Alternative Missions University  

The Purposes of Alternative Missions University.

• Orientation and Training of Missionaries.
• Encouraging Ongoing Personal Development of Staff.
• Facilitating a Caring Missions Community.

Goals:

Using the various avenues of personal development including, a personalized curriculum plan, short term internships and long term placement AMU strives to help the missionary student attain growth in the following areas…

Personal Spiritual Growth:
Knowledge: Awareness of spiritual gifts, spiritual fruit, God given passions and callings, spiritual warfare, growth disciplines, and maturity.
Character: Hunger for the Word of God. Desire for spiritual growth, experience of spiritual fruit.
Skills: Consistent prayer, Bible study. Goals in terms of spiritual disciplines. Skilled in spiritual growth and warfare and biblical praying.

Biblical Knowledge:
Knowledge: Has thorough knowledge of Bible content. Able to defend that the Bible as the inspired Word of God.
Character: Convinced that the Bible is the Word of God. Love for and confidence in the Bible.
Skills: Has habit of memorizing Scripture. Able to teach the Bible using a variety of methods. Applies scriptural truth to everyday life.

Emotional Health:
Knowledge: Awareness of personality type, emotional strengths, and weaknesses.
Character: Targets and sets goals in the areas that need growth.
Skills: Develops emotionally healthy work and recreation patterns.

Church Relations:
Knowledge: Knows and can explain the church’s vision and purpose. Understands the nature of the local church in the overall mission task. Knowledge of churches as to form and function and how the function must be maintained in every culture while the form will vary. Understanding of the Cell Church concept.
Character: Active member in the local church. Has gone through the membership process. The church is supportive of the candidate.
Skills: Participates in weekly worship. Active in church functions. Has a local church ministry. Able to inform church of missionary task.

Interpersonal Relationships:
Knowledge: Participates in Bible studies, reads books, and attends seminars in the areas of developing interpersonal relationships.
Character: Targets and sets goals in areas that need growth.
Skills: Is involved in activities that will help develop interpersonal skills: small groups, etc.

Practical Abilities:
Knowledge: Growing practical knowledge in areas of need.
Character: Willingness to offer help in areas of skill and receive help in area of need.
Skills: Fiscal responsibility - no debt. Good health habits, first aid, able to run a household. Special skills in other areas: high-tech, crafts, agriculture, repair, or computer competency.

Leadership:
Knowledge: Understanding of leadership styles from biblical and secular studies. In-depth knowledge of servant leadership as seen in Scripture. Knows own skills and needs in the area of leadership development.
Character: Exercises humility and patience in working with a team. Able to delegate responsibility. Flexible in acceptance of leadership or allowing others to lead.
Skills: Able to plan for tasks, write goals and objectives, participate in team building tasks. Able to motivate others and transmit vision.

Evangelism:
Knowledge: Excellent knowledge of the Gospel. Awareness of different styles of evangelism. Able to apply biblical styles to everyday Gospel presentations. Understands the spiritual dimension of evangelism.
Character: Consistent practice of personal evangelism. Sense of the lost nature of people.
Skills: Able to share testimony (clearly and succinctly). Able to articulate the Gospel to different ages of people and different types of people. Able to communicate the Gospel to individuals and to groups. Consistently prays for the lost. Has successfully led others to Christ.

Discipleship:
Knowledge: Has biblical basis for discipleship. Knows strategies and methods for discipleship.
Character: A disciple worthy of imitation. Has a burden to disciple people.
Skills: Has been/is being discipled. Is discipling others. Disciples people who in turn disciple others.

Theological Knowledge:
Knowledge: Has biblically-based knowledge of God, His person and work. Familiar with systematic and biblical theology as well as current theological trends. Has knowledge of different religions. Understands God’s mission and Kingdom concepts.  
Character: Knows God and is growing in that experience. Shows discipline in study habits.
Skills: Able to study effectively. Has ability to apply theology to daily life.

Missiology:
Knowledge: Knows biblical basis of mission from both the Old Testament and New Testament. Knows current missiological thinking and able to use the vocabulary (i.e., unreached peoples, 10/40 Window concept, restricted access, tentmaker, bi-vocational) Understands the significance of unreached peoples. Can define the mission task as to what the task is and when it is completed.
Character: Convinced of the necessity of applying biblical truth to the mission task. Disciplined in study of missiology. Has heart for the lost.
Skills: Reads relevant journals and books and strategies for a given people group or missiological task. Applies biblical truth and behavioral sciences to field problems.

Cross-Cultural Communication:
Knowledge: Cross-cultural communication principles. Can distinguish between biblical principles and human customs.
Character: Incarnational in approach. Sensitive to cultures and the Spirit’s work in those cultures.
Skills: Has cross-cultural experience. Applies communication principles to others cultures and levels of societies.

Cultural Anthropology:
Knowledge: Able to analyze own and others cultures.
Character: Conscious of own ethnocentricity. Has respect for other cultures.
Skills: Able to adapt to other cultures. Can contextualize biblical truth. Can manage cultural stress.

Linguistic Orientation:
Knowledge: Knows rules of linguistics, syntax, phonetics, etc. Knows language acquisition techniques.
Character: Convinced of the importance of language learning. Is disciplined and persistent in gaining skill in the necessary language(s). Humble, uninhibited, can laugh at own mistakes.
Skills: Has competency in the target language(s). Continues to improve in language skills at the appropriate level.

Christian Ethics:
Knowledge: Knows biblical ethical principles. Knows the differences between ethics and doctrine.
Character: Conduct is according to biblical values. Has respect for indigenous laws and regulations.
Skills: Can facilitate the adoption of an indigenous biblical ethic. Is one who can encourage.