Updates on curriculum
February 20, 2007

The much-awaited new church planting-missions track is now coming into formation. It will be implemented for the first time this fall when school starts. Students who want to learn skills in missions, church planting and outreach will benefit greatly from the courses in this program. At the end of the two-year program, students will have had four practicums in preaching, four practicums in leading small group Bible studies, four practicums in chronological Bible teaching, courses in major world religions, church planting in Muslim cultures, language acquisition, and missions issues in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. Students who enter this program will even be required to take a course in guitar to equip them musically for service in pioneer situations. In addition to these practical courses, church planting-missions students will take courses in Biblical studies, theology and hermeneutics to give them a foundation for teaching and preaching.

A revised Biblical studies-theology track will also kick off this fall. Students taking this curriculum will take courses in nine areas of theology, nine courses in hermeneutics, sixteen Old and New Testament Biblical book studies, as well as practical courses like missions, conflict resolution, ethics and preaching. This is a lot of deep and useful teaching that will ground the students in scripture and will equip them with necessary skills for correct Biblical interpretation.

One additional component to ABI curriculum for all students will be the addition of discipleship and disciplemaking. Each student will be assigned a person on staff for one-on-one discipleship time each week. Students will be kept accountable for their daily walk with God and learn even more about how to personally walk in the steps of Jesus as modeled in the life of our staff. Students will soon learn that it is not enough to merely be a growing disciple of Christ, but will learn how to be a disciplemaker as well. Each semester the students will be held responsible for discipling one person through a personal relationship. This is a skill too few Christians have and one that no ABI graduate should miss. To reproduce oneself is the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20. Discipleship will be a key component of our direction at ABI as we seek to equip leaders for life, ministry and world impact.