The Church and its Ministry
Overview
If you believe in the gospel, you believe in the church, because the gospel creates the church. This subject is not primarily about the differences between Anglicans, Presbyterians and Baptists. It is about deepening our understanding of the gospel through study of the ways in which God uses this creation to change this creation. What does it mean to plant a church? Is the university Christian group a church? Is my home group a church? What if we discovered another way of promoting God’s mission – would we still need the church then? Can only one kind of church organisation preserve the gospel? Calvin said that we can’t have God as Father unless we have the church as our mother. For anyone aspiring to leadership in a church, this subject is essential preparation.
Subject Details
| Mode |
Online |
On-campus |
| Workload |
One semester, 12 credit points |
One semester, 12 credit points |
| Status |
Elective |
Elective |
| Unit Code |
TH104 |
TH104 |
| Prerequisites |
48 credit points of core foundation subject, plus CH005, TH101, TH102 and TH103 |
48 credit points of core foundation subjects, plus CH005, TH101, TH102 and TH103 |
| Teacher |
Rhys Bezzant |
Rhys Bezzant |
Content
Section A: The People of God
- Kingdom and church
- The church: its nature, authority and mission
- Marks: notes, visibility and invisibility
- The nature and forms of ministry
- Denominations
Section B: Prayer, Worship and Sacraments
- Word and Sacrament: efficacy and validity, the number of sacraments
- Christian initiation
- The Lord’s Supper
- Christian Worship
- Prayer
Study Expectations (Online)
In Ridley Online subjects you can expect to work through a variety of weekly learning activities which are designed to develop your understanding of and skills in the themes and passages related to the syllabus. These usually include watching videos, reading, completing set learning tasks and contributing to online seminars and interacting with your peers. Allow 10-12 hours study time per week for this advanced subject.
