Worship Leadership
Area of Biblical Learning
Few ministry roles have such an immediate impact on churches today as the Worship Leader. Milligan College seeks to prepare people for such leadership through a combination of biblical studies, historical awareness, general ministry preparation, and artistic skills. We believe that leading worship of God through Jesus Christ demands the best of knowledge and ability, but also the spiritual depth and integrity to help others worship “in spirit and truth.” Consequently, this major is a combination of portions of the Bible major and of music and fine arts. Students are encouraged to take more of the classes in either discipline for additional benefit, but the combination in the requirements for this major will provide a good starting point and sufficient tools to build a solid and lasting ministry.
This major clearly supports the mission of the college in that it prepares students to “honor God through servant-leadership.” It does that through aiming directly toward several of the objectives: it is based on developing and strengthening “a Positive, Personal Christian Faith that Jesus is Lord and Savior”; it strongly emphasizes “A Commitment to Follow the Teachings of the Christian Scripture” through every facet of both ministry role and personal life; it urges the students by leadership in the local church to “Recognize and Assume Responsibility in Society”; it promotes “Sound Scholarship” through the combination of disciplines of study and improvement of skills; it equips students for a professional career through a Christian vocation, thereby preparing people to “Secure an Enriched Quality of Life”; and it leads toward a “Healthy Lifestyle” by full participation in the active life of a local church and by using God-given talents directly in His service.
Worship leadership prepares a student to participate in the ministry staff of a local church and lead Christian people in worship that is scripturally sound and musically or artistically competent. By building on the basic education received in this Milligan degree program, a student can appropriately develop the worship and musical or artistic strengths of a church and personally function in other ministry roles if needed or desired. The liberal arts foundation and the cross-emphasis in ministry focus provide an excellent platform on which to stand and lead, or to continue to build more specialized leadership.
Milligan College expects those who graduate with a worship leadership major to (1) be equipped to lead worship in a way that conveys the fullness of mind and spirit before God - communicating with and for the current culture but still retaining the strength of scriptural faith and Christian history; (2) be prepared for service in a leadership role of ministry in the church and be able to function as a part of a team/staff relationship; (3) be able to understand, work with, and lead others in expressions of worship through musical, dramatic, and/or visual arts; (4) be equipped to pursue seminary or graduate education with a good preparation for that advanced study; and (5) provide a good Christian example as a student of scripture and disciple of Jesus. Emphases of spiritual dependence upon God, solid academic study, including serious study of the Bible itself, and practices of both integrity and effectiveness highlight this program of study.
The Worship Leadership major consists of four clusters of courses in Bible, history, Christian ministry, and worship (see course requirements below).
Worship Leadership major - B.A. (39 hrs)
BIBL 201 Jesus in the Gospels (3 hrs)
BIBL 211 Old Testament Images of God (3 hrs)
HIST 341 and 342 Church History (6 hrs)
CMIN 250-253 Practical Ministries Colloquium A - D (2 hrs)
CMIN 273 Introduction to Ministry (3 hrs)
CMIN 365 Christian Worship (3 hrs)
CMIN 491 Practicum in Ministry (2 hrs)
MUSC 141 Basic Music Reading Skills OR 143 Basic Music Theory/Ear Training (3 hrs)
MUSC 454 Music Ministry Methods (3 hrs)
Applied study in music (2 hrs)
Participation in three semesters of music ensembles (1½ to 4 ½ hrs)
THEA 242 Fundamentals of Acting, 340 Fundamentals of Directing, OR 345 Theatre for Young Audiences (3 hrs)
Additional electives pertinent to the student's interests and vocational objectives, sufficient to reach a minimum of thirty-nine hours, are to be selected in consultation with the student's faculty adviser.
The Worship Leadership major at Milligan leads to the B.A. degree, which requires intermediate proficiency in a foreign language. Language proficiency satisfies a general education requirement, not a requirement of the Worship Leadership major. For further ministerial or biblical studies, Greek is strongly recommended for the best study of the Bible.
Milligan offers two minors which are related to this major—the Worship Ministry minor and the Music Ministry minor. For more information about these minors, see “Worship Ministry” or “Music Ministry.”
Source: 2008-09 Catalog
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