education, psychology, and leadership, this program will cause you to think deeply and theologically about ministry that transforms. This program is designed to make you an effective minister.
At Multnomah, you will major in Bible and theology and will learn about the first part of the Great Commandment found in Matthew 22-how to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind. A second major of Educational Ministries will teach you about the second part of the Great Commandment-how to lovingly understand, develop, and lead people.
The Educational Ministries degree equips you to love people well in three ways:
Understanding People
People are the apex of God's creation-objects of His affection and agents of His purposes. We believe every effective minister should seek to deeply understand and love people, to explore how they grow and develop, and to perceive what makes them who they are (1 Timothy 1:5).
Designing Ministry
Leaders are needed to develop and refine strategies that reach and nurture people into an abiding walk with Christ (Colossians 1:28-29). We believe the next generation of ministers will need to think more creatively and incisively than ever before about how to provide effective ministry to this complex and rapidly changing world.
Developing Leaders
The task of an effective minister is one of equipping-to prepare the people of God for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11). Raising disciples who will go themselves and make disciples lies at the heart of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). We believe in the strategic importance of multiplying leaders.
Educational Ministry Concentrations
Ministry Leadership
The emphasis of Ministry Leadership equips the student to design and lead ministries that will effectively reach people with the gospel of Christ. This emphasis can be applied broadly to a variety of contexts. It draws upon the disciplines of leadership, education, and psychology to provide the student with rich sources of insight that will enable the student to effectively initiate, lead, and multiply ministries.
Family Ministry
The emphasis of Family Ministry is for those with particular interest in the health of families, in understanding family systems and dynamics of relationship, and in the design of effective ministry to the family. This emphasis draws upon psychology, education, and sociology as disciplines to provide the bases for ministerial competency. Also, this emphasis could be effectively used as a pre-counseling course of study.
Women’s Ministry
As one of the first programs in the country that deliberately addresses issues of women’s ministry, this emphasis within educational ministry continues Multnomah's heritage of providing women with ministerial competencies uniquely designed for the challenges of communication, discipleship, and leadership development of women.
Recreational Leadership
The Recreational Leadership track provides training for students who are interested in outdoor, adventure-based, athletically-oriented, and experiential ministry. With an emphasis on the kind of ministry housed in vehicles other than the traditional formal ministry, this emphasis produces non-formal leadership expertise in its participants. The curriculum of this emphasis draws on the classic disciplines of educational ministry (i.e., leadership, education, psychology) and applies it to experiential contexts so that the graduate is able to design and lead non-formal ministry effectively.
