Delivery Format

The 48 credits of the Certificate in Pastoral Ministry program will consist of a 4-year program. Each academic year will consist of 3 terms: Fall, Winter, Spring; plus one Pastoral Ministry Skills module that will be taught each April at the NE Fellowship Serve Boldly conference in Breesport. In addition, the student will be involved a summer internship course in the student’s sponsoring church. To keep the program simple and “doable” for laymen with busy schedules, only 1 or 2 courses will be scheduled at each teaching site for each term. Each term will consist of 1 weekend class for each of the 3 months in the term; Friday evening and all day Saturday, with travel time considered for Friday evening arrival and Saturday evening return trip home. Most classes will include a 2-hour Friday evening, session, plus an 8-hour all-day Saturday session, for a total of 10 hours of class time for each session. In summary, 10 hours of class time is required for 1 credit courses; 20 hours of class time is required for 2 credit courses; 30 hours of class time is required for 3 credit courses. Three weekend sessions per term = 30 total class hours per term. NOTE: A “credit hour” of class time actually consists of 50 minutes teaching time for each hour, with a 5-10 minute average break time configured in each hour. Careful planning of course requirements, including reading, research, and written assignments will be given to each student to be completed during the month before each class session.