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Ministry Concentration

“Through love serve one another.” That is the heart of ministry. The Spirit will express His loving service in a multitude of ways through each of us according to the unique manner in which He has created and shaped us.

The word “minister”

very accurately describes the life of the believer for it includes two aspects in its origin and history: it is both “one who acts upon the authority of another” as well as a “servant.”

We are

the ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, acting as His representatives and under His authority to establish and reveal His reign on earth as it is in heaven.

But unlike

the politicians and rulers of the world, we demonstrate our power by following the example of our Lord Who met the needs of His followers, even going so far as to wash their feet. By love, we serve one another.

By love, we serve one another.

Our Ministry concentration has four main objectives:

1) A working knowledge of the Bible. This is a society that has lost its absolutes. We need to return to the Scriptures as a foundation for living. We cannot teach biblical principles without a working knowledge of the Bible. While we have no desire to be legalists, we must know the truth if we are to set people free.
2) An intimate relationship with Christ. Handling the Word of God without a relationship with God can be deadly. The heart of ministry is reconciling people to God, returning them to the loving fellowship experienced in the Garden of Eden. It is out of our love relationship with our Lord that we are able to invite others to join us.
3) A compassionate relationship with people. The entire ministry of Jesus flowed out of a compassion for others. So must ours. Our generation does not need more professional ministers, but it desperately needs men and women full of divine compassion.
4) A balanced life. Serving God and serving people can develop a lopsided life. We need to be balanced, aware and rightly related to ourselves and to our families to do our best in ministry

There are as many ways to express a heart of service as there are uniquely formed and gifted believers and needy people. Don’t try to fit yourself into some job description that you believe encompasses the call to ministry. Release the Holy Spirit’s anointing and creativity within you to bring everything that is uniquely “you” to serve those that only you can touch.

Online Ministry Degrees

The courses listed below may be taken as a Ministry Certificate or applied as a major concentration toward any of the following online Ministry Degrees:

For people aspiring to be trained for pastoral ministry, we recommend you earn any of the following degrees: Ministry, Divinity (graduate level only), Youth Ministry, Christian Counseling, Bible, Theology (recommended in this order).

Additional work is required when an undergraduate-level course is taken on the graduate level. Course substitutions and combining major concentrations are possible when working toward your Ministry Degree online. Discuss these options with the Dean. The key is to follow God’s passion within your heart. Students in the Master’s and Doctoral programs earn approximately 30 credits for each degree from specific courses, and the remaining 10 credits by doing practical ministry work and earning “practica” credits.

Ministry Courses Online and by Correspondence

All of the courses listed below are available by distance learning, and you can submit your coursework online. Your course materials are normally sent by mail, though our top 18 most popular courses are available as downloadable PDF ebooks, MP3 and video downloads if that is your preference. You will be able to contact your instructor online and conveniently email any assignments to him.

Tuition is $100 per credit. Course materials are in addition and generally under $100 per course. The courses may be purchased individually or as a total package. If purchased as a pre-paid package of 10 or more, the cost of tuition is reduced by 20%. Prices are subject to change without notice. Payment may be made by credit card.

Ministry Certificate Online

To receive a Ministry Certificate a student must complete a minimum of 10 of the courses below. One of them must be Communion With God. Ordination is available to students enrolled in CLU. Click here to learn more about ordination.

Because of his way of teaching I was able to sit and watch the videos by myself and also with others. I got so excited about the program I took it to church and started showing it to those who wanted to come out and follow the series…This course changed my life so I wanted others to watch it with me.
Roy Moyer

Ministry student

Available Courses

 

REN103 Communion With God (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
REN503 Communion With God (Graduate) (Course Syllabus) 4 credits
This course teaches you how to clearly hear God’s voice, see divine vision and journal (write out what God is speaking to you). The Holy Spirit is the Wonderful Counselor, and when you can hear His voice on a regular basis, He provides wonderful counsel to your heart. Eighty percent of the counseling needs of a church will disappear once they are taught the course Communion With God.

