Bethel Seminary St. Paul
Certificate Details
Certificate in Spiritual Formation
The concept of spiritual formation is both an ancient and contemporary priority of the church. Our growth towards wholeness and holiness is best seen as a process that integrates biblical, theological, theoretical, and experiential dimensions. Nurturing the spiritual and personal growth of others requires that we attend to our own formation in intentional, reflective ways. This certificate invites students to explore the multidimensional, holistic nature of formation, to listen for next steps in their own formation journeys, and to serve as trustworthy spiritual companions in the faith journeys of others.
Courses include:
- Family and Congregational Systems
- Intercultural Understanding and Competence
- Spiritual, Emotional, and Relational Development in Adulthood
- Principles and Practices of Spiritual and Personal Formation
- Relational Spirituality and Spiritual Transformation
- Nurturing Formation in Individuals and Groups
This certificate may be for you if you sense that your partnership with God in the world includes:
- deepening and expanding an integrative understanding of formation;
- attending in particular ways to your own faith journey at this time;
- expanding your awareness of the faith journeys of others;
- nurturing the personal and spiritual growth of others, both as individuals and in groups; and
- developing a holistic view of spiritual and personal formation.
Certificate in Adult Development and Generativity
Aging has changed. Whereas ministry in the past was often directed toward the "old-old" and the "frail-old," increased longevity and vitality of aging adults now compel us to view elders not as recipients of ministry only but as partners in and initiators of ministry. For many, retirement is the beginning of new ways of engaging with the world. Aging represents an opportunity to invest in others, including in future generations. This certificate is designed to incorporate the most recent spiritual and scientific findings about aging so that students will be equipped to become catalysts for effective ministry with and to persons in later life.
Courses include:
- Family and Congregational Systems
- Intercultural Understanding and Competence
- Spiritual, Emotional, and Relational Development in Adulthood
- Ethical, Legal, and Medical Issues
- Grief and Loss
- Equipping Seniors for Ministry
This certificate may be for you if you sense that your partnership with God in the world includes:
- developing new ways to contribute to the world as you age;
- working with midlife and later-life adults;
- helping congregations and communities develop effective ways of ministering both to and with older adults; and
- seeing aging as a spiritual journey as well as a physical and emotional process.
Certificate in Pastoral Counseling
Life in community inevitably invites us to bear one another"s burdens, to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Being a faithful presence to others in their experiences of personal, spiritual, and relational difficulty means reflecting God"s love, wisdom, and attention in ways that go far beyond offering advice or giving answers. This certificate prepares clergy and lay persons to provide competent, ethical counseling for education, prevention, and intervention and to know how, when, and to whom to refer individuals and families who are facing complex, challenging issues.
Courses include:
- Family and Congregational Systems
- Intercultural Understanding and Competence
- Basic Counseling Technique and Microskills
- Counseling Theory in Pastoral Practice
- Individual and Family Challenges Over the Life Cycle
- Advanced Counseling Issues
This certificate may be for you if you sense that your partnership with God in the world includes:
- responding effectively to those who often turn to you for counsel and advice;
- walking through challenging experiences with others; and
- developing a theologically and theoretically integrated base from which to offer help.
Certificate in Sexuality, Wholeness, and Community
In a sexually saturated culture, congregations and ministry agencies are challenged to offer a vision of sexuality as a gift, as an essential part of God"s intention for how humans are to be in the world. Modeling healthy sexuality and providing redemptive contexts for those dealing with sexual brokenness (their own or that of others) are necessary components of effective ministry. This certificate invites students to examine their understandings and assumptions about sexual wholeness and brokenness, and prepares them to offer theologically and theoretically integrated education, prevention, and enrichment for individuals and families in congregational and community settings.
Courses include:
- Family and Congregational Systems
- Intercultural Understanding and Competence
- Authentic Human Sexuality
- Gender, Sexuality, and Ministry
- Understanding Sexual Brokenness: Compulsive and Abusive Behaviors
- Creating Sexually Healthy Community
This certificate may be for you if you sense that your partnership with God in the world includes:
- working on a team that includes both women and men;
- developing healthy sexuality in families and congregational systems;
- helping congregations and other ministry settings deal effectively with issues of sexuality;
- helping others find restoration after sexual brokenness and misconduct; and
- helping those who have been hurt by the sexual brokenness and misconduct of others.
Certificate in Special Needs and Faith Communities
Life in community means that we expect to see the face of Jesus in the faces of one another. Sometimes individuals and families with special needs � physiological, psychological, developmental � seem invisible in their faith communities. This certificate is designed to explore ways in which congregations and ministry agencies can remove obstacles to, receive ministry from, and partner with other resources on behalf of persons and families with special needs. In addition, it is designed to equip and catalyze persons and families with special needs to develop and deepen skills and avenues for ministry.
Courses include:
- Family and Congregational Systems
- Intercultural Understanding and Competence
- Understanding Physical and Intellectual Special Needs
- Ethical, Legal, and Medical Issues
- Grief and Loss
- Gifts and Challenges of Life in Community
This certificate may be for you if you sense that your partnership with God in the world includes:
- helping those with special needs find appropriate resources;
- modeling ways in which those with special needs serve their faith communities;
- developing outreach and ministry programs for persons and families that are often overlooked by organizations;
- identifying programmatic and logistical obstacles to full involvement of those with special needs in their faith communities; and
- celebrating the diversity of God"s people.
Certificate in Chaplaincy and Crisis Response
Chaplains offer pastoral care in an amazing range of places: care facilities, Fortune 500 companies, military bases, state fairs, hospitals, even rodeos. They enter situations where care needs are chronic and long-term, and ones where acute, shocking events require spiritual and emotional "triage." Building partnerships and adapting their methods to institutional and community realities are everyday challenges for these pastoral care providers who truly know that our neighbors are those who are in need. This certificate is designed to prepare persons to respond effectively in situations of both ongoing and acute stress.
Courses include:
- Family and Congregational Systems
- Intercultural Understanding and Competence
- Contexts for Chaplaincy: Institutions, Organizations, Communities
- Ethical, Legal, and Medical Issues
- Foundational Skills and Crisis Response
- Individual and Community Trauma
This certificate may be for you if you sense that your partnership with God in the world includes:
- providing pastoral care in institutions, organizations, communities, and work places;
- responding in biblically informed humanitarian ways to natural and humanly-caused catastrophes;
- equipping and mobilizing others to minister to the urgent needs of individuals and communities; and
- partnering with local, state, federal, and international entities in meeting chronic and acute care needs of individuals and communities.
Program Prerequisites
In addition to regular seminary admissions requirements, certificate applicants also will need at least 12 undergraduate or graduate semester credit hours in social sciences.
To Learn More
Contact the Office of Admission and Recruitment at:
Phone: 651.638.6288
Toll-free: 800.255.8706, ext. 6288
Email: bsem-admit@bethel.edu