Bethel University Christian Ministries Department - Indiana

Yesterday was our department’s annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony, a grand celebration of the excellent work that our students have done in academics and ministry. We presented more than $68,000 in scholarships for next year. We are thankful for God’s generous provision through the giving of donors over the years who have endowed these scholarships. This year featured an “R&P Faculty Impersonation Contest.” So much laughter! We prayed for our graduating seniors who will be launching out into the next steps in the unfolding stories of their lives and vocational callings. And we honored and expressed deep gratitude to two faculty members who will not be returning in the fall, and and who will be so deeply missed. We prayed God’s abundant blessings upon the next steps of their excellent work. Such a great time! We love celebrating the character, servants’ hearts, and excellent work of our students and faculty!

Students in our Evangelism & Discipleship class recently enjoyed sharing in learning through role plays!

It was a blessing to have Pastor Ron Williams (of Pathway Community Church) with us yesterday. He shared some valuable insights on ministry and leadership with students in our Senior Seminar in Christian Ministry class, and then stayed around for an evening dinner gathering of students from our department at the home of Dr. Koteskey. It was a great time of sharing around the table and some valuable wisdom from his years of ministry experience! So thankful for his willingness to invest his time in this rising generation of leaders!

Today, students in our Senior Seminar in Christian Ministry class were learning about practices of baptism. They spent some time discussing the theology of baptism but then also practicing the “how” (the mechanics) for baptizing folks. Experiential learning helps ensure that they are prepared to lead effectively in the church after they graduate.

Our thanks to Pastor Jon Ranous and Gospel Center Missionary Church in South Bend for making their sanctuary available for this valuable learning experience!

Today, students in Dr. Koteskey’s Senior Seminar in Christian Ministry class conducted a mock wedding and a mock funeral. We often say that it’s one thing to talk about these practices in the classroom, but there’s an added level of learning with a simulation like this where we are actually doing those things, learning from our mistakes and our successes. Experiential learning is valuable!

Our thanks to Pastor Christian Brenner and the Liberty Drive Church for hosting our experience today! Grateful for their partnership!

Meagan Hogarth is a senior Christian Ministries major. She has discovered the value of learning and doing ministry in community during her experiences at Bethel. She says, “Going to Alaska with Keith and Eby [two professors from our department] really connected me more to my classmates and also my profs! Learning alongside my peers is one thing, but doing ministry alongside them brings you even closer! We had debriefs each night where we did a devotional and talked about what we were wrestling with. We had great moments of laughter, praise, and struggle, and we all went through it together. Keith, Eby, and Dr. Sharon did a great job leading us.”

Today was the final day of mock interviews in our Senior Sem class. As we’ve said previously, we are SO grateful for the time that pastors have invested by coming in to serve as our interviewers! Such a valuable experience for our students!

Christian Ministry major Josh Hirschy says that Bethel professors have had a significant impact on his growth and development as a future youth pastor: “When I was taking the Effective Teaching in Youth Ministry course, I was having trouble with comparing myself to others. I met with Dr. Brandt who reminded me that everyone starts somewhere. Some have experience with preaching and others have not. He reminded me that there is growth that occurs with speaking and inspired me not to give up but to grow. This has stuck with me because presenting messages requires growth. While there may not be perfection, God uses those who are surrendered to His purposes.”

It was another day of mock interviews for our Senior Sem students today. We didn’t get pics of everyone who interviewed, but we did want to express our appreciation to the pastors who invested their time in this rising generation by serving as our interviewers!

It’s interview season! Today students in our Senior Seminar in Christian Ministry class began sitting for mock job interviews with a panel of pastors from our area. It’s a great opportunity for students to experience what it’s like to interview before a job is actually on the line, and a great opportunity to apply what we’ve discussed in class on how to do that effectively. We want to equip them to launch out into the world of ministry with the ability to succeed! We’re grateful for pastors from our area who give their time to make this such a valuable experience!

We were excited to have Dan Bridges sharing in our Senior Seminar in Christian Ministry class this week. Dan is the Assistant Regional Director in the North Central Region of the Missionary Church. He was sharing a seminar on financial matters both in terms of churches/organization and people who are serving in ministry. We’re excited to have Dan sharing out of his extensive expertise on this subject! And we always love to engage in collaboration with the church as together we partnein Christ’s mission!

It was great to have students in our Worship Collective leading in chapel today! Many of these students are Worship Arts majors in our department! We love that students here are not merely preparing for ministry in the future but are actively involved in ministry now! Hard to beat experiential learning! And btw… they did a fantastic job!