“I’m taking Communion With God. I am so blessed so far. My life is already completely transformed. I went from hearing God speak to me once in a while to hearing Him not just in my journaling times but even throughout the rest of the day. What a difference this has made.” — Andrew Steck

“We have been using Communion With God for some months now in all our home groups and one after another people whose prayer lives were dry difficult affairs have blossomed as they have heard the Heavenly Father commune with them, His children.” — Rev. Bill A. VanZutphen, Baptist Church, Wollongong, Australia

“Oh my, I am speechless…I have completed only the first several lessons in Communion With God and my life has been totally, totally transformed. He is such a wonderful, wonderful God. A few months ago I told Him I was desperate for more of Him…I had no idea His answer to my prayer would be so exceedingly abundantly above anything I could ever have imagined. My days and nights are now filled with His presence. Thank you for your service to Him, Mr. Virkler. I will be in touch as I progress through the course….” — Amy
REN204 Naturally Supernatural (Course Syllabus) 3 credits Through the working of Almighty God, He has joined His Spirit to our spirits. We will study and experience the glory of Christ (through the Holy Spirit) living within us, as well as ways of approaching Him and releasing His indwelling presence. We abide in Christ to the extent that we know that Christ abides in us. We will also learn how to allow the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit within us to flow out through us. Prerequisite: REN103 Communion With God.
“This course radically changed my life in every way possible. When once the Christian life was somewhat of a duty and chore, it is now a lifestyle of rest. What was once my trying to be good for the Lord is now having Him be good out through me. What was striving to serve Him in every aspect of my life is now simply loving Him and yielding to His Spirit to live out of me. By understanding, experiencing, and living out the seven revelation truths of abiding, my life in every way and dimension has been radically changed.” —Student taking Naturally Supernatural

Every Christian should read Naturally Supernatural at least once a week! You write so clearly it would be pleasant to sit under your teaching! It really would be a life changing experience!

— Isaac E. Rerri

 

COU202 Counseled by God (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
God’s Spirit is a “Wonderful Counselor”. We will let God speak to our hearts and counsel us about the basic emotional pressures of life. These include anger, doubt, depression, condemnation and inferiority. We will learn to let God replace these with His opposites, as His voice releases His grace within our hearts. Those whom the Son sets free are free indeed.

 

BUS102 Fulfill Your Financial Destiny(Course Syllabus) 3 credits
BUS502 Fulfill Your Financial Destiny (Graduate Level) (Course Syllabus) 4 credits
This course will give you Scriptural support for the belief that God delights in the prosperity of His children (Ps. 35:27). It is His desire that we lend and not borrow. We are to be the head and not the tail, above and not underneath (Deut. 28:12,13). God Himself teaches us to profit (Is. 48:17) and has given us the power to make wealth (Deut. 8:18). Several hundred verses on silver and gold will be examined, along with a philosophy concerning money, showing that we are to create and release wealth into the kingdom of God.

HEA102 Take Charge of Your Health (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
We have a covenant of health with our God, which is based on four prerequisites (Ex. 15:26). One of these is to keep all His statutes. In this course, we will learn the statutes of God which will keep us from cancer and the other “Black Plagues” of our century. We need not die prematurely if we become responsible by keeping God’s simple health commands.
“Take Charge of Your Health” taught me that sickness may strike a variety of places in our lives, which affects the whole person. We must heal the spirit’s illness caused by sin. We must experience “inner healing,” which is the healing of hurtful memories and damaged emotions. The effects from harmful memories may consist of guilt, shame, and depression. This is why we need to repent, ask God for forgiveness, and go through deliverance of demonic strongholds.

I believe that most mental illness is frequently misdiagnosed; and is, in many cases, demonization, the influence of demonic activity. Some people become so saturated with sin and invading spirits, that they no longer have control over who and what they are.

We all must remember that the body houses the spirit and soul within us and we must properly maintain all three. Don’t you think you should be responsible for your health? The CLU course “Take Charge of Your Health” will help you do that.

