academics
COURSEWORK
Our Applied Church Ministries program is made up of 2 basic types of credits: General Learning and Program Specific.
The overall goal of our general learning is to instill in the student a lifelong habit of independent, intentional reading and writing. We focus on the non-fiction narrative book, and we read material on history, business, sports, science, philosophy, and modern culture.
Our program-specific material is just that: material specific to learning the ropes of church ministry.
GENERAL LEARNING (General-Learning Unit, Part-time Work Fulfillment Unit)
The General-Learning Unit (2 credits )
This is an online unit. Students must:
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read 1 nonfiction narrative book (?) totaling at least 250-350 pages
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watch at least 2 films relating to the topic of the book
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write at least 1000 words total on prompts provided by the facilitator
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participate in online discussions with other students
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read continuously from a Great Book of the student's choice
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record and privately post a 30-minute speech or 2 15-minute speeches.
The Part-time Work Fulfillment Unit (1 credit)
This is a land unit. Students must:
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work a part-time job in the local community
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log anywhere between 10-30 hours/wk at at least $10/hr
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write 3 Work Reflection reports, totaling 1000 words
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obtain a supervisor's evaluation
PROGRAM SPECIFIC (Program-Specific Unit, Practicum)
The Program-Specific Unit (1.5 credits )
This is an online unit, but it can flex to accommodate land meetings. Students must:
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read at least 2 books on the unit's church -ministry focus (no more than 450 pp)
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do online research over this focus (directed by student and faculty)
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learn core terms and concepts and demonstrate knowledge/mastery of material
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write at least 1500 words on a prompt or project approved by the instructor
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engage in online discussions with the instructor and other students
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if instructor chooses, have live-stream conversations with small groups
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read at least 2 chapters of the bible systematically every weekday
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engage in at least 2 exercises of biblical interpretation of alleged tensions
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if on land, meet at least once a week for live discussion
The Practicum (3.5 credits )
This is an land unit. Students must:
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participate in on-the-ground church and ministry work every week
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meet at least once every 2 weeks with a pastor/leader to discuss the work
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meet at least once a week with peer or community groups
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provide logs to a Ravenburn instructor detailing meeting times
A Note about Classrooms:
In order to ensure that our students develop in-person friendships and potentially lifelong personal connections, and in order to plant a sense of stewardship and responsibility into the student/teacher relationship, we insist that students in a 3-credit land seminar meet as a group with their professor(s) and peers at least 2 hours every week.
Reliable personal transportation is necessary to attend our class sites consistently. Ideally, no student should have to travel more than 70 miles one-way to get to these sites. Travel costs are not figured into tuition.
For its classrooms, Ravenburn rents space from various community organizations in the towns or cities of the individual faculty members. All sites must be allergen free and otherwise clean and orderly, have access to bathroom facilities, and be located in safe and secure locales. The volume level of the ambient noise of such sites must be as low as possible and the distractions minimal. Public and free spaces like an open table at the local public library or a niche at a local coffee shop are inappropriate for this purpose. However, if these public places have closed rooms for public use, then the sites will be appropriate for teaching purposes.