Mission & Learning Outcomes: Bible, Theology, & Ministry

Mission Statement

Affiliated with the Evangelical Friends tradition, the Malone University Department of Bible, Theology, & Ministry is rooted firmly in the protestant evangelical heritage of the historic, ecumenical, and Trinitarian Christian faith. We affirm the authority of the Bible as God’s Word and are committed to the saving mission and ministry of Jesus Christ and his Church.  Our distinctive mission is to provide theological education to women and men, enabling them to deepen and clarify their understanding of the Christian faith, cultivate and increase their love of God, and respond obediently to Christ’s call to faithfulness, discipleship, and ministry.

Learning Outcomes

The following outline presents a summary of the goals, objectives, and learning outcomes that shape the Department of Bible, Theology, and Ministry's programs:

Students will demonstrate a basic knowledge of and ability to interpret and articulate the biblical story.

Learning Objectives

1. The “grand drama” of the biblical story including key persons, events, and themes.
2. The historical, cultural, and literary contexts, which necessarily inform and guide biblical interpretation.
3. The unity of the Christian biblical canon. 
4. The ethical mandates of scripture in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Students will demonstrate a basic knowledge of and ability to articulate central themes in Christian history, theology, and ethics. 

Learning Objectives

1. The history and development of the classical theological tradition, including the development of the biblical canon.
2. Key persons, events, and theological developments associated with each of the standard divisions of Christian history (early, medieval, reformation/modern).
3. The synthetic nature of the main foci of systematic theology, including the doctrines of scripture, revelation, God, creation, humanity, sin, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church, Salvation, End times, etc.
4. Engaging, profitably, with important thinkers and movements from the distant and more recent past when interpreting scripture, practicing theology, and promoting a distinctively Christian moral vision.

Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of and competence in the practice of Christian Ministry. 

Learning Objectives

1. The Church’s mission and manifold ministries from within the context of the mission of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
2. A biblical theology acknowledging God as both subject and object of prayer and worship as foundational for the practice of Christian Ministry

Additional Learning Objectives for Ministry Majors

1. The ability to develop, implement, lead, and evaluate a ministry in a specific context (pastoral, missions/cross-cultural, or youth/educational ministries depending upon the student’s concentration) giving attention to all aspects of personhood integrating spiritual growth with social, moral, psychological, cognitive and physical development

Students will cultivate habits of careful reading, critical thinking, research, writing, and speaking 

Learning Objectives

1. Cultivating a faith that intentionally seeks understanding
2. Thinking, reading, and writing critically 
3. Evaluating texts and other scholarly sources for their quality
4. Learning to appreciate and grow through an engagement of diverse interpretive traditions and theological perspectives 
5. Communicating clearly in written and spoken form in order to lead, faithfully, in various Christian ministries