About the Department

The inclusion of experiential learning components and courses in the academic programs at Missional University has manifold benefits to students enrolled in each of SMP’s five departments namely: Missional Living, Emerging Leadership, Urban Mission, Missional Congregations and Organizational Leadership.

Experiential Learning Types

The Department of Missional Ministry offers a variety of types of experiential learning activities for undergraduate and graduates in each of the five departments in School of Missional Practice including observership, practicum, field instruction, internship, mentorship, capstone, portfolio, project, research and thesis courses.

Experiential Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the experiential learning activities in theDepartment of Missional Ministry gain valuable experience in their academic field.

Benefits to Missional Living students

By engaging in experiential learning activities and taking experiential learning courses SMP students at Missional University who are pursuing Missional Living studies will be better equipped to:

• reflect and identify practical ways to live missionally within all domains of culture and society
• witness effectively through missional lifestyle and impeccable work ethic and professionalism
• educate and mobilize others towards living missionally

Benefits to Emerging Leadership Students

By engaging in experiential learning activities and taking experiential learning courses SMP students at Missional University who are pursuing Emerging Leadership Studies will be better prepared to make disciples of all peoples into specific contexts.  They will:

• gain analytical skills to make sense of issues that contemporary young people face
• develop models of ministry that effectively targets urban youth and college students
• identify practical solutions to resolve problems that are commonly experienced by today’s youth
• conduct studies or research with the aim of finding solutions to alleviate the growing stress young people experience due to manifold issues i.e. unemployment, family problems, issues related to body image, substance abuse etc.

Benefits to Urban Mission Students

By engaging in experiential learning activities and taking experiential learning courses SMP students at Missional University who are pursuing Urban Mission studies will be better equipped urban evangelists, youth leaders, church planters and missional strategists in the cities within the US and around the world. Students will:

• formulate a worldview of urban ministry and mission that is both biblical and context-sensitive
• reflect and critically analyze factors that differentiate urban cities in the US and other countries
• gain practical experience ministering in an urban setting within the US and in other countries
• develop and implement Biblically faithful and practically fruitful strategies that will transform lives and communities in urban centers.

Benefits to Missional Congregations Students

By engaging in experiential learning activities and taking experiential learning courses SMP students at Missional University who are pursuing Missional Congregations studies will:

• gain practical experience serving in varied congregations
• develop observation, evaluative and analytical skills to assess a congregation’s status in relation to how the Great Commission is lived out
• research ways on how to create a congregational culture that supports missional living and the Great Commission
• develop models of ministry that gives birth to missional congregations that are biblically faithful, theologically driven, and historically, sociologically, culturally and contextually informed.

Benefits to Organizational Leadership Students

By engaging in experiential learning activities and taking experiential learning courses SMP students at Missional University who are pursuing Organizational Leadership studies will be better equipped for lead organizations in a manner that is consistent with Christ’s example. Students will also:

• gain experiences that allow for opportunities to apply principles of organizational leadership in real-world setting
• grow in their ability to assess, diagnose, and resolve organizational problems
• reflect and articulate a philosophy of leadership that is biblical and contextually-informed
• develop self-awareness of personal habits, disciplines, and behaviors that may hinder or contribute towards effectiveness as an organizational leader.