In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his disciples and all of us to go and make disciples of all nations, sharing the gospel with everyone to the ends of the earth. Now, we’ve given people who live out this role the title of missionary since they are pursuing the Great Commission as Jesus commanded.
What is a missionary training curriculum? A missionary training curriculum is a program that teaches Christians how to become missionaries in different countries by showing them how to live cross-culturally, studying the Bible, learning new languages, and sharing the gospel effectively.
Here are the 7 best missionary training curriculums I found:
- Bethany Global University Curriculums
- Global Frontier Mission Curriculum
- Ethnos 360 Bible Institute Curriculum
- Perspectives Curriculum
- SEAN Curriculum
- Good Soil Curriculum
- University of the Nations Curriculum
1. Bethany Global University Curriculums
Bethany Global University (BGU) is an accredited missions college that specifically trains missionaries to take the church to where it is not.
After two years either online or on campus, students spend 16 months overseas on Global Internship getting hands-on experience in ministry as well as language learning and relationship building.
BGU has three BAs to choose from that will double major along with theology. Here, we’ll go through the curriculum for each one:
Transformational Entrepreneurship Curriculum
For the first degree, Transformational Entrepreneurship (TEM), students learn how to transform lives, communities, societies, and businesses all through their learning in God’s Word and training in how to be a Kingdom Entrepreneur.
the best part about (TEM) is that in their junior and senior, students will work alongside real-world business as missions professionals and companies, learning hands-on skills and challenging them to create their own sustainable kingdom business.
Classes for TEM during the freshman year include Intro to Business as Mission, Intro to Entrepreneurship, and Innovation and Creativity, as well as other theology classes.
For the second year curriculum, TEM students will take classes on the Principles of Business for Transformation, Lean Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Accounting, and many classes on intercultural ministry, which leads to the next program BGU offers.
Intercultural Ministry Studies Curriculum
Intercultural Ministry Studies, or IMS, focuses on training future missionaries how to specifically integrate everything they do into different cultures.
IMS students will dive deep into language learning and the main classes of this major include cultural Anthropology, Intercultural Ministry Preparation, and Worldviews and World Religion.
During their 16-month Global Internship, their junior year is split up into three semesters so students can become more involved in their ministry and experience what it’s truly like to live cross-culturally.
During their senior year, the IMS curriculum also covers Missionary Life and Language Practicum, Local Ministry Study, Contextualization, Missionary Member Care, and the class Transitions.
Not only do IMS students receive these classes and more, but they also get to work on an Integrative Project in their senior year with BGU.
It is the most extensive missionary training out there and perfect for Christians who aspire to take the church to where it is not, and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Education in Missions Curriculum
The BA for Education in Missions curriculum is the perfect course for any Christian who wishes to use education as a way to reach the unreached.
In this curriculum, students will take these Montessori education classes: Red Thread of Redemption 1 and Foundations of Early Childhood Education.
In their second year, students take Red Thread of Redemption 2, Child Development in Early Childhood Education, Red Thread of Redemption 3, Health and Wellness in a Childcare Setting, and Sensorial Mathematics and Fatih Formation for Montessori Education.
This curriculum is unique and by the end of four years, students become Montessori certified.
Here, students will work under Montessori teachers and learn the practicality of hands-on interactive learning with young children.
Other Information about Bethany Global University
Bethany Global University works hard to make sure their students receive the best education from experienced professors and missionaries themselves, and they provide free enrichment courses on their website and additional programs as well.
One of these programs is Lead Venture, which allows students to spend a semester on campus studying Intercultural Ministry Studies, and then the next semester in Guatemala putting what they’ve learned into practice.
These Lead Venture students then get the chance to return to campus and finish up their degree throughout the remaining three years.
BGU also offers master’s degrees and certificate and associate programs, all centered around training missionaries.
If you’d like to find out more about Bethany Global University’s curriculums click here.
