Faculty Resources

Faculty Guidelines

Program Participants

The InMinistry Center delivers all classes necessary for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry degree, as well as continuing education opportunities for English-speaking pastors in the North American Division. This service is provided via two extension sessions (intensives) per year in most unions of the NAD. Each session includes two, one-week classes. Course teachers include Seminary faculty as well as other outstanding ministry professionals.

Students utilizing the InMinistry delivery include active pastors with at least three years of pastoral experience in a local conference in the North American Division. Such students are naturally biased toward ministry relevancy and practical application.

Therefore, professors should design practical pre- as well as post-class assignments applicable to real ministry. While theoretical courses which review theological and historical concepts may require occasional tests or examinations, contextualized ministry projects are InMinistry’s preferred mode of learning.

Academic Adaptation

Professors preparing for such field-delivery classes should balance valid academic exploration with the reality of work-embedded learning. What works in a campus environment does not necessarily translate into meaningful learning for full-time employees. The key to successful intensive classes lies in the ability to adapt theory to reality. While the intensive delivery mode limits the exposure of students to professors in a classroom setting, it does not reduce the academic rigor or the number of hours participants invest per credit. Remember the rate is 45 hours of subject contact per credit hour.

Professor as Learner

Expect to be as much a learner as your students. Field-delivery affords you the opportunity to personally learn what Adventist ministry is currently experiencing in the context of pastoral praxis. It is usual for campus professors to return with renewed insights regarding what is happening, not working, or needs to be addressed on campus. Therefore, it is anticipated that your involvement with InMinistry delivery will make you a better professor on campus as well as off campus.

Before the Intensive

Familiarize yourself with the design and expectation of the InMinistry mode of delivery.

Contact the InMinistry office (269) 471-3514 for help with details. The Director or Office Manager can provide first-time or recent updates regarding program details.

Course Syllabus

Please use the syllabus template provided for you by the InMinistry Center. An electronic copy of your syllabus should be sent to the InMinistry Center at least six months before the beginning of the intensive. Syllabi are posted immediately to our website so students can reserve a seat in the class and get site information (you should check the web posting for accuracy). If you normally include handouts or worksheets as part of your syllabus, please send them as separate documents for us to post with the syllabus on the website. This will help save paper when printing the syllabi to turn in to the Seminary Deans' Office. Please do not surprise students with unexpected fees or assignments.

No changes to reading requirements should be made after four months prior to the intensive date except for out-of-print issues.

Pre-Intensive Assignments

Required reading, reading reports, sermons, case studies, etc, related to the intensives may be part of the pre-intensive assignment. Such work is to help students be challenged and prepared for the intensive as well as experience practical aspects of the subject matter. All pre-intensive work is due at the beginning of the intensive.

During the Intensive

As all InMinistry courses are 3-credit courses, personal contact hours with students during the intensive should be 30 hours. Professors are encouraged to diversify teaching pedagogy for maximum effectiveness. A sample daily schedule looks like the following:

Sunday 4-7pm (3 hours)
Monday – Thursday 8-12; 2:00-6:00 (8 hours/day)

Hybrid/Online (10 hours)
Sample Total = 45 hours

This recommended schedule can be altered to meet both the students’ and professors’ need, as long as the approximate contact hours are maintained.

Tests and exams requiring extensive mechanical memorization of concepts or facts learned during the intensive are not recommended and should not be administered. Such an intense schedule leaves students with little time to prepare well for exams. The professional development philosophy of InMinistry encourages the modalities of experience and application.

Academic Standard

Including pre-class work, actual teaching exposure, and post-class assignments, students should invest 135 hours of exposure to the subject (45 hours x 3 credits). It is helpful if your course outline demonstrates how you estimate these hours to be satisfied.

Students are always looking for ways to save on books, so if at all possible books should be available for purchase online. If not, instructions for purchase should be included in the syllabus. Where students are expected to purchase an expanded syllabus, this should be disclosed in advance of the class.

Procedures and Standards for Intensives

Site Contact Person: Your teaching site will have a site contact person listed in the packet for each teaching location. These vary in their professional role but offer assistance for effective site utilization. While the InMinistry office will communicate class arrangement and teaching equipment needs that you have earlier shared with us, it will be the site contact person who ensures that everything is provided.

Pre-Intensive

Pastors are ususally anxious to do their very best in your class. Sponsoring organizations anticipate each class to contribute substantially to the effectiveness of ministry performance. You, as professor, wish for your students to come prepared and energized by anticipation. Therefore, most teachers prefer some pre-intensive requirement in preparation for the upcoming course. Make it clear in your course outline what it is you are expecting prior to the beginning of class.

Practical ministry projects, case studies, or reflection papers related to the class can compose part of the pre-intensive assignment. Any projects should be designed to fit within a ministry practitioner's schedule and contribute to ministry performance.

