Winter 2016/Fuller Live!

Pasadena, Seattle, & Houston

YF504

Clark

YF504: INTRODUCTION TO FAMILY MINISTRY (4 Units: 160 hours). Chapman Clark.

DESCRIPTION: This course presents an analysis of the current understanding and “modes” of “family ministry” over against a theological, sociological, and developmental understanding of contemporary culture. Various models of family ministry will be examined, and through the use of case studies, lectures, and research, students will learn how to create a family ministry program and/or strategy that best suits the needs and vision of a given church or ministry organization.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be able to (1) integrate a comprehensive theological definition of nuclear family and the church as a “family of families” to define “family ministry”; (2) describe the differences between family and church life in the past and in contemporary society in a given context; (3) examine and appraise factors that influence self-proclaimed “Christians” to either withdraw from regular church attendance or to remain deeply involved and invested; and (4) create a program and/or strategy that promotes theologically and contextually sound ministry to individuals, marriages and families so as to strengthen the local household of God in the service of corporate missional living.

COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours. Class will consist of lectures, class discussion, and presentations by guest experts. Each student will complete a detailed final project.

REQUIRED READING: 1,420 required pages.

Branson, Mark Lau and Nicholas Warnes. Starting Missional Churches: Life With God in the Neighborhood. InterVarsity Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-0830841165, Pub. Price $18.00 [192 pp.].

Elkind, David. Ties That Stress: The New Family Imbalance. Harvard University Press, 1994. ISBN: 978-0674891494, Pub. Price $18.95 [272 pp.].

Evans, Rachel Held.Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church.Thomas Nelson, 2015. ISBN: 978-0718022129, Pub. Price $16.99 [288 pp.].

Garland, Diana. Family Ministry: A Comprehensive Guide. 2nd ed. InterVarsity Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0830839711, Pub. Price $50.00 [256 of 656 pp. required].

McKnight, Scot. Kingdom Conspiracy: Returning to the Radical Mission of the Local Church. Brazos Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-1587433603, Pub. Price $21.99 [304 pp.].

Rah, Soong-Chan. Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church. Moody, 2010. ISBN: 978-0802450487, Pub. Price $14.99 [108 of 208 pp. required].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Attend class [30 hours].

  2. 1,420 pages of required reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, and 4]. [80 hours].

  3. Participate in weekly Moodle forums by writing a minimum of one (1) 90-­120 word posts and at least one (1) response to someone else’s post via Moodle (18 posts total) offering critical reflection on course content and peer reviewing of others’ work (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, 3, and 4]. [15 hours, including 10 hours of DLAs].

  4. Reflection papers (2 pp.) on Ties That Stress, Searching for Sunday, Many Colors, and Kingdom Conspiracy (20% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, and 4]. [8 hours].

  5. Context exam on lectures and selected passages of Family Ministry (25% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, and 4]. [12 hours].

  6. Design a “family ministry” program and/or strategy, including but not limited to every issue covered by the lectures and the majority of those covered by the texts (35% of grade). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1, 2, 3, and 4]. [15 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets the MDiv core requirement in General Ministry & Spirituality (MIN 1) and MDiv Core requirementin Christian Formation and Discipleship (MIN 4); fulfills requirement for the Family course for MDiv, Youth, Family and Culture concentration; MA in Youth, Family and Culture; and MACL–YM.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.


NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change.

For your convenience, order these texts online through the Archives Bookshop.