“I am a wife and mother of three at 50 years of age, and so had it’s challenging moments as I juggled family and work--but it was worth it,” said Tammy Byrd as she reflected on her participation in this past semester’s Institute Online course offered by The Institute for G.O.D. Int’l.
After her first semester of Institute Online, Tammy Byrd (center) was able to travel with us to Uganda, where she witnessed our development plot, met our African cooperatives and ministered to children.
Like other online educational institutions, it’s for people like Tammy that we started the Institute Online. It is our effort to extend biblical education to working adults, parents, stay-at-home moms, or others whose schedules won’t permit them to be enrolled into a traditional brick-and-mortar school setting.
Institute Online kicked off this last Spring offering a course called Intro to Genre: Narrative and Poetry. Tammy reflected on this course, “The best part of the classes for me were Monday evenings as we joined together for an hour-and-a-half in live sessions. I learned so much from these sessions, sometimes walking away in tears as I realized my lack of understanding but mostly walking away excited and encouraged at the opportunity given to open my eyes to the Scriptures. These interactive times with teachers and students were very meaningful and full of opportunity to learn.”
Bob Cates, father of G.O.D. member Stephanie Bartlett, has enjoyed deeper theological conversations with his daughter as a result of our Institute Online program, which he tunes into from California.
Not only does the class include this social element, it also provides a forum for people who want to go deeper in their understanding of God’s Word. Student Bob Cates commented, “Taking this class has taught me new approaches on interpreting Scripture, which have been very helpful to me. I’ve gained a much better understanding of the tools needed to approach the text, which have helped me understand the Bible in a whole new way. I would recommend this class to anyone who desires to go more in depth in learning the Bible, specifically those who perhaps work and need a flexible schedule to do so.”
While online educational forums are often thought to be impersonal, we have worked hard to facilitate live sessions that enable students to interact with and be encouraged in their journey by their teachers. These live session also help produce dialogue about the practical, everyday living out of the biblical principles being taught in the class.
Institute Online is excited to announce the start date for the second class in the Biblical Foundations Certification: Introduction to the Gospels will begin September 14th and last 10 weeks. The course will focus on giving students a solid interpretive foundation for understanding and making the teachings of Jesus practical. It will follow the same format as last semester's class with one live session a week and engaging homework throughout the week. Details on the program, as well as the application, can be found on our website.
In addition, we have now split the program into two tracks: academic and personal enhancement. The academic track is for students whose communications carry a weight of influence and authority, and would want to ensure they’ve done their best to produce a thorough examination of the Scriptures before authoritatively speaking to others. The personal enhancement track will help students understand the Scripture for the purpose of articulating its truths to uplift and exhort others to live for Christ in their day-to-day.
We are thankful to offer this forum of education for people doing their best to learn and live out the will of God in their everyday context.
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