—Mark Huddleston

LEA103 Gifted to Succeed (Course Syllabus) 3 credits “To each of us grace has been given according to the measure of Christ’s gift…And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints.” Do you know which of these heart motivations God has given to you? Is God asking you to express this heart motivation within or outside the structured church, or both? Which ministry or vocation is He asking you to express yourself through? What kinds of people do you need next to you to make you most effective? These questions and many others will be answered.
“These last 12 weeks have been like looking into a mirror and seeing things in me that I have never seen before. Then taking those things, learning more about them and pruning them to work most effectively for and in myself, my life and my ministry.” —Student taking Gifted to Succeed
LEA310 Apprenticed to Leadership (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
Mentoring or apprenticeship was Jesus’ style of training. He committed Himself to twelve intense relationships for about a year and a half, raising up leaders after Him who turned the world upside down for His sake. In this course, we will explore the mentoring relationship from both sides: as an apprentice who is learning from a leader and as a leader who is developing his team. (It is possible and beneficial to be in both positions at the same time – continuing to grow and learn from those who are ahead of us while leading and developing others into their potential.) We will discuss what is involved in a good mentoring relationship, responsibilities of the mentor and the apprentice, how one enters and terminates such relationships, and very practical steps for developing leaders who will stand with you, help carry your load, and continue your vision after you are gone. “There is no success without a successor.”
THE121 Law and the Spirit (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
The law and the flesh always war against faith and Spirit. The battle is as old as Isaac and Ishmael, and recounted for us clearly in Galatians chapters 3-5. Each of us battles daily between law and Spirit in our own lives. Discover how God’s voice sets us free from the bondage of legalism and error. God’s vision is for a triumphant, empowered, overcoming Church that lives out of intimacy with His Holy Spirit. Learn what a church which is free of religion looks like. Let the Church be the Church! Let us be children of the faith!
WOR101 Believer’s Worship I (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
In this course, we will define worship and explore its priority in the life of the believer. We will learn how to become a worshiper, as well as our responsibility as a worshiper. In addition, we will examine “the new song,” praise in the life of Jesus, and experiencing the presence of God in worship.
 

COU203 Cornerstones of Communication (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
Communication is the center of all relationships, yet most of us are untaught on the dynamics of great communication skills. This course will teach you these skills. With practice, every relationship you enter into will be much more effective, including relationships with your spouse and children. Give yourself the gift of outstanding communication skills.

REN206 Increasing the Anointing (Course Syllabus) 3 credits The key to the successful Christian life is walking and living in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This course has three emphases: First it is designed to help you become aware of your spirit. All 1400 verses of Scripture that deal with the heart and spirit of man are closely considered with the one supreme objective of learning to sense your spirit and the Spirit of Christ within your spirit. From there you go on to examine the anointing of the Holy Spirit and how the anointing can be increased in your life. Finally, you will try to get to know the Holy Spirit as a Person.
“Throughout the duration of this course, I have been provoked to go after God like never before: to receive a greater measure of His anointing to bring liberty to captives, and God’s presence to all I encounter. I am challenged to fast and pray more on a regular basis, learn more about the anointing and start living out, through simple daily obedience, what God has called me to. I am also learning not to rely on my strength to get the job done, but to solely rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, and this too will increase the anointing on my life, which in tern will affect everything I do.” —Student taking Increasing the Anointing
 

LEA205 Creating Your Mission Statement (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
In a world in which we are daily forced to make decisions that lead us either closer to or further from our goals, no tool is as valuable in providing direction as a mission statement – a brief, succinct, and focused statement of purpose that can be used to initiate, evaluate, and refine all of life’s activities. People or groups with carefully defined missions have always led and surpassed those who have none. In this course you will be guided through every step of both defining and fulfilling a mission.

LEA203 Five Fold Leadership  (Course Syllabus) 4 credits

“…they had ordained them elders in every church…” (Acts 14:23). Biblical precedent indicates that local churches were governed by a team of elders. God never let the rulership of the body rest on the shoulders of one man, knowing that each of us has weaknesses and limitations, and that no one man can completely represent full truth, wisdom and power as Jesus did. This course will help local church leadership function more effectively as a team, honoring the gifts of all. However, God’s leadership plan was not limited to the walls of the church. The Five-Fold Leadership plan will also be applied to everyday life and the marketplace where gifts and talents are surrendered to God to accomplish His purposes in the world. Prerequisites: LEA103 (required); MIN210 (recommended). This course will be most useful if you are currently a part of a leadership team. 

COU301 Prayers That Heal the Heart (Course Syllabus) 4 credits
This course teaches a series of seven specific prayers that will break bondages within your heart caused by spiritual forces. These prayers include breaking generational sins and curses; severing ungodly soul ties; removing negative beliefs and inner vows; healing traumatic scenes; and casting out demonic energy that has connected itself to these inner wounds of the heart and soul. The entire healing process is sealed by doing an intensive meditation on biblical passages that bear on the issues being healed so God can grant you illumined insights from His Word.

