Course Overview

Missions and Revivals (4 credits)

Instructors: Dr. David Feddes and Dr. Gabriela Tijerina-Pike

Content Providers: Dr. Bruce Ballast and Rev. Henry Reyenga

In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:20)

Overview: This class looks at the mighty things the Holy Spirit has done at various times and places, causing the church to grow in holiness, power, and numbers. By examining major mission advances and revivals, we gain insights into mission and revival in our own time and place.

Course Outcomes:

1. Know and rejoice in Christian history's significant missionary advances and revival movements.
2. Learn essential lessons from revivals in different eras, nations, and cultural settings.
3. Develop a biblical understanding of revival.
4. Become more eager and expectant for the Holy Spirit to do mighty things here and now.
5. Seek to become a Spirit-empowered revival leader who has learned from the accomplishments and errors of leaders in earlier generations.

Required Reading: (All provided here online, so no book purchase is necessary.)

1. Elmer Towns and Douglas Porter, The Ten Greatest Revivals Ever: From Pentecost to the Present. Selected chapters are assigned.
2. Bruce Ballast, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Things: How God Brings Revival. This book focuses on revivals in the United States and draws lessons from those events. Units 5-9 of this course focus on Dr. Ballast's book, accompanied by video lectures from Dr. Ballast.
3. Various articles, mainly from the archives of Christian History magazine and offered in partnership with Christian History. These articles show the Spirit's work in many cultures.

Assignments:

1. Read book chapters and articles assigned for each unit.
2. View all video lectures online. (These lectures are also available as MP3 audios, but you will miss seeing helpful slides if you only listen to audio.)
3. Take a quiz for each of the first eleven units. You will have 60 minutes to answer 15 multiple-choice questions for each quiz. Once a quiz starts, you must finish it and can't retake it. So be ready ahead of time. Each quiz covers readings and video lectures for that unit. While taking the quiz, you may use your notes and refer to articles and other materials. Tip: First, answer all the questions you know. Then try to look up answers to questions you don't know. When you have entered an answer for every question, submit the quiz for grading before the 60-minute limit.
4. Write a 2-3 page single-spaced paper (800-1,000 words) for unit 12. This paper should sum up your discoveries in this course and describe action steps on how you plan to seek revival and spread Christianity in your setting. Don't just hastily write this paper during unit 12. Instead, make a few notes from each unit of things that impressed you in your studies for that unit: helpful insights that struck you, encouraging examples of the Spirit's work in heroes of faith, and ideas for pursuing ministry and revival in your own setting. In unit 12, take all your notes from the first 11 units, select those that you find most valuable, pray for the Holy Spirit's leading, and put together a 2-3-page paper summarizing key lessons you've learned and action steps you plan to take. The paper counts for 35 points. The principal value, however, is your discoveries and action plans, not the grade.

*The course has a total of 200 points: 165 points for the eleven quizzes and 35 points for the final paper.

Grading Scale:

A 95-100%   A- 90-94%   B+ 87-89%   B 83-86%   B- 80-82%  C+ 77-79%   C 73-76%   C- 70-72%    D+ 67-69%   D 63-66%   D- 60-62%   F 0-59%

Your average for the course must be at least 60%. Otherwise, you will fail the class and will receive no credit.

Course Forum: Each course forum is at the beginning of the course, right before the first-course content section, and has comments and questions from other students in the class. The forum is a great way to post a question or comment for other students who are currently enrolled in the course to see. Additionally, you can search the forum to see if anyone in the past has addressed or discussed the issue, question, or comment you wanted to post about.

Accessibility: All the videos' slides and transcripts are available in the course.