2. Global Frontier Mission Curriculum
Global Frontier Mission or GFM, is a missionary training and sending program that’s mission is to share the gospel until all have heard. They do this through their missionary training school and curriculum.
For only $3000, you can purchase 5 months of their intensive missionary training in person, or online, and experience a deep dive into their 20 module training school that earns them a certificate of training and college credit.
Here’s the curriculum for this 20 module course:
Students will first take Intro to Global Frontier Missions and Missions Motivation. Here, individuals will learn more about church movements, how to reach the 10/40 window, and discipleship.
They’ll also take a close look at the New Testament and Jesus’ motivation for missions and how this applies to them.
Next, students will take the classes Inner Healing and Identity in Christ, Language Learning and Contextualization Basics, Intercessory Prayer, and Personal Team Dynamics 1. These are all fundamental classes that will help the future missionaries succeed once on the mission field.
Other classes within this module include:
- Evangelism Essentials,
- Missionary Resiliency and Care,
- Leadership in Missions,
- The Person and Role of the Holy Spirit in Missions,
- Spiritual Warfare and Authority,
- Singleness, Marriage, and Gender Roles in Missions,
- Disciple Making and Church Planting Movements,
- Stewardship and Partnership Development,
- Personal and Team Dynamics (Part 2),
- World Religions,
- Orality and Storytelling,
- Community Transformation,
- Christian Community Development, and finally,
- Discipleship and Community.
GFM also offers electives and free courses on their site for aspiring missionaries to grow in their spiritual gifts and pursue the God-given call on their life.
If you’d like to find more about GFM’s missionary training curriculum, click here.
3. Ethnos 360 Bible Institute Curriculum
Ethnos 360 Bible Institute is a missionary training school that teaches its students how to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus as well as provides them with a quality education of how to study the Bible and use what they’ve learned in their ministry.
Ethnos’ curriculum focuses on bringing their students through the whole Bible chronologically in their four year program.
They also have a range of electives which include classes on how to study different books of the Bible as well as online classes that cover all the same courses.
For their curriculum, Ethnos makes sure that their students aren’t only going through how to study the Bible, but also how to apply it through ministry opportunities and outreaches.
During these outreaches, students are given the tools to share the gospel through evangelism, discipleship, and public speaking courses.
They are also exposed to cross-cultural ministry opportunities and practice partnership development so that students will be prepared for missions once on the mission field.
Ethnos 360 also offers short term mission trips that students can take where their experience not only helps them in their understanding of missions, but also offers a chance to apply for college credits towards the student’s degree.
If you’d like to find to more about Ethnos 360’s missionary training curriculum, click here.
4. Perspectives Curriculum
Perspectives is a 15-week course put on by 200 different churches and locations throughout the USA.
It covers content in the book Perspectives which directs the movement of missions from the beginning of time all the way to the present day.
The Perspectives curriculum plunges into understanding different cultures, God’s mission for the world, church history, and more.
Each chapter of the book itself is written by different biblical scholars and missionaries who have hands on experience in their area of expertise, and write in a clear, comprehensive way that any aspiring missionary can understand.
The curriculum outlines four major categories for missions, these include biblical, historical, and cultural lessons, as well as a strategy course on how to bring the gospel through discipleship, church planting, and more.
Perspectives is one of the best discipleship courses out there. As well as the best missionary handbook and curriculum for transforming the way missionaries work and study.
Speaking of study, students pursuing the Perspectives curriculum can choose the accredited course that can be applied to undergrad and graduate-level credit or can opt for the certificate level of learning.
Whatever the level of intensity, however, students of the Perspectives curriculum can know that they will grow into their knowledge of how to practically do missions and what it means to live for God’s glory every day of their lives.
The curriculum can also be done in your own time by simply purchasing the book Perspectives, or going through the four-month online course they have on their website.
If you’d like to find out more about Perspectives curriculum, click here.
