Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

None

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Unit Description

An introduction to missiology which helps learners to develop proficiency in their understanding of the interaction between church and culture, and as a basis for doing theology, will be presented. The unit outlines the nature of diakonia (Missional Church Service), which identifies the call of the gospel not only to serve God with our prayers and our words, but also to bring him glory through the way in which we serve other people and his creation through self-sacrificial acts of love.

While Leading People into the Presence of God focuses on God and Leading and Building Community focuses on the congregation, in Missional Church Service the focus falls on the world (creation) and on people who are outside the congregation.

The learner is introduced to the concept of Missional Church Service and the social relevance of the church and the social consequences of her actions. The learner explores the roots of mission in the trinity and God’s covenant with creation and how these lead to action for the ‘other’. Human mission as an expression of God’s delight in humanity, and God’s response of delight to human unity, fidelity and sacrificial service is described in the light of God being the one who delights in and watches over his people

The church’s love and unity hold ultimate significance for the world as the visible basis of the gospel’s power and legitimacy. The church itself is in fact the promise of the gospel. The universal invitation to believe the gospel includes the invitation to enter a community that searches to believe and live under God’s reign. Learners are exposed to the theme of the reign of God in the Old and New Testaments and various biblical scholars’ perspective are considered. The call of the people of God to bless the nations and the ethical dimensions that would flow from such a conclusion become an important consideration in the course of study.

Our responses of compassion and service and our actions for peace and justice are signs that the Kingdom of God is already present in our world and that the kingdom of God is also the way as our future. The relationship between Church and state is explored historically. Various historical and current missional practices are considered: the church’s response to the poor, to AIDS, and to governments in lobbying for just laws; solidarity with oppressed peoples; initiatives in caring for marginalized peoples; and responsible care for God’s creation. Learners will be required to articulate the contextual nature of missional responses while being able to highlight the positive and negative implications of this awareness.

Moltmann’s political theology is examined as well as his view regarding suffering. Learners are required to examine the place of suffering in theological thought and of the church’s response to human suffering. We ask the question of how the church proclaims the good news in the face of suffering. Announcing the Kingdom of God with compassion and justice comes as a spontaneous expression of gratitude, humility and joy when it occurs in the context of being God’s forgiven community.

The unit explores the statement that “the church in mission may be characterized by signs of the Messiah’s coming”. It follows that the broader community that houses the church community would be impacted by the church, if our being, doing and speaking are signs that his coming is ‘already’ and ‘not yet’. The local church and community development and the implications for the local church are considered.

Teaching Strategies

The learning process consists of three phases: reading, residential, and research. Each phase has a blend of individual and group learning, and subsequent phases build upon the learning of those that come before.

The first phase is a reading phase, and lasts for 12 weeks. The learner, as part of a small cohort study group (3 to 5 members), is guided through a reading program to explore the current scholarship on the practice of Missional Church Service.

Reading assignments are compiled with the help of the librarian, the educational technologist, and administrative support staff. Required weekly readings are posted to the unit website once a week for downloading, utilising Tabor Victoria’s Moodle platform.

Students are also required to read any prescribed textbooks in this phase.

During this first phase learners in cohort groups embark on a guided social inquiry, resulting in a research project . Hands-on research conducted in context by each participant allows him/her to gain an understanding of specific, emerging ministry concerns/questions encountered by local churches.

Second phase is a residential phase: Equipped with the reading and research, learners then undertake a Residential phase of 40 hours’ worth (one week, full-time) of residential study. During the residency, all cohort groups gather in a teaching church chosen because of a leader who is known as a thoughtful practitioner, and because the agency has a proven track record in ‘Missional church service’.

In the third (research) phase students complete a personal theology in which issues related to ‘Missional church service’ are explored. Cohorts also plan and implement an intervention at a local church. The intervention is a professional presentation that summarises findings and proposes a number of ways the church might go about addressing the emerging questions. The intervention invites thoughtful practitioners into theological reflection and constructive thinking about the concern and what might be done to begin addressing it. Following the intervention, the small cohort study group reflects upon and assesses their collaborative work.

Unit offerings

Face to face: (Every 3rd Year, Semester 2)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.