Tracks/Formats


HOW DOES THE SIMEON COURSE WORK? This is the big question for anyone considering using the Simeon Course on Biblical Exposition. This kind of training in handling God's Word sounds pretty good. And a self-guided online Course is probably attractive, on the surface. But the distance between "yeah, that sounds great" and "yeah, I am definitely going to register" is in the logistics. If you want to know about how it works, then this is for you. You probably have a lot of questions. What can I expect in a given week? What is the mix of videos and homework like? Who are the instructors? Can I see a sample unit? How much does it cost? What about graduate credit? Basically, how does it work? We'll get to all of the questions. But let's start with how the Course is structured. The first step is deciding what course, what track, what format, and what (if any) add-ons you want. TWO COURSES Our first-year curriculum is Biblical Exposition Through Literary Genre. The rationale for this class is that each kind of literature found in the Bible requires unique strategies for both understanding and teaching from within that genre. In other words, you would employ different techniques when teaching poetry rather than teaching epistles or apocalyptic literature. We are also in the process of developing and testing a second-year curriculum on the relationships between preaching and biblical and systematic theologies. We hope to publicly release the second-year curriculum sometime in 2012. THREE TRACKS We offer three tracks: a teaching ministry track, a lay leaders ministry track, and a women's ministry track. The goal here is to tailor the content and the intensity of the Course for particular kinds of teaching ministry.

*PLEASE NOTE: The Women's Ministry Track will not be publicly available until sometime in 2012.
THREE FORMATS The next step is to determine your format. We offer three formats: a group format, an individual format, and an open license. GROUP FORMAT The Course was designed for groups of people who have a common bond (e.g. pastors in the same city or denomination, students in the same church internship program, missionaries from the same church, or even a group of friends). Groups in this format will follow the Course syllabus and complete the assignments. The primary means of interaction will be group meetings either in person or via video-conferencing. INDIVIDUAL FORMAT The Individual Format is our self-guided study option. It is for students who want to take the course at their own pace and on their own schedule or simply want access to the teaching materials. This is our most flexible format. OPEN LICENSE This format is for churches and other organizations that already have training programs and want to integrate our content into their programs (e.g. church-planting courses or a church-based internship scheme). The open license comes with two major advantages: 1) access to our course materials to be used however you like and 2) access to our course director and coordinators to consult and advise on your program and how best to make use of the course materials. Once you've decided what track and format is right for you, you can consider the add-ons (like seminary credit). Or you can continue exploring other details of the Course that will help you make a decision -- details like the instructors, the sample unit, tuition, graduate credit, or other frequently asked questions.