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Greater Altoona, PA S18
Spring 2018
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Spring 2018 | Altoona Area, PA
15 Weeks • 15 Instructors • One
Epic Story
Biblical. Historical. Cultural. Strategic.
Ever wonder why you are here and your purpose in life?
That is because you were made for more!
Get
threaded into God's story this spring as you experience
His
heart for every tribe, tongue, people and nation and encounter
the
momentum of the World Christian Movement.
To enroll on line use the registration
button to the right
In the
beginning—no, before there was a beginning—a story began.
Come explore the
depths and riches of this story, as it has unfolded
through the
pages of the Bible and beyond, into modern history.
Come learn how God's redemptive
plan is reaching, stretching,
welcoming every
tribe, tongue, and culture to worship before his throne.
Come disciple of
Jesus, discover your unique place,
and get threaded
into this cosmic story of God's glory.
Come and hear what
the Holy Spirit has to say to you.
This class will
change your life—for good!
You'll get a new
perspective on God's heart and eternal desire.
CLASS
DETAILS Day: Mondays • Time:
6:30-9:30 PM • Dates: Jan. 8 to May 7, 2018 Location: Altoona Alliance Church Cafe, 3220 Pleasant Valley Blvd, Altoona, PA
Kick-off meeting is 1/1/18, 6:30 pm or arranged with the coordinators
For decades and around the
world, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement has drawn
everyday people deeper into God's purpose for the world. People of all ages,
walks of life, and backgrounds have come out of the class with an expanded
vision of God's work in the world and a new grasp of their part in it,
revitalizing their walk with the Lord and strengthening their faith.
Feel free to explore this site and learn more
about the class.
Click through the Lessons to learn about their content
and our instructors.
Is this course only for those interested in
missions?
Absolutely not! This is a course for the Church. The
goal is to bring our individual lives into a closer alignment with God's
purpose. To join God in His story. If you want to grow and be challenged—want
more vision, direction and eternal impact to come from your life.
Interested in getting academic or continuing
education credit?
Check out your options by clicking on the class pricing tab to the right. The course qualifies for ACSI credits and many denominational CEUs for pastors. High school students and home schoolers can duel enroll for college credit. Partnerships.
We are partnering with the State College Perspectives teams in hosting Perspectives. If you
miss a Monday class you can go to State College on Tuesday and hear the same presentation, usually by the same
speaker. ___________________________________________
Perspectives History
Modern
Perspectives started with a course at Penn State University in 1980,
sponsored by the US Center for World Mission, now Frontier Ventures. It
spread around the world and reached Altoona in 2008. 2018 will be the
sixth time in the Altoona Area.
When
Perspectives was held in Altoona in 2008, we met at the Lighthouse. In
2013, 2015, and 2016 we were hosted at the Altoona Alliance Church. The
location of the 2017 and 2018 courses is Grace Bible Church.
Cost for the course
Cost
for the course is $275. This includes 2 books, 15+ weeks of great
speakers and refreshments. There are numerous discounts and scholarships
available to make to course affordable (family, friend, text, pastor,
early-bird...). We want you to be able to come - just ask.
The
fee will be $675 to receive three college credits, and $775 for
graduate level credit. There WILL be an opportunity this year for high
school students to take the course for college credit.
Both
Grace Bible and Altoona Alliance are offering scholarships to encourage
their members to take the course. If you attend one of those churches,
contact the missions committee for details.
Can I do this all on my iPhone/iPad/Android/Kindle?
The
Perspectives Reader and Study Guide now come in a Kindle version (which
can be read on other platforms using the Kindle Reader).
Most assignments can be submitted electronically. Paper versions are also available.
Is it a lot of work?
Depends
what level you take. The Key Readings level has 1-2 hours of reading a
week and five "Personal Responses" (short reactions to what you are
learning) spread throughout the course.
Like most things that are very
valuable, you get the most out of a Perspectives Course with some hard
work. We recommend taking it at the Certificate level. There are several
hours of readings each week with questions to answer about the
readings and a project.
If you are taking the course for college credit, there are two
tests. There is a final project for Certificate and Credit levels.
The
universal response at the end of the course was: "It was a lot of work,
but it was really worth it." There are also ways we can tailor the work
load to your needs. There are ways to make up work if missing class.
Everyone who takes the course succeeds.
Can I try it out?
You
may come to the first class for free by signing up for "First Night
Free" on this web site. The readings for the first two classes are
available for free on the web site. You can also come to one other class
to try it out for next year.
Discover
why and how God threads believers like you and me into His epic global
story. Join us for 15 weeks that will forever change your perspective on
God's place in your world, and your part in His!
__________________________
Altoona Area Concert of Prayer for the Nations
September 4, 2017 we will meet for a time of prayer for the nations. Everyone is welcome. Altoona Alliance Church cafe. _________________________________________
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Registration & Orientation
Kick-off/Orientation
Registration & Orientation
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Instructor
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Date: Monday, January 1, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
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Lesson 1
The Living God is a Missionary God
God's purpose is three-fold: against evil—kingdom victory; for the nations—redemption and blessing; and for God—global glory in worship. God's purpose revealed in promise to Abraham. Exploring God's purpose for the nations: Blessing to the nations described.
