Study at The COVE
Welcome to COVE
COVE is a training program delivered by OAC under as a part of Kingsley College’s nationally accredited 11238NAT Diploma in Christian Ministry and Theology*. It is designed for those wanting to serve in practical outreach-centred ministry.
Our team of trainers and leaders are experienced practitioners who are passionate about investing in you to develop the knowledge and skills you need to pursue the great commission that we are all called to devote our lives to.
We seek to provide a holistic approach to learning that also includes the development of your heart and your personal walk with Jesus to fulfil the calling that God has placed upon your life.
The National Church Life Survey recently lamented that 4 percent of Australian Churches are closing each year, and very few new churches are being planted. But the solutions they suggested make the same mistakes churches have been making for the last five decades of decline. The mission of Jesus is clear, we are called to live out our faith and speak out loud the good news. So much of what happens in Australia is all about building rapport and relationships, which is great, but it rarely reaches that third step, revealing the gospel.
We’re convinced that if Australia is to be reached with the gospel, we need both an equipped church, but also an army of evangelism specialists. These specialists are those who God has specifically called and gifted into living and speaking the good news about Jesus.
The COVE is new vocational education program designed to equip today’s passionate Christians to be this generations community evangelists. Through a combination of study in the classroom, online, and practical experience in the field, our graduates will be well placed to serve as outreach specialists in organisations like OAC and in churches around Australia and overseas. The program will be led by OAC’s experienced team who will provide skills gleaned from decades of focussed gospel work in Australia and in over 30 other countries around the world.
While these units will contribute to a nationally accredited Diploma in Christian ministry, they can also be taken as stand alone subjects for your own personal development.
Units offered:
Description:
This unit on Biblical interpretation seeks to equip the student with hermeneutical tools for the correct study and application of the Bible. Rather than simply study hermeneutics as a set of principles, this unit will seek to teach these principles in the context of evangelism. In that sense, it is a “Two for the price of one” unit!
The word “evangelism” tends to create nervousness for many Christians who either do not understand what God has called them to, or don’t know how to go about it. This unit seeks to help Christians understand the scope of their calling to reach the lost with the gospel and how they must go about this process!
Objectives:
- In the process of examining the Biblical material related to the topic of evangelism, the students will be equipped with tools for Biblical interpretation. Evangelism therefore becomes the case study for the application of these principles.
- Study the Biblical mandate to reach the unchurched with the gospel.
- Examine our motives for evangelism and how Christians are called to participate in the expansion of God’s kingdom.
- Study the Biblical data in the narrative portions of Scripture to see what they teach us about gospel proclamation.
- Examine some theological issues relating to the gospel and its proclamation and objections to aspects of evangelistic ministry.
This subject equips students to develop, implement, and evaluate an evangelistic program or camp. Drawing on theological foundations and practical ministry skills, students will first learn to understand the target audience before creating a suitable program or camp to teach and engage participants. Students will learn and practice different delivery skills including story-telling, sketch-boarding, puppetry and object lessons to create a program that will be memorable to participants for the right reasons. Students will also critically evaluate program elements to help encourage principles of continuous improvement.
* COVE is a training program of Kingsley College under the auspices of Eva Burrows College, Registered Training Organisation 0328.