Educational Ministry of the Church
About This Class
Through this course, you will gain a deep understanding of the educational ministry of the church, its foundations, principles of teaching and learning, and the development of an effective educational ministry. You will also explore strategies for different age groups, including children, youth, and adults, and learn how to address contemporary issues such as cultural relevance, technology, media, and special needs inclusivity.
Other Recommended Reading:
The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter
Is it a Lost Cause?, Marva Dawn
The Christian Educator's Handbook on Spiritual Formation, Kenneth Gangel & James Wilhoit
Liberating the Laity: Equipping All the Saints for Ministry, Paul Stevens
About the Professor
Gary Parrett
Dr. Gary Parrett, a professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary from 1998 to 2010, specializes in Christian education, catechesis, and worship. He has over 20 years of pastoral experience and has co-authored several books, including "Grounded in the Gospel." After surviving a tragic 2010 bus accident in Korea, Dr. Parrett continues to teach and equip pastors worldwide contributing hundreds of hymns for worship and is a regular speaker at conferences.
Lessons
- Seven questions that provide a framework for choosing and implementing curriculum.0% Complete
- Our misconceptions about Christian education can cause us to choose poor or inaccurate content and use ineffective strategies.0% Complete
- The three essential tasks of the Church are worship, evangelism and teaching for spiritual growth.0% Complete
- Christian formation focuses on the process of becoming a more Christlike individual by emphasizing discipleship through the stages of salvation: justification, sanctification, and glorification, ensuring spiritual growth and lifelong obedience to Christ.0% Complete
- Instructions for spiritual education from passages in the Old Testament and New Testament.0% Complete
- Study the history of Christian education from the early church to modern Sunday school.0% Complete
- Explore the Heidelberg Catechism's essentials of sin, redemption, and obedience, addressing modern issues like secularism and the importance of unity, liberty, and charity in Christian faith.0% Complete
- This lesson outlines the Heidelberg Catechism’s focus on the Apostles’ Creed, Commandments, Lord’s Prayer, and sacraments as essential teachings on faith, obedience, and communal worship.0% Complete
- Gain insight into the CORE curriculum: Comprehensive, Orthodox, Reforming, Essentials. Designed for Bible studies, small groups, Sunday school, and sermons to foster spiritual growth and engage members with foundational Christian doctrines and practices.0% Complete
- Dr. Parrett teaches the Ten Commandments as the basis for Old Testament Law and the core teaching of the New Testament.0% Complete
- Explore when to teach specific spiritual concepts by considering individuals' development stages, emphasizing the need to deepen faith to prepare believers for lifelong growth and real-world challenges.0% Complete
- Learn how tailoring curriculum, by taking into peoples' physical and spiritual developmental stages, can make teaching more effective.0% Complete
- Dr. Parrett emphasizes the teacher’s role in bridging God’s Word to the changing cultural contexts of learners through empathy, deep biblical understanding, and cross-cultural sensitivity.0% Complete
Effective teachers know their audience and avoid attitudes and expressions that would create obstacles to communication.
0% Complete- To effectively teach, you analyze and adapt curriculum to meet your learners’ unique cultural needs, fostering engagement and practical relevance.0% Complete
- Teaching involves a shared journey of transformation through the roles of advocate and fellow learner along with the Holy Spirit as a guide.0% Complete
- Effective teaching engages the whole person, using “head, heart, and hands,” to move beyond intellectual understanding into a deep connection with truth and inviting active response.0% Complete
- When preparing curriculum, an effective teacher will take into account both the content and the audience.0% Complete
- The lesson stresses the importance of parents, leaders, and the Holy Spirit in faith formation, advocating for parental equipping, Spirit-led teaching, and practical family support within church education.0% Complete
- Following Paul’s example, the lesson highlights prayer, modeling, partnership, attentiveness to learners, self-care, and patience as essential ministry practices.0% Complete
- Understand how unresolved conflicts in church leadership harm spiritual growth, whereas biblically sound conflict management promotes unity and discipleship.0% Complete
About BiblicalTraining.org
BiblicalTraining.org wants every Christian to experience a deep and loving relationship with Jesus by understanding the life-changing truths of Scripture. To that end, we provide a high-quality Bible education at three academic levels taught by a wide range of distinguished professors, pastors, authors, and ministry leaders that moves from content to spiritual growth, all at no charge. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit funded by gifts from our users. We currently have over 180 classes and seminars, 2,300 hours of instruction, registered users from every country in the world, and in the last two years 1.4 million people watched 257 terabytes of videos (11 million lectures).
Our goal is to provide a comprehensive biblical education governed by our Statement of Faith that leads people toward spiritual growth.