“Who needs prayers that heal the heart? Just about everyone! God has really done a work in me through the studying and revelation of this ministry. He has given me a burden and a heart to see all people set free from all kinds of oppression. After all, He did command us to do so and minister to people’s needs. Prayers That Heal the Heart is going to be a major part of what I do vocationally for the rest of my life. I have a burden and a desire to see people walk in the liberty purchased for them on Calvary, and for them to experience the ZOE life God has come to give us. Thank You, Lord, for Your anointing to do what You did and see people come into all that You have for them.” —Student taking Prayers That Heal the Heart

I heartily recommend Prayers That Heal the Heart. It is the most biblical book I have read on counseling and spiritual warfare, in terms of emotional healing. While there are other good books out there that God has used, red flags have always gone up in my mind by their use of methods borrowed by modern psychology. This book isn’t like that, and it is thoroughly practical with its exercises and worksheets. It can definitely be used by the Lord to change your life and break the enemy’s power in your life.

Brian Shilhavy

 

LEA303 Developing the Leader Within (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
This course is designed to help you develop the attitudes, skills and character traits you will need to become the leader God has called you to be. You may need to establish new patterns of thought and action, and break old habits that have been keeping you back. If you truly devote yourself to the requirements of this course, you will be a more effective and successful leader at the end of it.

REN310 Wisdom Through Dream Interpretation (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
REN510 Wisdom Through Dream Interpretation (Graduate) (Course Syllabus) 4 credits

Psalms declares that God counsels us at night through our dreams (Ps. 16:7). The dreams in the Bible illustrate this principle, and all of us can learn to hear from God during the two hours of dream life we have each night. In this course, we will examine all 50 dreams of the Bible seeing how God interprets the symbolism and speaks to His children through their dreams (Num. 12:6; Acts 2:17). Prerequisite: REN103 Communion With God.

“This course has truly made a significant impact on my life and laid the foundation for ongoing change and revelation. It is as if a whole new door has been opened in my life leading to a whole new world of never-before-found treasures and truths. I feel as though I am walking towards a new journey that will impact my life in a great way. I feel that more tools have been added to my spiritual toolbox to help myself and help others. When I fully grasp this practice of interpreting dreams, I will be walking in a greater dimension of wholeness, authority, counsel, wisdom and so much more. If it’s true that we spend one third of our lives sleeping and part of that dreaming, then it feels as though I have resurrected one third of my life and I can live more fully. The revelation of the importance of dreams and what God wants to do with us through dreams has been resounding in my spirit ever since I started this course.” —Student taking Wisdom Through Dream Interpretation
 

BUS320 New Trends in Management (Course Syllabus) 1 credit
Everyone manages someone, whether you are a business person, a pastor, or a homemaker. What are God’s rules for successful management, which will allow the release of His blessing? We have discovered twenty biblical principles for effective management. These are being used by the most successful corporations around the world. We ground each one in Scripture and provide worksheets so you can easily evaluate your management style. May God’s maximum blessing be released in our homes, churches, and businesses. Leaders manage people well.

MIN310 Experiencing God in the Small Group (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
Classtimes are to be times of experiencing God and sensing the transmission of the life flow of the precious Holy Spirit among the classroom participants. They are to be much more than studies of God. They are to be experiences with God. This course will teach you how to make every classtime a time of encounter with the Lord where each one receives an impartation of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

“I cannot tell you what a blessing the course Experiencing God in the Small Group has been to my life. My small group meetings have been awesome. They have also grown to ten members consistently. God has been expanding me and our group has been experiencing greater measures of Him during our meetings.” —Student taking Experiencing God in the Small Group
BIB390 Bible Research Methods (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
Generally the student will take this course during his third year, near the completion of the core courses. In it he will be asked to do a complete Scriptural study, discovering what the Bible has to say about the vocation/ministry he is planning to enter. This will give him a biblical worldview. The student will be trained to do original Bible study utilizing the Greek and Hebrew, by learning to use an Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, a complete concordance, a Bible dictionary, a Greek lexicon, a study Bible, and an expository dictionary. No previous knowledge of Greek or Hebrew is required.
MIN415 Anointed Preaching (Course Syllabus) 3 credits
This course will teach the student how to get his messages from God and deliver them under the anointing of the Holy Spirit’s power.

Specialized training opportunities which transfer easily into CLU:

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Dramatically improve the quality and effectiveness of your ministry today by putting the power of the voice of God at the center of the process.