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Certificate IV in Christian Ministry and Theology

Foundations

…in the Bible, Missional Discipleship and Leadership 

How to Apply

Discipleship for a life of loyal faith, loving ministry, and compassionate and courageous mission.

  • 11237NAT Certificate IV in Christian Ministry and Theology
  • Certificate IV
  • Duration - One year full-time equivalent program. The course may be completed in two-years part-time on Thursday evenings. Students may take longer that two years part-time to complete the course. Overseas students must study 20 hours a week (a condition of a student visa)

Location

Wantirna (VIC) in person, hybrid, full-time, part-time and evening.
Launceston (TAS) in person, full-time, live on campus see worldview.edu.au.
Albany & Perth (WA) in person and hybrid, full-time see albanybaptist.com.au/traininghub.
Anywhere Online self-paced option (through Wantirna campus)

  • Delivery Mode - Online or On Campus
  • Available to domestic students. Overseas students can study in Launceston (at Worldview) and Wantirna campuses - CRICOS CODE: 114896G

Eastern Vocational Education and Training (VET) nationally accredited courses delivered by MST and Eastern faculty and our partners in other locations.

  • 3 core units
  • 6 electives (pre-set)
  • No exams or big essays!

Missional Discipleship, Growth and Formation

“I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.”

Romans 15:14

In our missional discipleship training model we have incorporated a number of elements that will contribute to your growth and formation as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Our prayer is to see you grow in goodness, knowledge and competent skills and abilities.  These foundations will establish you well for God’s calling on your life to be Christ-like in all your current and future spheres of life and influence.

God – you will grow in your relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit through conversation with Him and by practicing the Spiritual disciplines, grounding your wellbeing in Him.

Bible – you will grow in Bible knowledge that we trust the Holy Spirit will use to transform your hearts and characters to be more Christlike, in holiness, in humility, grace and truth.

Community – you will be encouraged to be more intentional and grow in your local church community, while also being blessed from being a part of the MST-Eastern community, or the Worldview (TAS), Albany (WA) or online community.

Mentoring – you will participate in a mentoring relationship with a leader or mature Christian from your local church, or otherwise with a ministry leader, to help integrate discipleship growth.

Ministry experience – you will participate in a local church based ministry, or in a missional business or ministry context, to help grow in skills and knowledge in service and outreach.  This course is ideally taken in-conjunction with a church or ministry based, formal or informal, internship program.

Mission experience – you will participate in an outreach with a local church or local ministry, and/or on an overseas trip with a Missions Interlink agency, during the mid-year or summer break.

Prayer and the Arts – you will together explore prayer and the arts through our chapel and prayer times, grounding your discipleship in expectant prayer.

Units in the Certificate IV in Christian Ministry & Theology

The following units of study will provide the solid biblical foundation for your practical training. These will be taught by lecturers and trainers from both MST and Eastern faculties in Wantirna and online, and at our partner locations – Worldview in TAS and the Great Southern Training Hub in WA.


God’s Story

NAT11237001 Apply knowledge of the Bible (Core) 

While the Bible is made up of many books and letters, it holds themes that run through the Bible which are very important to understanding God and His purposes for the world. This Unit traces the most important theme of salvation through the Old Testament and New Testament, while exploring other important themes as well. This unit will help you begin to form a solid biblical theology. (Text – Vaughan Roberts, God’s Big Picture)


Engaging with Scripture

NAT11237002 Interpret biblical texts (Core) 

Practical skills in how to use and interpret the Bible are acquired in this unit, including topics where did the Bible come from, what was the context and setting of the Bible, and how do we apply it to today’s cultures. A focus of this unit will be the study of the book of Philippians and the Psalms. You will learn how to prepare a Bible study. (Text – Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth)


Discipleship (A)

NAT11237008 Use Christian spiritual practices to support own personal development (Elective) 

Remaining in Christ is central to the life of a disciple. Reflection is given to personal Christian formation which considers and practices the spiritual disciplines of a faithful disciple, with a focus on emotional wellbeing and identity formation in Christ. (Text – Adele A Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook)


Discipleship (B)

NAT11238014 Lead a process of Christian Discipleship (Elective) 

Our most important call is to follow Jesus.  This unit helps you to apply the teachings of Jesus to life and ministry through a study of the Gospel of Mark.  Students will also consider what is involved in discipling another disciple and begin to put that in practice.  (Text – Mark Dever, Discipling: How to help others follow Jesus; Ajith Fernando, Discipling in a Multicultural World)


Culture and Teams

NAT11237004 Discuss a topic from a christian perspective (Elective)
MSMSUP106 Work in a Team (Elective)

Through selected readings from the book of Acts, this unit helps students to identify and develop skills for learning about and working with people from other cultures. We consider the idea of Cultural Intelligence. We also discover what is involved in being a great team member working on a multi-cultural team. (Text – David A Livermore, Cultural Intelligence: Improving your CQ to engage our multicultural world)


Knowing God

NAT11237003 Develop and apply knowledge of key Christian beliefs (Core) 

This unit introduces the student to the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith and to systematic theology. Topics include, God, the Trinity, the person of Jesus, the work of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Church and the Spiritual world. (Text – Various readings)


Telling God’s Story

NAT11237006 Explain Christian beliefs to a non-Christian audience (Elective) 

