Young Leaders Formation (Distance Learning Program)

Introduction to the Old Testament

The course material reveals the main characteristics and content of the books of the Old Testament, the key theological themes of the Old Testament books and their relationship to the books of the New Testament.

Hermeneutics

During this course, students will learn the basic principles of biblical interpretation, develop a balanced approach to interpreting Scripture, and be inspired to study the Bible on their own. Topics covered include: a historical overview of the interpretation of Scripture and various approaches to its interpretation; an assessment of the problems associated with the interpretation of Scripture and ways to solve them; and the identification of right and wrong approaches to interpreting the Bible.

Life of Jesus Christ

This course will focus on the four canonical Gospels against the backdrop of three closely intertwined contexts: Jewish, early Christian, and political (Roman Empire).

Homiletics

This course focuses on how to create a biblical, interesting, relevant and practical sermon with a clear structure. Students will learn how to find the key idea of a biblical passage, build a sermon outline, and fill it with relevant content and illustrations.

Ministry Social Context Research

During the course, students will be trained to study the social context of ministry: the aspirations and interests of the target audience, the key needs to be addressed, the peculiarities of culture, thinking and beliefs, etc. The course consists of three parts: 1) the purpose of studying the context for the formation of ministry; 2) the main methods of studying the context of ministry; 3) analysis and conclusions of sociological research.

Students will acquire the following skills: studying sociological research data, conducting in-depth interviews, conducting a sociological survey, analysing, drawing conclusions and making strategic decisions based on data.

Modern Communications in Church Ministry

The course aims to teach students how to use modern communication tools productively in church ministry: to make the church subculture understandable in media channels; to improve their presence in the media space; to see the biggest challenges for the church in the media age and to overcome them.

Developing Youth Ministries

This course will equip young leaders to effectively minister to young people through: an in-depth understanding of biblical principles of ministry; knowledge of the age-specific characteristics of “youth”; and skills in youth pastoral care.

Fundraising in Ministry

The course will introduce students to the general principles of fundraising, teach them how to write service projects and create a budget. The course consists of three parts: 1) defining the general principles of finding resources for ministry; 2) a workshop on writing projects; 3) the basics of budgeting.

Leadership

The course is designed to form an understanding of spiritual, ethical and effective leadership and to show what is required for the holistic formation, development, thinking, character and skills of interaction with followers. The choice of topics is based on an understanding of the urgent challenges created by the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Spiritual Formation of a Leader

The course is focused on the formation of a spiritually mature person. Here, students learn to apply the basic spiritual values and principles of Christian spirituality. They also consider the main spiritual disciplines, such as God-seeking, prayer, meditation on the Holy Scriptures, mentoring, fasting, solitude, and more.

Team Building

Students master the general principles of forming a team for ministry: how to form a common goal and vision for the team; how to distribute roles; how to set up interaction processes and develop building relationships; how to introduce changes and evaluate team results, etc.

Conflict Resolution

The course is designed to provide basic knowledge and skills on how to respond to and resolve conflicts in the church environment.
Students will consider the following issues: the definition of conflict; types of conflict and an overview of those that most often occur in church ministry (individual and group levels); the dynamics of conflict and how to prevent them; and possible strategies for conflict resolution based on biblical principles and life experience.