5. SEAN Curriculum
The SEAN curriculum not only has a rich history in worldwide missions but also takes a unique, hands-on approach to training their partners through their curriculum for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
The way SEAN works is through over 75 different leader guides in 70 different languages, their curriculum walks missionaries through how to lead a discipleship group with people from all different walks of their faith.
This curriculum helps grow the missionary, as well as teaches them how to guide new believers towards the truth.
SEAN studies even help people who are starting to ask questions about the Bible and walks them through the answers in an easy to understand way.
SEAN courses that the training missionaries will take beforehand include Evangelism and Discipleship, Basic Teaching for New Believers, and Foundations for Workers and Leaders.
This curriculum can also fuse with other practical courses such as Preaching and Teaching, Community Health, and How to Prepare and Lead Services, and much more.
Not to mention their advanced courses on books of the Bible such as Jeremiah and Hebrew, as well as a study on training and multiplying disciples.
SEAN is an extensive study on specifically discipleship and witnessing to unbelievers, so when committing to this curriculum know that they only accept those who are serious about pledging to the leadership guide and following the instructions given.
Nonetheless, SEAN is worth the dedication all for the glory of God.
If you’d like to find out more about the SEAN Curriculum, click here.
Good Soil Curriculum
Good Soil is a discipleship and evangelism curriculum that equips missionaries and ministry leaders to share the gospel with unbelievers.
Aside from online courses and seminars, Good Soil offers classes in May and October that go over their unique curriculum for studying God’s word and discipling others.
This curriculum covers the Good Soil Basics of Evangelism and Discipleship, as well as a deep dive into grasping the Old and New Testament and how to apply that to our lives today.
Another class included in this curriculum is BibleStorying or learning the art of telling Bible Stories in other cultures.
This can be extremely helpful for missionaries who are looking to live cross-culturally and share the Bible with people who have never heard of it before.
Participants for this course are also able to receive their Trainer Certificate which allows them in turn to teach Good Soil workshops.
Good Soil also offers a chronological Bible course called the Root of Faith that helps participants pull together all the stories in the Bible and point them to Jesus, as well as how to point unbelievers to Jesus too.
If you would like to find out more bout Good Soil, click here.
7. University of the Nations Curriculum
University of the Nations (UotN) is a missionary training program stated by Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and helps prepare Christians in missions through their different curriculums.
These curriculums are connected to various colleges throughout the World and intermingle with the student’s ministry overseas as they serve as well as study.
To begin one of these curriculums, students must have completed a YWAM Discipleship Training School and be active in overseas ministry.
The Core Curriculum of UotN follows these three requirements: Applied Christian Thinking, Bible Requirement, and the Communication Requirement.
These Core Curriculum classes are each 12 credits and help students engage with different cultures with the gospel and set them up for success within their other classes.
These other courses to choose from include Arts and Sports, Christian Ministries, Communication, Counseling and Healthcare, Education, Humanities and International Studies, Science and Technology, and International Centers.
The curriculums for each of these courses are extensive and perfect for training missionaries in their preferred interest of study, as well as giving them a background for how to share the gospel through their international work.
Because of this international work, students are permitted to spend as much time as they need completing their degree so that they can make sure they are applying what they’re learning to their missions work overseas.
Getting the Best out of the Best Missionary Training Curriculums
There are many amazing Missionary training curriculums out there for you to learn and grow in. These curriculums are here to help you understand God’s word and love, as well as prepare you for the mission field.
Because you know the importance of sharing the gospel with every tribe, tongue, and nation, you can know that whatever curriculum you choose, God will be with you and His Holy Spirit will guide you.
Getting the best out of these curriculums means following Jesus and asking Him to teach you no matter what, because He is worth giving your time, effort, and life too.
Jesus will lead you to where you need to be, just ask Him for help living out the role as a missionary as you pursue the Great Commission and Jesus’ love.
To find more information about missionary training schools & resources – click here.