This unit will help you grow in skills of sharing God’s story and our story both in our context and cross-culturally. Different tools will be practiced, including a consideration of the 3D gospel – Guilt/Innocence, Honour/Shame, Fear/Power.  We have had some real meaningful conversations with others as God works through us. This class will grow your confidence, compassion and courage.  (Texts – Sam Chan, Evangelism in a Sceptical World, and Lausanne.org)


Family & Small Groups

NAT11237010 Plan and lead ministry activities (Elective)

The important role of singles, families and small groups in growing healthy churches and community as an expression of loving one another will be explored and practiced. (Texts – Colin Marshall, Growth Groups)

Stephen Andrews

Course Coordinator

Stephen Andrews graduated from BCV in 2004 with an MDiv in Biblical Studies. This equipped him well for his time of service overseas, where he and his family were involved in church planting, training church leaders through reopening a small vocational Bible college and co-founding a ‘mission as education’ primary and secondary school. Prior to heading overseas, Stephen served as a Youth Pastor at Canterbury Baptist Church as an informal revitalisation ministry, was involved with AFES in CU at Deakin Uni, Burwood where he studied accounting, and enjoyed participating in summer Coffee Shops with Youth Dimension and outreaches with OM. His parents graduated from MBI, which was significant in their formation and his childhood. Just ask him what GMT means! He recently graduated from MST with an MTS, and continues to serve as a missions leader from here in Melbourne.

"The starting point for any Christian leader is discipleship."
James Lawrance, Growing Leaders

Timetable, prescribed texts and reading list

There are prescribed texts and required readings for this course.
You will be given more information about these resources before your course starts so that you can read ahead and bring them with you to class.
download timetable

What Students

are saying

Thank you for all you've done for us this year! It’s been the most amazing year. I will always look back and think of how awesome it has been!
Stuthi Rubdi
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Outcomes and Pathways

  • Training suitable for disciples, small group leaders, youth group leaders, evangelists, elders, deacons, particularly in discipling and small group ministry
  • Chaplains also, especially if you have taken possible elective chaplaincy and pastoral care units
  • Employment in church, para-church and mission contexts
  • Join a church planting team in a traditional or micro-church context and see a church begin!
  • Continue your training at MST or Eastern, receiving credit for this accredited training into courses such as the MST Bachelor of Ministry or the Eastern Diploma of Arts and other courses at MST & Eastern
  • Go for a ‘double VET qualification’ with credit towards the Eastern CHC42315 – Certificate IV in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care

Entry Requirements

General Requirements
  • There are no formal entry requirements
  • A pre-training interview will take place as a part of the application process
  • Overseas students – English language at IELTS General 6 overall
  • Overall or equivalent (some exemptions apply)
English Language Requirement

For Overseas students:

An applicant for studies in this course will be deemed to have sufficient English proficiency if:

  • They were born in one of the following countries and have completed at least one qualification (secondary or tertiary) in one of those countries and the language in which the qualification was undertaken was English.

American Samoa; Australia; Botswana; Canada; Fiji; Ghana; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Singapore; Solomon Islands; South Africa; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; USA; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

  • They were not born in one of the following countries but have completed senior secondary study or at least one year of full-time university study in one of these countries and the language in which the qualification was undertaken was English:

American Samoa; Australia; Botswana; Canada; Fiji; Ghana; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Singapore; Solomon Islands; South Africa; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; USA; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

  • They have successfully completed a senior secondary qualification, a post secondary Diploma qualification of at least two years, an undergraduate program of three years or more, or a postgraduate program of two years or more FT or more, undertaken in a non-English speaking country provided the study:

was completed in an institution which is listed in the International Handbook of Universities, World Higher Education Database, UK Naric Database or AEI NOOSR guides or an institution accredited through one of ICETE’s registered accrediting bodies and is confirmed by the institution as having been conducted and examined solely in the English language.

  • They have attained results as listed in one of the following qualifications (within two years prior to application):


IELTS General

Minimum Results – 6 Overall Band score


TOEFL (Paper based)
Minimum Results – 507


TOEFL (Internet)
Minimum Results – 64


Pearson Test of English (Academic)
Minimum Results – 50


Cambridge English Advanced
Minimum Results – 169

Reference: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L00366/latest/text viewed on 26/6/2024 

Eastern College Australia values the history, culture and languages of First Nations people and we welcome their  participation in all of our courses.

This course is designed to help you grow as a disciple, which is an essential process for any growing Christian. This is also foundational for Christian leadership.

Fees

For a breakdown on the fees for this course please visit our fees page.

The course fees for Launceston and Albany are different – please refer to their locally published course fees.

Internship programs

Contact our course coordinator and see how this course can be embedded into a church, mission or business internship program.

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Get in touch through the enquiry button below if you have any questions, we’re here to help.

Or perhaps you’re ready to step out in faith and submit your application today! We’re excited to begin this next season of your life together.

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We acknowledge the Wurundjeri People as the traditional custodians of God’s land on which Eastern College Australia stands, and pay our respects to their elders past and present, and our support for the emerging leaders of the future.

Eastern College Australia provides teaching, training and research from a Christian worldview that contributes to the church and the flourishing of humanity through the lives of its graduates.

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    Wantirna, VIC 3152,
    Australia

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ABN: 61 551 855 405 | ACN: 641 764 785 | RTO No. 22065 | HE No. PRV12149 | CRICOS: 03853H

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ABN: 61 551 855 405 | ACN: 641 764 785 | RTO No. 22065 | HE No. PRV12149 | CRICOS: 03853H

© Eastern College Australia. All rights reserved

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