I. COURSE DESCRIPTION Syllabus for PRM 744-48 Planting New Churches 3 Credit hours Fall 2013 Deals with church planting in general and in different social contexts and emphasizes the church planter, the strategies, and the product. Analyzes models of successful church planting as well as the problems associated with the contextualization of church forms in pioneer work. Prerequisite: None. II. COURSE GOALS The purpose of this course is to enable the student to do the following: A. Learn the importance of testing and research to find the best place and way to start church. B. Understand the need to begin early and train a replacement for the church planter. C. Study the dynamics of delegation, mentoring and release of ministry for those being trained for ministry. D. Learn the dynamics of public relations for effective church planting. E. Study the implications of apostolic ministry, intercession, and church planting. III. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THIS COURSE As a result of successfully completing this course, the student will be able to do the following: A. Conduct a small cultural exegesis survey of a church planting focus group. B. Express how to blend the leading of the Holy Spirit and prayer with strategic churchplanting principles. C. Discuss biblical principles of church planting. D. Present the sociological factors involved in church planting. E. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of church planting models that have been used by church planters. F. List the cultural and cross-cultural issues involved in church planting. G. Compile an outlined proposal for a real or hypothetical church plant which utilizes the principles covered in class. IV. TETBOOKS AND OTHER LEARNING RESOURCES A. Required Textbooks 1. Textbooks Griffith, Jim and Bill Easum. Ten Most Common Mistakes Made By Church Starts. Atlanta: Chalice Press, 2008. ISBN: 0827236476 PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 1
Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21 st Century. (Third edition.) Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007. ISBN: 0801065143 Stetzer, Ed. Planting Missional Churches. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2006. ISBN:0805443703 Wagner, C. Peter. Seven Power Principles. Colorado Springs: Wagner Publishing, 2000. ISBN:0830738037 2. Other An additional workbook will be available on the first day of class for purchase which will accompany class presentations. B. Optional Materials 1. Textbooks Haggard, Ted. Your Primary Purpose: How to Reach Your Community and the World for Christ. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2006. Hunter, George G., III. The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West Again. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000. Hunter, Kent R. Foundations for Church Growth. Curunna, IN: Church Growth Center, 1994. Malphurs, A. Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry Leaders. 2 nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005. McGavran, Donald A. Revised and Edited by C. Peter Wagner. Understanding Church Growth. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998. Stetzer, Ed and David Putman. Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006. Schwartz, Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998. Wagner, C. Peter. Strategies for Church Growth: Tools for Effective Mission and Evangelism. Ventura, CA: Regal, 1989. 2. Other None V. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES A. University Policies and Procedures Students and faculty at Oral Roberts University must adhere to all laws addressing the ethical use of others materials, whether it is in the form of print, electronic, video, multimedia, or computer software. Plagiarism and other forms of cheating involve both PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 2
lying and stealing and are violations of ORU s Honor Code: I will not cheat or plagiarize; I will do my own academic work and will not inappropriately collaborate with other students on assignments. Plagiarism is usually defined as copying someone else s ideas, words, or sentence structure and submitting them as one s own. Other forms of academic dishonesty include (but are not limited to) the following: 1. Submitting another s work as one s own or colluding with someone else and submitting that work as though it were his or hers; 2. Failing to meet group assignment or project requirements while claiming to have done so; 3. Failing to cite sources used in a paper; 4. Creating results for experiments, observations, interviews, or projects that were not done; 5. Receiving or giving unauthorized help on assignments. By submitting an assignment in any form, the student gives permission for the assignment to be checked for plagiarism, either by submitting the work for electronic verification or by other means. Penalties for any of the above infractions may result in disciplinary action including failing the assignment or failing the course or expulsion from the University, as determined by department and University guidelines. B. Graduate School of Theology and Ministry Policies and Procedures Modular Program 1. Each module, usually held in the CityPlex Towers on the 21 st floor, has sessions Monday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30am to 1:30pm. Students are to make travel arrangements that do not interfere with their involvement in all of these sessions and confirm course location prior to arrival. 