Equipping Ministries Global: Courses

This 11-session course addresses theology related to life and practice in the community of God. It draws from and expands on EMG's previous courses on Ecclesiology and Spiritual Formation.

1. What is a Christian? What is Faith?
2. What is the Church?
3. What is the purpose of the Church?
4. Leaders, calling, and empowerment for ministry
5. What is Worship?
6. How do we grow? Spiritual formation and discipleship (introduction)
7. Spiritual Formation: Receiving
8. Spiritual Formation: Remembering
9. Spiritual Formation: Responding
10. Spiritual Formation: Relating
11. What is Mission?

First taught in Tanzania in March 2025

Course in Progress

To be taught in Kenya April 2025

This 12-session course introduces key tenets and central doctrines of the Christian faith. A central goal of this course was to bring Christian theology and cultural traditions into conversation with each other.  Samuel Kunhiyop's African Christian Theology was a key resource.

1. What is Theology?
2. Who is God?
3. How does God speak to us?
4. What is creation?
5. What is the spiritual world?
6. What does it mean to be human?
7. What went wrong? (Sin)
8. Who is Christ?
9. How are we saved?
10. How is the Holy Spirit? What are spiritual gifts?
11. What is spiritual warfare?
12. What happens after we die

First taught in Tanzania in October 2024

This 5-session course introduces the concept and practice of spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines. Each session begins and ends with a different spiritual formation practice. Key resources for this course are James Wilhoit's Spiritual Formation as if the Church Really Mattered and Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart.

1. Foundations
2. Receiving
3. Remembering
4. Responding
5. Relating

First taught in Kenya in March 2024 

This 4-session course explores suffering and grief in Christian life and practice. It draws heavily from Diane Langberg's Suffering and the Heart of God.

1. Why is there suffering
2. Suffering and the Heart of God
3. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death (How to suffer and hold on to hope)
4. Caring for those who suffer (How not to be Job's friends)

First taught in Tanzania in March 2025.

This course is designed as a 3-day workshop to help participants learn and practice the basics of biblical interpretation. A key resource for this course is Elizabeth Mburu's African Hermeneutics. The sessions are as follows:

Day 1: Foundations

1. The Goal and Source of Biblical Interpretation
2. The Grand Narrative of Scripture
3. The Process of Interpretation (overview)

Day 2: Interpreting Genres (Part 1)

1. Narratives 
2. Law
3. Poetry

Day 3: Interpreting Genres (Part 2)

1. Wisdom
2. Letters/Epistles
3. Prophesy

First taught in Tanzania in March 2024 

This course is designed as a 2-day hands-on workshop to help participants learn and practice the crafting of transformative messages. It follows Kent Anderson's homiletical method as developed in Choosing to Preach.

Day 1:

1. The Goal and Source of Transformational Message
2.  Communicating a Message.
3.  Casting a Vision

Day 2:

1. Telling a Story
2. Solving Problems
3. Preaching the Sermon

First taught in Tanzania in March 2024 

This course is designed to build on the Worship course.  It has five sessions:

1. What is the Church? (Nature and Attributes)
2. What is the Purpose of the Church
3. How does the Church Work? Leaders, Offices & Gifts.
4. What Does the Church Do? Worship
5. What Does the Church Do? Discipleship & Mission

First taught in Kenya in October 2023 

This five-session course draws from Melissa's dissertation research. 

1. What is Worship? Worship is Holistic.
2. Worship Responds
3. Worship Demonstrates Allegiance
4. Worship Transforms
5. Worship Serves

First taught in Kenya in March 2023