UPDATE ON REDEEMER SCHOOL OF MINISTRY
March 23, 2008
As an update, here are some things I want you to know about our Redeemer Ministry School.
When I was in Israel I talked with David Halder, the head of the 400-child orphanage in Bangladesh. David still wants to send two of his best students to spend 10 months with us in our Ministry School.
Linda and I will be taking RMS students, plus Josh Bentley and Holly Benner, to New York City for a week – October 28 - November 11. We will work with and learn from Dr. John Hao and Pastor Greg Woo of Faith Bible Church and Faith Bible Seminary. I will teach Apologetics in the seminary from Tuesday – Friday. Then, I’ll speak at their 13th anniversary celebration on Saturday, plus speak at two of their seven worship services on Sunday. RMS students will interact with FBC’s Chinese young adults. We’ll learn a lot of things you can’t get out of a textbook!
I, along with our staff, are praying about various opportunities that God may send our way to make RMS a special experience. For example, I recently talked with my friend Paul Albrecht, who is a pastor and a teacher of biblical Greek. Paul is willing to come to Monroe and RMS and give our students a 2-3 day introduction to biblical Greek. If this works out we may also do a 2-hour special biblical Greek session for Redeemer people. Paul is a great scholar and really knows how to teach this stuff. He studied with the great New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger.
Personally, I’ll be doing a lot of RMS teaching. One of the classes I will teach is Apologetics. The word comes from 1 Peter 3:15 and means, “to defend.” To learn apologetics is to learn to defend our faith in God, in Jesus, and in the Bible as the Word of God. I have studied apologetics from the day I became a follower of Jesus. My first mentor was William Lane Craig, who was my campus minister when I was an undergraduate university student. (See Craig’s website – reasonablefaith.org)
RMS will have three Trimesters.
Weekly classes will be held T-F, 9 AM – 1 PM
The schedule looks like this”
9-9:20 – worship
9:30 – 11 – Class
11-11:15 – break
11:15 – 12:45 – Class
12:45-1 - Prayer
I am greatly looking forward to our very first RMS students! Pray for them, and pray about whether you should be part of this class. It will be ten months of training, learning, and experiencing, that will transform your life.
Love,
Pastor John Piippo, Ph.D
RMS WILL HAVE THREE TRIMESTERS
Fall Trimester
i. T-Th classes
1. Personal Spiritual Life
2. Worship I
ii. W-F classes
1. Kingdom of God I
2. Bible Study Methods
Winter Trimester
i. T-Th classes
1. Kingdom of God II
2. Worship II
ii. W-F classes
1. Counseling
2. Bible Study Methods II: Application
a. Preaching/speaking
b. Teaching
Spring Trimester
i. T-Th classes
1. Kingdom of God III
2. Worship III
ii. W-F classes
1. Leadership
2. Apologetics
Trimester Schedule:
· Fall 2008
o 9/7/08 – Students arrive and are introduced on Sunday morning
o 9/6/08 – Week One integration
o 9/15/08 – 12/19/08 – Classes, with Thanksgiving week off
o 10/28 – 11/2 – A week of ministry and study in New York City
· Winter 2009
o 1/6/09 – 3/6/-9 – Classes,
· Spring 2009
o 3/16/09 – 6/21/09 (with a break, to be determined)
o Final week – 6/16/09 – 6/21/09 – Graduation!
For registration and tuition information see: redeemerministryschool.com