Entrepreneurial Ministry Leadership launches new program with e-lab event
Tabor College press release
Tabor College Wichita announces the launch of their new Master of Arts in Entrepreneurial Ministry Leadership (EML) degree.The Higher Learning Commission approved the program for accreditation Feb. 25.
A free e-lab seminar on faith and human need, to be held April 24 at First MB Church in Wichita, Kan., will launch the new EML degree. (Read more about e-lab.)
The EML program is enrolling now and the first classes will be held in a one-course-at-a-time cohort format beginning this fall.
This 39-credit-hour program will be offered in an innovative hybrid/online format with a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and students with a secure and integrated education system.
This program is intended to serve pastors, missionaries, church-planters, visionaries, youth pastors, entrepreneurs and staff members who are preparing for new and richer areas of service. It also will interest people who have a passion for ministry and want to be trained for the church of tomorrow.
Most students can complete the EML degree in 21 months.
“This program will combine ministry passion with practical training to help graduates minister in their local community,” says Rick Bartlett, director of theological education at Tabor College Wichita pictured above.
“It will equip them to move a project from idea to implementation to evaluation. Students will be prepared to think creatively, read and navigate the future and evaluate their own culture by experiencing a cross-cultural environment. This master of arts degree is definitely outside the status-quo for theological programs,” says Bartlett.
The philosophy of the program is to embed theological reflection and thinking into every course. Students will be challenged to reflect on their own embedded theology. This degree will also inspire, motivate and serve the basic needs of people.
“This new graduate degree is indicative of Tabor College's commitment to innovative programming,” says Frank Johnson, vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer for Tabor College. “It also is a novel approach to serving our many faith-based communities while staying true to our historical and theological distinctives.I am especially thankful for Dr. Bartlett's leadership of this initiative.”
Tabor College Wichita chose to offer this degree program for a very specific reason.
“In response to community input, we are delighted to be approved to offer this new masters degree,” says Brett Andrews, executive vice president of Tabor College Wichita.“It is designed to equip students with critical skills in both organizational effectiveness and practical ministry. This will become the degree of choice for students seeking a globally relevant ministry experience."
There are a number of pieces that make this program distinctive.
Students will be able to select a focus of concentration for eight credit hours.They will be paired up with a faculty mentor who will work with them to assign readings, conferences to attend or massive open online courses (MOOC) to take that help the student with his or her concentration specialty.
Students will also have the opportunity to travel overseas and experience a culture outside of their own.This will enhance their degree and knowledge of ministry and leadership among their peers.
“Rick Bartlett deserves the credit for developing a creative, innovative and relevant program that will serve the church that is and will be,” says Tabor College President Jules Glanzer.
“Since our existence, Tabor has served the church in equipping men and women for service. Being approved to offer a graduate degree in theological and ministry education is another step in Tabor continuing to fulfill its mission of preparing people for a life of learning, work and service for Christ and his kingdom,” says Glanzer.
Students who enroll in the EML program will complete a major entrepreneurial project in their local community. This final project will allow them to apply what they have learned in the classroom and will provide an assessment of the overall degree and ensure that the objectives for the program were reached.
Bartlett says that this degree will help people want to make a difference locally and globally.
“Every time we turn on the news, we recognize the needs of so many people going unmet on a daily basis. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by seeing these images all the time and it’s easy to get paralyzed and do nothing, even though we want to respond,” says Bartlett. “The EML degree will equip Christian leaders with both the eyes to see, plus the skills and knowledge to respond to global and local needs.”
Prospective students wanting more information about the EML degree should visit online.tabor.edu or email Dr. Rick Bartlett at rickb@tabor.edu or call (800) 546-8616. For a video presentation about the EML degree, please click this link:http://online.tabor.edu/online-degrees/eml/
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