Some of my Story
Like many of you, I have been involved in church leadership for years. About 20 years, actually. Leading worship, leading small groups, pastoring, teaching, training other leaders, both at my local church and in various settings, events and conferences. Most of us have gleaned extensively from experience, but what undergirds our on-the-job and event learning is a foundation of solid instruction in biblical theology and Christian orthodoxy.
Kim's Picture of SSU in October 2010The last four years, I have begun to look at deepening my foundation of theology and practice with a broader program. Through a friend, I found out about a 2 week introductory intensive at St. Stephen’s University in New Brunswick, Canada. I went there in 2006 to take the course and experience the learning environment. What I encountered changed my life.Amidst the intensive, I found out that St. Stephen’s University was not only staffed by brilliant academic professors, but used a format that changed my view of advanced learning. Yes, there were the lectures, extensive reading, papers, assignments and practicums demanded of any university or college student. But mixed in with that was a community learning that brought all of the work to life. The courses, while including all the necessities of academia, allowed and encouraged student interaction and engagement in literally every session time. The interplay of student and professor discussion launched from the lectures or assignments and always brought a deeper sense of application, regardless of the class I was in.
Beginning my DegreeAfter returning home from my experience at SSU (St. Stephen’s University) in 2006, I began to take some associated online courses related to the intensive (in the area of worship and theology). Then in 2010, I realized I wanted to pursue taking a full masters degree in the broader area ministry. In June of 2010, I took the step to begin studying for my masters of ministry with SSU. I chose to take the masters of ministry by module.This means that I attend lecture, class and discussion times on-site at SSU for 2 weeks in both the spring and fall. In the 5 months between each on-site module, I work from my home while I complete my course reading, assignments and preparation study. This allows me to continue with my regular job, local church ministry and family while studying to complete my masters. In addition, one of the study terms for my masters will include a module that will be held while we are studying 2 weeks overseas in Europe, concreting the learning from the ancients by visiting many of the locations from church history. For those who want to study on-site, SSU also has residential programs for both masters and undergraduate study at their campus in St. Stephen’s, New Brunswick (which is located literally at border of Maine/Canada).
Kim @ SSU during Master's ModuleI recently returned from two weeks of on-site class, lecture and interaction time at the SSU campus (from my first module). It was, again, a life-shaping experience. Fueled by the extensive readings of early church study, Jesus and the gospels, and ministry /counseling texts, the time at SSU was a great synthesis for the end of the term. I am now in my second term at SSU, loving the challenge and enjoying the work.my RecommendationIf you are considering a college or university for an Arts or Ministry degree, I can’t recommend SSU to you more highly. I previously studied in a typical university to complete my bachelor of science degree, and while it was a positive experience, it didn’t provide the kind of focus and community learning environment SSU has as part of its core. Again, if you looking for a top quality Christian university where you can learn in genuine community, SSU is a unique and profoundly impactive place.The reason I wrote this article was simple- I found something genuine, effective and life-changing. I wanted to share it with people who might find themselves looking for the same thing. Not all of us are at a point in life to take a degree (undergrad or masters), but if you are this letter is for you. To be clear, no one asked me to write this. The university didn’t, the staff didn’t, or even other students. I simply found SSU to be a profoundly effective learning community and wanted others to know about it.If what I have described sounds of interest to you, I encourage you to contact SSU and investigate their programs. Here are three things to get you started on getting more info:
FIRST, I would encourage you to watch this intro video from SSU. It's a brief visual intro the SSU's ethos and impact.
SECOND- The link below will take you to SSU's website, where you can get more info.
THIRD- here is a bit more information from my story that might help in evaluating SSU from a ethos, values basis....
kim's picture of trees @ SSULooking for LearningIn searching for core distinctives between different universities, I had to start with a clear understanding of what I was looking for. Some of you may be going through this same process in your search. I thought I would explain some of my detailed thinking about that, if it helps. For me, searching for a good university meant looking for a program within a learning community (university or college) that is dedicated to some prime values. As I thought about it, what I was looking for was a place I could learn that would provide classic study, biblical theology and Christian community. What I mean specifically is this:
- Learning the Classics - studying ancient, timeless and modern truths from our Christian heritage allows me to mine the truths from our community across the ages. What is taught as a fad today will likely be gone in a few years. But there is no replacement for learning from the great teachers and classic literature of the faith. The church fathers, Augustine, St. Benedict, St. Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, C.S Lewis, Bonhoeffer, and many others have a profound cache of ancient truth that we are in dire need of in our modern and post-modern times.
- Biblical theology - a comprehensive program of scripture study to form a sound theology. Our faith is toothless rhetoric without a framework for reading, interpreting and articulating the foundational doctrines of Christianity as found in the biblical text.
- Community - I wanted to learn and apply my study in the context of a community learning experience. I also wanted to learn from other cultures where Christian community is more highly valued that our North American expression.
I hope that my brief story of finding and participating in this unique university is helpful to you. Many blessings as you continue to learn,
sincerely,
Kim Gentes
Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 10:10PM
Reader Comments (5)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts & experiences. I've thought that SSU's programs and approach look intriguing. It's very helpful to hear from someone studying part time in the modular format. Blessings.
Shari,
My article was glowing, and rightly so (imo), but my experience isn't meant to say it isn't a lot of work. From my standpoint, while I am working at a regular job full time, to do this masters work I am putting in about 3-6 hours per night in reading, study and assignments. That is every day. Once you get to the 2week module onsite sessions, those days are mostly 9-5 and a few days 9am-9pm. I say this to say that while the module program allows you to do it while still working, it is a significant time investment for two years. Plus, I will have to write a thesis, which is likely another year. Not having taken the residential BA from them or residential Masters, I don't know what those are like workload wise. Faster readers or workers might be quicker than me, though, as I tend to be very thorough, which is not the optimum trait for voluminous advanced learning like this.
I just wanted to round out the information a bit more on the time/effort part so you had a sense of that too. If I could have, I would have done the full time residential program, just for pacing. It just wasn't possible in my situation, family, etc.
Kim
Hi Kim,
I couldn't agree more with your assessment of SSU. I too have had the privelege of having an excellent learning experience through the Modules as part of my Masters in Worship Studies. The teaching staff are all exceptional in their knowledge and accessibility. I've found the sense of community and dialogue so helpful - far more engaging than my 7 years at a 'regular' university here in Australia.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend SSU to anyone who might be considering some higher education - in particular the Masters program I have been a part of. It has been a great way for me to participate in post-graduate study in Module format that has allowed me to continue to live in Australia, keep my 'regular' job and still have the opportunity to have such a great (and literally life-changing) learning experience.
God bless!
Ryan
Kim--thanks for your response & adding the info about your time commitment (another question answered).
I had never heard of this institution before, but it sounds like they have a great program going for them. I graduated from Cincinnati Christian University, they have 4 full-time faculty and degrees in Worship that are NASM accredited. Thanks for broadening my horizon