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Instructor
Bob Sjogren
UnveilinGLORY, Mechanicsville VA
Bob Sjogren (pronounced show - gren) is the president of UNVEILINGLORY, a ministry awakening the Church to new awareness of God's glory in all areas of life, and to
seeing His glory go to all the world's peoples.
Bob has been mobilizing the Body of Christ to reveal God's greatest glory through reaching all ethnic groups with the gospel. He and his wife Debby have written homeschool Bible curricula. And in 2021, Bob launched a YouTube Channel called, "Maturing The Bride."
Bob and Debby live in Richmond, VA.
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Class Info
Date: Monday, January 8, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 2
The Story of His Glory
Exploring God's purpose for Himself: How God has been steadily unfolding a plan throughout all nations and generations to bring about His greater glory, ultimately drawing to Himself the worship of all the peoples. Passion and prayer for God's glory.
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Instructor
Dan Min
State College PA
Pastor Dan Min is originally from the Metro New York area and now serves as pastor of Alliance Christian Fellowship at Penn State University. Dan graduated from Nyack College in Pastoral Ministry & Bible, and went on to complete his M.Div studies at Alliance Theological Seminary. Dan is passionate about seeing God’s Kingdom come and be built here on earth, beginning on the campus of Penn State! b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, January 15, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 3
Your Kingdom Come
Exploring God's purpose regarding evil: How God has accomplished a defeat of evil powers in order to open a season of history in which the nations can freely follow Christ. The kingdom of God as the destiny of all history. Christ's mission seeks a hindering of evil to bring about a sign of the coming peace of the kingdom of God. Our prayers contend with evil in order to bring about the transformation of society with Christ's kingdom in view.
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Instructor
Mimsie Robinson
Bethel Gospel Assembly Missions, New York NY
As the missions pastor of Bethel Gospel Assembly in New York City, Pastor Robinson has been involved in disciple-making efforts in India, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa, Venezuela, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and several islands in the West Indies. Through involvement with Evangelism Explosion International as a teacher/trainer, he has been able to help many believers become effective witnesses at home and abroad. His involvement with Perspectives includes serving as a class coordinator. In December 2019, he completed his Doctor of Missiology with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.
In 2009, Pastor Robinson helped plant Living Water Christian Center, a bilingual French and English congregation, affiliated with Bethel Gospel Assembly which serves the spiritual needs of the growing number of French-speaking West African immigrants in New York City.
Pastor Robinson and his wife, Beverly Lynn, reside in the Harlem community. They have two married adult children, Michelle and David, who are both followers of Christ and two grandsons, Samuel and Matthew.
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Class Info
Date: Monday, January 22, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 4
Mandate for the Nations
Jesus shows great strategic interest in Gentiles; wise strategic focus by initiating a global mission on a few disciples among the Hebrew people. The Great Commission and the ways of God's sending in relational power. Dealing with the ideas of pluralism (all religions the same) and universalism (all persons saved).
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Instructor
Jim Rhodes
Cru, Malvern PA
Jim has served on the full time missionary staff of Cru for 44 years.
Over the years, Jim has directed the Hampton Beach Summer Project for 15 years and has helped initiate ministries in Japan, the former Soviet Union, Egypt, and throughout North Africa and the Middle East. Jim's favorite lessons to teach in the Perspectives course are Lessons #4 & #5.
Jim has been married to his wife, Barbara, since 1979. They currently live in Malvern, PA. They have three grown children, Becky, Mike, and Heather who are now serving as missionaries, also. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, January 29, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 5
Unleashing the Gospel
The first followers of Jesus: obedient in costly, foundational ways. The climactic act of the book of Acts is the freeing of the gospel to be followed by Gentiles without Jewish traditions as a requirement. A foundational act of God which speaks to the situations where the gospel is hindered today. Strategic suffering and apostolic passion.
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Instructor
Debby Rupe
Loudon TN
Debby has degrees from Moody Bible Institute and Houghton College. She joined Christar mission in 1973. In 1975 she taught at the Henry Martyn School in Iran. For 25 years she served in Pakistan as housemother at Murree Christian School, a school for missionary kids and in administration.
Since 2000 she has served in the area of member care in Pakistan and most recently in the US. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, February 5, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 6
The Expansion of the Christian Movement
The story of God's purpose continues relentlessly from Abraham's day until the present moment. An overview of the largest and the longest-running movement ever in history—the world Christian movement. How the gospel surged through the peoples and places of the world. Important insights for our own day.
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Instructor
Francis Patt
Frontier Ventures, Exton PA
Graduated from Penn State in 1974 with a degree in History. Graduate studies at Penn State in 1976-7. Coordinating team for the first Perspectives class at Penn State 1980. Began coordinating Perspectives classes in 1984. Has coordinated over 100 classes. Joined the staff of Frontier Ventures (formerly the USCWM) in 1981. Regional director of Eastern Regional Office of Frontier Ventures 1988-2017. Church elder for 15 years. Part of leadership for church planting teams 1998-2004. Training workers to serve on Muslim fields 2004 to present. Serving on the Board of Frontier Ventures since 2015.