2. To remain enrolled, students must upload all pre-course assignments to D2L dropbox 15 days prior (November 18, 2013) to the first day of the course. Each overdue assignment will be penalized 10 % beginning the first day after due date above, accruing at 10% for EACH WEEK it is late. After the third week no credit will be given for the assignment. 3. Following a modular course, the student is to do the following: a. Upload all post-course assignments within one month (January 6, 2014) of the final day of class. Each overdue assignment will be penalized 10 % beginning the first day after due date above, accruing at 10% for EACH WEEK it is late. After the third week no credit will be given for the assignment. b. Both pre-course and post-course assignments are to be put in the designated D2L drop box for the course. c. Final exams will also be administered through the D2L system if the professor does not require the exam to be proctored. 4. Attendance a. Students are to attend all sessions during the modular course week. b. All absences, late arrivals, and early departures receive a grade reduction equal to 2.5% for each classroom hour missed and must be approved by the Modular Director. C. Course Policies and Procedures 1. Evaluation Procedures a. Grading Wagner Reading Interaction 10% Griffith and Easum Reading Interaction 10% PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 3
Stetzer Reading Quiz 20% Cultural Exegesis Interviews/Report 25% Class Participation 10% Church Plant Proposal or Home Church Discovery Project 25% b. Grading Scale A = 90-100% B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = Below 59% 2. Whole Person Assessment Requirements a. All students entering the seminary are required to enroll in PRF 059 eportfolio: Whole Person Assessment, which provides specific training to develop the skills needed to create an eportfolio. b. eportfolio requirements for this course: None 3. Course Requirements a. Pre-Course Assignment Course Structure and Requirements i. Wagner Reading Interaction (10%) Students will read the Wagner text and write 1-2 pages responding to the following questions. The paper should simply list the questions below with the students responses immediately following each question. (10%) (1) Which three principles jumped out to you, either because they were new to you or because they rang true in your heart? Explain why they jumped out to you. (2) What do you believe God is speaking to you about these power principles? How is he calling you to apply them in your own life and ministry? What specifically will you do to respond to his call in obedience? ii. Griffith and Easum Reading Interaction (10%) Students will read the Griffith and Easum text and write 1-2 pages responding to the following questions. The paper should simply list the questions below with the students responses immediately following each question. (1) Which mistakes (name 2-3) mentioned by the authors surprised you? Explain why. How can these blind spots be avoided? (2) Which 2-3 mistakes named by the authors would you be most likely to make? Explain why you think you might be vulnerable to these mistakes. What precautions would you take to check these blind spots and keep from making those mistakes? iii. Stetzer Reading Quiz (20%) Students will answer the following questions by referring to the class text Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer. Briefly explain means 1-2 sentences. (1) List and briefly explain each of the 4 leadership issues addressed by Stetzer in Chapter 7 of his text. PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 4
(2) Identify the 7 key leaders Stetzer believes every new church should have at the start and write a 1 sentence job description for each based on his comments in Chapter 8. (3) List and briefly explain each of the 6 action points given by Stetzer for missionizing the unchurched in Chapter 11. (4) In 5-6 sentences, describe the fundamental differences between missional/incarnational churches and evangelistic/attractional churches as presented by Stetzer in Chapter 13. (5) Explain the significance of what Stetzer means in Chapter 15 when he discusses both a conversion to community and a conversion to Christ. According to Stetzer, in which order do these conversions generally occur? And why? To what extent do you find this to be true in your culture? (6) In 2-3 sentences, what is the point of having scales, graphs and charts like those presented in Chapter 15 when thinking about evangelism? (7) In Chapter 24, Stetzer distinguishes between discipling and discipleship. In 3-4 sentences, describe the difference between these two activities and how they are accomplished. (8) Referring to Chapter 24, list and briefly explain each of the 3 forms of stability Stetzer recommends be included when helping individuals with spiritual formation. iii. Cultural Exegesis Project/Report (25%) Students will design and utilize a survey to learn important cultural realities about the people group they plan to target with their Church Plant Proposal project. At least 10 people must be surveyed for this project. Details and survey prototypes will be emailed to the students. b. Post-Class Work Church Plant Proposal or Home Church Discovery Project Church Plant Proposal (25%) (1) An 8-10 page typed, double-spaced paper is due. It should be a proposal for church planting among a specific social or cultural