Evangelism & Leadership Courses at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)

Courses for Evangelism and Leadership Degree

The core for this degree totals 28 credits. This allows you to tailor your studies to your particular area of interest with the remaining 12 elective credits of the degree. Click on the course numbers below in order to see the syllabus and required advance work.

EVAN 526 - Evangelism and the Gospel: Historical and Theological Perspectives. Focuses on different paradigms and practices in evangelism throughout the history of the Christian church, as well as different theological and literary approaches to understanding and communicating the good news of the kingdom of God. (4 credit hours)

EVAN 542 - Models of Contemporary Evangelism and Church Growth. Exposes students to strategies and models for evangelism, church planting and church growth through case studies, site visits, student projects and reflection experiences. Site visits will include mega-church, emerging church, urban church, multi-ethnic church, and parachurch ministry contexts.(4 credit hours)

EVAN 545 - The Emerging Generation, Popular Culture and the Gospel. Examines the contemporary context of evangelism, with special attention given to the broader sociological and cultural influences of postmodernism on popular culture. Equips students to generate new strategies for engaging the emerging generation with the gospel (4 credit hours)

EVAN 548 - Evangelism and the Local Church. Explores the theology, strategies, practice, and leadership styles associated with implementing evangelism through a variety of ecclesiological traditions and local church settings. (4 credit hours)

EVAN 556 - Leadership and Evangelism. Examines the literature on the practice of leadership, Biblically and in contemporary contexts, with application to the task of leading the church into evangelistic effectiveness. Special focus will be given to the dynamics of leading change in congregations and organizations. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 573 - Evangelism Research Methods. Equips students with the rationale and methodology of qualitative research in cultural contexts, with an emphasis on the application of qualitative methods to a specific context through research projects. (2 credit hours)

INTR 532 - Contextualization. Analysis of the encounter of the gospel with culture within the framework of the behavioral sciences and informed from the perspective of Christian theology. Special focus on biblical and historical perspectives on Christ and culture; the gospel in a non-Christian setting; the church; methods of hermeneutics and translation; and historical and contemporary examples of contextualization. (4 credit hours)

INTR 562 - Intercultural Communication. Foundational principles of intercultural communication from the fields of social psychology, cultural anthropology, and communication theory integrated with selected areas of personal encounter in cross-cultural settings. (2 credit hours)

INTR 691 - Intercultural Studies Forum. Integration of missiology with other academic disciplines, with the student's personal growth, and with field ministries (0 credit hours)

BITH 565, 566, or 576:. Students have three options for fulfilling their Biblical and Theological Studies Requirement: BITH 576 History of Christianity to 1900, BITH 565 Christian Theology, or BITH 566 Biblical Interpretation. BITH 564 Principles of Biblical Interpretation is also an option for those with a background in NT Greek. Each class is four credits, and normally two of the courses are offered every semester. There is also the option of taking the BITH course in an intensive format during the summer (see syllabi for the summer versions).

EVAN 534 - Apologetics in Modern and Emerging Culture Contexts. Examines the modernist rational tradition of apologetics from philosophical, historical and theological disciplines. Equips students to formulate an apologetic that is sensitive to the postmodern context, focusing on issues of relativism, pluralism, sexuality, suffering and evil. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 547 - Evangelistic Communication. Exposes students to the dynamics of communication and communication theory, with application to the task of communicating the gospel in contemporary contexts. The theological, conceptual and practical role of media, drama, the arts, metaphor and symbol will also be explored. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 580/694- Planting and Growing Reproducing Churches. Studies the principles for planting reproducing churches. It is focused on starting new churches in North America that have an apostolic ethos of continual reproduction. The course will survey biblical materials pertaining to church planting with an emphasis on practical theology. Students will be equipped to plant reproducing churches in their ministry context and in the process learn about various approaches to planting reproducing churches and the resources that are currently available. Students will be asked to read from a variety of church planting resources and will be encouraged to partner with church planting organizations and churches to develop their own strategic reproducing church planting project.(2 credit hours)

EVAN 590/694- C.S. Lewis: Apologist of the Head and Heart. Surveys the first rate Christian literary scholar's pilgrimage to faith exploring the matters of the heart that lead him toward Christ as well as the intellectual barriers to faith he needed to resolve before he fully committed. C.S. Lewis was arguably one of the greatest integrators of faith and learning of the last century. The course will sample a wide range of readings from the eleven literary genres in which Lewis wrote in order to glean insights for evangelism from each. At the end of the course the student should be very familiar with Lewis’s writing, central ideas, effective approach, and persuasive ability to appeal to issues of the head and heart in nurturing another toward Christ. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 690 - Arrow Capstone Seminar (also known as EVAN 694- Evangelism and the Local Church. Explores the theology, strategies, practice, and leadership styles associated with implementing evangelism through a variety of ecclesiological traditions and local church settings. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 694- World Religions. This seminar will examine some of the historical, theological, and intercultural issues in the encounter between Christianity and religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Christian encounter with Japanese religions and cultural traditions will also be considered. Text readings and discussions will focus upon understanding the nature and context of such encounters, exploring missiological implications, and developing appropriate responses to challenges emerging from such encounters. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 694-Holistic Ministry. This course will explore the nature of holistic ministry as it relates to evangelism of the poor and oppressed.Jesus announced in his inaugural sermon that he had come to preach good news to the poor (Luke 4:18.) How can we as churches and ministries follow his example? The class will include a tour of an urban ministry that models the integration of evangelism, compassion and justice. (2 credit hours)

EVAN 694-Leadership Development for the Emerging Generation. This course will examine new thoughts on leadership in combination with historical and generally accepted approaches to leadership. The reading, three day intensive activities and writing assignments will give students the ability to develop approaches to leadership that simultaneously fit their gifts and personality and the circumstances in which they lead. (2 credit hours)