Educational Ministries

Youth Ministry

Reducing Poverty, Transforming Society

The goal of this program is for students to demonstrate God’s love by mobilizing local churches to improve the quality of life of the poor and to transform society’s structures and institutions. A participatory pedagogy and action research are key elements of this program. The Community Development Program at AGS is a founding member of the Asian School of Development and Cross-Cultural Studies (ASDECS) training consortium that brings together a wider network of development practitioners and academe to build the capacities of churches and Christian Development Organizations to work with the poor.

Challenges & Opportunities for Churches in Asia

Pia come from a relatively affluent congregation in the capital city. Her church is reaching out to a squatter population only minutes away. Groups have tried several times to assist people, but there seem to be few long-term effects. Now, word is out that this church cares and the demand from the squatters now outstrips the church’s capacity to respond.

Jaime spent three years studying at the national seminary; he returned home to take a significant leadership role with the churches in his region. He has gained many valuable pastoral skills but these local churches work among people living in dire poverty. Adept at meeting spiritual needs, he now struggles with how his churches can address material needs without creating dependency.

Many of the people in Joel’s churches are tenant farmers living hand-to-mouth of what remains of their harvest after paying the owner’s portion. A new government scheme encourages them to buy back their land - but the program is complex. Farmers come to Joel for advice since he has more education.

How can churches in Asia address great poverty and need in their community more effectively? Great potential exists for sensible action building on the assets, strengths, and knowledge of local people. The Community Development Program at AGS offers a strategic way to train people to help local churches to address local needs. Although charity and relief are important, churches must move toward long-term sustainable solutions to the problems of poverty – solutions to the problems of poverty – solutions that combine spiritual transformation and social change.

Is Community Development for you?

The Community Development Program equips pastors, theological educators, leaders from Christian development NGO’s, church planters, missionaries, and lay persons to work effectively with poor communities.

Training Consortium – ASDECS

The Alliance Graduate School is a founding member of the Asian School of Development and Cross-Cultural Studies (ASDECS), a training consortium that brings together a wider network of development practitioners and academe to build the capacity of churches to work with the poor. We strongly encourage cross-enrollment for Community development courses at partner institutions. This partnership avoids duplication and gives students more course choices.

Program Strengths

Professional Requirements

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Journey to the Margins: An Introduction to Community Development

Much of what passes as holistic ministry in the church is frequently a well meant but all-too-often, non-empowering humanitarian relief effort tacked on to existing church programs. We look intensely into the world of the marginalized as we simultaneously confront our own interior motivations and beliefs. We become conversant with the language and practices of development as well as explore the many-faceted world that is Community Development.

The Church In Community Development

This course is an introduction to theories and best practices of faith-based development work. Students partner with churches and local organizations to conduct action research, connecting learning to classroom practice.

Holistic Ministry

Churches and individual believers are to demonstrate the love of God in practical ways within their families, communities, and nations. This course introduces theories and the best practices of doing holistic ministry in the local church. The Samaritan Strategy Training program is used as a framework to assist churches to proclaim the kingdom in word and deed.

Transformative Training and Workshop Development

Local churches, non-government organizations (NGOs), theological schools, and communities are all potential sites for development training. Class members better understand how people change in order to facilitate learning more effectively.

Strategic Planning for Organizations and Programs

Participants learn how to design, facilitate, and encourage participatory planning processes. Church, community, non-government, public, and business organizations plan for change. This course provides a theoretical and practical knowledge base using the search conference approach to engage the collective learning and creativity of large groups.

Participatory Evaluation

Class members learn by designing and implementing a participatory evaluation. Participants apply several methods for collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data.

Action Research for Social Change

Is it possible for research to support meaningful social change? As Christians who are concerned with poverty and social justice, class members learn to conduct research in partnership with communities and organizations in response to real issues. Class members are introduced to basic research methods as needed.

Micro-Enterprise Development

This course examines major strategies of micro-enterprise development (MED) and micro-finance with poor families and communities. MED should be sustainable, generate income, support community infrastructure, and contribute to local capacity, linking enterprise development with the church.

Health and Development

This course focuses on curriculum planning and teaching methods for non-formal adult education, management and supervision of community health development programs, and integration of the gospel toward worldview transformation. Emphasis is on practical application and skills practice.

Theology in Practice (Christian Social Ethics)

See Theological Studies for course description.

Biblical Theology of Wealth and Poverty

See Biblical Studies for course description.

Intercultural Communication

See Missions for course description.

Organizational Development

See Educational Ministries for course description.

Ministry to the Urban Poor

This course identifies the challenges involved in outreach to the urban poor. Appropriate strategies for holistic evangelism, discipleship, leadership formation, and community development are explored.

Urban Community Development

This course is designed to consider community and economic development in the urban context with specific emphasis on church strategies and opportunities for integral ministry. The correlation between the moral and spiritual life of urban people and community development will be investigated.

Community Development LIFE

Please consult the program director for the requirements.

Creative Action Research

Students in the Community Development program put their learning into practice through an intense yearlong Participatory Action Research Project to be located in a community of their choosing. The project, designed by the student in collaboration with the program director and the community, requires that the student employ all the skills learned through course study embedded in a framework of reflective action.

Educational Ministries

Youth Ministry