Intensive

A typical schedule for an intensive looks like the following:

Sunday 4-7pm (3 hours)
Monday – Thursday 8-12; 2:00-6:00 (8 hours/day)

This is a recommended schedule. Occasionally a professor may include an applied Sabbath or Sunday weekend learning experience. The schedule can be altered to meet the students' preferences, as long as approximately 45 contact hours are maintained.

Teaching Techniques: Techniques that promote student participation and interaction are highly recommended. These enhance learning and enable students to challenge each other toward growth in the context of professional education.

Tests requiring extensive mechanical memorization of concepts learned during the intensive are not recommended and should not be administered during the intensive. Activities of thirty hours a week leave students with little time to prepare well for these tests. Professional development employs learning modalities of experience and reflection.

Breakout groups such as triads are encouraged. Instructors should endeavor to provide significant time each day for group discussion. The use of computer-based presentations and videos related to the subject are highly recommended. It is helpful to plan exercises that help participants build relationships with one another in the module in order to develop a spirit of professional collegiality.

Attendance: With intensive time so concentrated, attendance is crucial. It would be wise to stress attendance in your course requirement sheet and to clearly indicate the consequences for absenteeism. No more than 10% of the contact hours should be lost by any student without some consequences.

Evaluation Forms: Have the class members complete the online evaluation near the end of the session and return them in the teacher's packet to the InMinistry office.

Post-Intensive Option Ideas

InMinistry philosophically places a high premium on the contextualization of the adult learning experience. We encourage post-course projects appropriate for the ministry context of each student. Flexibility and options will be crucial here, as our students come from a variety of ministry environments. Professors are encouraged to dialogue with students as to what would be most appropriate for their situation. Some ideas include:

Creation and implementation of a program/seminar: Students can develop and implement a seminar or a program related to the course. The student submits a 5-page report with the following subheadings:
- Nature of the program: A detailed description of the program. Purpose, delivery mode, duration, place, modules, etc.
- Implementation of the program: A description of the implementation of the program—where and how it was implemented, protocol, recruitment of participants, etc.
- Evaluation of the program: The evaluation could be measured by objective results, such as baptisms, attendance, etc.; and/or by input of participants about the contents, usefulness, and delivery of the project.
Sermons: Another post-intensive option is the preparation and delivery of sermons based on the contents of the course.
Research paper: Some exegetical courses may require students to write a research paper to show their proficiency in the area. Research papers should follow Andrews University Standards of written work. These guidelines can be downloaded from the Internet at www.andrews.edu/grad/documents/sww11.pdf.

Due Dates and Grades

Due dates: Students have to complete the post-intensive requirements by the end of the semester. The due date must appear in the class syllabus.

Final grade: Professors should send students the corrected last course assignment along with the breakdown of how the final grade was given. Annotations for the deduction of points should be clearly stated in the margin of assignments so students can see where and how deductions where made. Mistakes can occur in the addition of points, and it is important for students to ascertain that his/her grade is just and properly assigned.

Posting Grades: While the InMinistry Center Director is listed as co-teacher for all InMinistry MAPMin courses, this is for monitoring purposes only. It is the professor's responsibility to post grades for all students, either in writing or electronically. Contract teachers may need to communicate directly with our Administrative Assistant if help is needed in completing this process.

Students should send projects and final assignments prior to published deadlines. As this deadline approaches, the professor should contact those who have sent nothing, encouraging and urging them to complete their work in a timely fashion. When work is returned, grade it without delay, annotating the documents, indication their strengths and weaknesses. Such contact is vital for distributed education such as InMinistry provides.

Travel Expenses

A small savings by everyone makes a huge budget difference! All professors, whether full-time or contract are urged to travel wisely and frugally. Your travel budget is $1,700.00 per class event. In order to provide some saving ideas, here are some guidelines and suggestions:

Shop early: Purchasing your airfare early makes a BIG price difference, but double check the dates and plan carefully. Last-minute reservations cost more.

Check around: Search the internet for airfare by price rather than time. A different flight time may be half the price. Also, search for other airports near the location that may have better prices.

Investigate package deals: Some may include flights, car rentals, and lodging. Shopping travel websites such as Priceline.com, Orbitz.com, or Expedia.com may help as well.

Car rental: If you are not able to rent a car through a package deal, please keep in mind that this can be a large item if not careful. Please comparison shop and use discount shopping resources if available.

Lodging: Check with the InMinistry Center as some locations may have specials available through the host organization. If your site is at a college/university, check with their administration to see if a guest room may be available. The location information on the InMinistry Center website offers some suggestions as well.

Meals, tolls, and mileage: Reimbursed according to the Andrews University policy. Meals are covered with per diem if traveling over night. If you do not qualify for per diem, please turn in original receipts for your meals. Please be sure to request receipts for any tolls you may encounter as you will need to turn them in for reimbursement.

Reimbursement: Upon your return to the Seminary, drop off your expense report (the form is available for download from www.andrews.edu/documents/financial) to the InMinistry Center. We will sign it and turn the form over to Steve Nash.