group, and must include the following: (a) A description of the social group or culture in general and of some of the major aspects of the social structure concerned. (b) A general outline of the best strategy to accomplish the objective. (c) Suggestions of possible ways to approach the contextualization of the gospel and of the church during this church-planting project. (2) Students are expected to use the textbooks as a source, and the breadth of the paper should indicate that students have done additional reading to adequately prepare for it. A bibliography handed out in class guides students in the selection of material for this reading. (3) Students with good reasons for wanting to write a paper on some other relevant topic may request permission from the professor to do so. (4) More details on this project will be given in class. c. OR Home Church Discovery Project (8-10 pages) (25%) Students will seek to find answers to the following questions about their local church. This assignment may be done individually or in PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 5
pairs. The paper should simply list the questions below with the students responses immediately following each question. (1) What are the church s stated core values? (These can be found in church literature or on the church website, or spoken by the leadership.) Describe how the church demonstrates these values by giving concrete examples of these values being actively lived out. Which values are most strongly demonstrated? (2) Even missional churches use a model. What model or combination of models does your church tend to employ? Would you describe your church as more missional or more model-driven? How is the model being used helping the church accomplish its mission? Explain. What specific qualities, programs and/or activities of your church cause you to arrive at your conclusions? (3) Describe the church s focus group. Who would/does your church most appeal to? What homogeneous units do you find present within your church? Where do they overlap? Where are they different? (4) Is your church growing numerically? If so, what is the primary cause of growth: attracting, drawing, reaching, etc. Refer to those causes discussed in class. How much of the growth represents new convert growth, people who accepted Christ and actually continued to attend the church? Explain how you arrived at your conclusions. (5) Describe the role of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts, prayer and intercession in your local church. How is it like or unlike what was read about in class texts? VI. COURSE CALENDAR Reading Assignment and Discussion Schedule Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Topic/Assignment Theology of Evangelism and Church Growth Defining Terms: Mission, Disciple, Church, Community, Worship The New Testament Model Hesselgrave Planter Preparation Issues: The Call, Profile, Assumptions, Realities Understanding Models for Church Planting Values and Vision Historical and Present-Day Secrets to Moves of God Apostolic Planting Choosing A Focus Group Building a Team Missional Thinking Attracting, Drawing and Reaching PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 6
Thursday Friday Structures and Planning: Incorporating, Bylaws, Financies, etc. Church Growth Barriers Church Health Developing People Skills Mistakes Church Planters Make Making Disciples: Addition vs. Multiplication PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 7
Inventory for Student Learning Outcomes Graduate School of Theology and Ministry Master of Divinity PRM 744 Planting Churches Dr. Randy Loescher, Instructor Fall 2013 This course contributes to student learning outcomes for the Master of Divinity degree as indicated below: Significant Contribution Addresses the outcome directly and includes targeted assessment. Moderate Contribution Addresses the outcome directly or indirectly and includes some assessment. Minimal Contribution Addresses the outcome indirectly and includes little or no assessment. No Contribution Does not address the outcome. Degree Program Outcomes Articulate a foundational knowledge of the content of Scripture within its cultural and historical context with application to selected contemporary situations. Interpret the biblical writings in the Greek and/or Hebrew languages using critical exegetical tools, and write a hermeneutical and exegetical paper. Present a basic knowledge of the key movements and figures together with their significance in the history of Christianity. Exhibit a basic knowledge of contents and methods of Christian theology. Present practical ministry skills and strategies. Analyze and discuss contemporary social issues affecting the Church and society based upon biblical, theological, and ethical principles. Significant Contribution Moderate Contribution Scripture in Cultural/Historical Context Exegetical Tools to Translate/Analyze Biblical Text Knowledge of Christianity Knowledge of Christian Theology/Doctrine Biblical/Theological Basis for Ministry Strategies Christian Ethics for Social Issues Theology and Theory of Ministry Minimal Contribution No Contribution Develop and articulate a theology and theory of ministry that is relevant to the student s background and calling. Skills for Contemporary Ministry Demonstrate skills for contemporary ministry within a variety of traditions, churches, and crosscultural contexts. PRM 744 Latest Revision: Fall 2013 8