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Class Info
Date: Monday, February 12, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 7
Eras of Mission History
The greatest explosion of growth ever has taken place in last 200 years in three "bursts" of activity. Why we could be in the final era of missions. The global harvest force comprised increasingly of non-Western missionaries.
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Instructor
Andrew Knisely
Eastern PA District of C&MA Mission's Mobilzation Task Force, Elysburg PA
Andrew Knisely is the Pastor of Elysburg Alliance Church and an Adjunct Professor at Crown College. His family served as missionaries in France from 2001-2005, and he helped Glenview Alliance to form a partnership with the Alliance Church in Burkina Faso, West Africa. He is a former member of the District Mission's Mobilization Task Force for Eastern PA District of the C&MA. He earned his Ed.D. in Adult Learning from Penn State in 2011, and holds masters in Education from Shippensburg University and Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary. He has been married to Diane since 1992, and they have two children. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, February 19, 2018
Time: 1:00 AM to 1:00 AM
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Lesson 8
Pioneers of the World Christian Movement
Today we anchor the race by continuing what others have begun. It's a day of finishing. All the more reason to learn the wisdom and the heart of ordinary people who did extraordinary things in earlier generations. Reading the writings of William Carey and other leaders to discern what these people have left to us. Exploring the contribution of women in missions throughout the centuries.
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Instructor
Terry Ruhl
T Peoples Resource Network, Duncansville PA
Dr. Ruhl has filled many roles as a missions mobilizer while practicing as a full time family physician. He has served as a short term worker in Asia and Africa. He has devised missions curricula and taught in a number of locations. He was one of the founding board members of an innovative missions support network, focused on the T people. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, February 26, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 6:30 PM
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Lesson 9
The Task Remaining
God's pressed His purpose forward until the present hour of amazing opportunity. Understanding the concept of "unreached peoples" to assess the remaining task. Recognizing the imbalance of mission resources shapes strategic priorities. The basic minimal missiological achievement in every people group opens the way for working with God against every kind of evil so that the gospel of the kingdom is declared and displayed with clarity and power. The need and opportunity of urban mission.
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Instructor
John Pitterle
Advocates for the Unreached; Volunteer with Cafe 1040, State College PA
John is a Penn State grad and currently works at Penn State. John's family spent several months in South Africa and Namibia with YWAM. With the Assemblies of God, his family lived in Madagascar for four years as the Lord used them to help bring the story of Jesus (Book of Hope) to children and then to help start the first Malagasy study Bible. John has been on short-term trips to Ukraine (with YWAM), India (with Global Awakening), and Zambia twice (with Dynamis World Ministries). He is an author (http://AdvocatesForTheUnreached.com/ebook.pdf) and shares regarding the urgency to prioritize the unreached (http://AdvocatesForTheUnreached.com).
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Class Info
Date: Monday, March 5, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 6:30 PM
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Lesson 10
How Shall They Hear?
Culture and intercultural communication of the gospel. Communicating the gospel with relevance at the worldview level helps avoid syncretism (blending of cultural error with God?s truth) and also enables powerful movements of the gospel. Sensitive missionaries will look for ways that God has preserved or prepared people to hear the gospel, often finding redemptive analogies for God's truth.
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Instructor
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Ramy
State College PA
Ramy comes from a Christian family in the Middle East, but has lived in the U.S. for many years. He is in ministry in the Northeast, seeking to reach international students from the Middle East for Christ. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, March 12, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 6:30 PM
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Lesson 11
Building Bridges of Love
The incarnation as a model of missionary humility. How missionaries can enter appropriate roles in order to form relationships of trust and respect to develop a sense of belonging, and thus to communicate with credibility for understanding. Explore the intricacy of identification in another culture. Explore the even greater complexity of presenting identity with integrity in a globalized, terrorized, pluralized world. Recognizing the dynamics of social structure in order to initiate growing movements of ongoing communication throughout the society.
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Instructor
Susan Patt
Frontier Ventures, Exton PA
Sue Patt has worked as a mobilizer for more than 40 years (since 1982) with Frontier Ventures, formerly the US Center for World Mission. She has served as a Perspectives Regional Director (13 years) and as the Perspectives National Program Director (7 years). Her current assignment is Chief Strategy Officer with FV. She has been developing deliberate friendships with Muslims since 1980, and Hindus since 2005. She is married to Fran Patt since 1986. They have 3 adult children and live in Exton, PA in the Philadelphia suburbs. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, March 19, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 12
Christian Community Development
A survey of world need. Dynamic balance of evangelism and social action. Hope for significant transformation as a sign of Christ's Lordship by Christian community development. Exploring the charge that missionaries destroy instead of serve cultures. Healing the wounds of the world between the peoples.
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Instructor
Ryan Keith
Family Foundation, Newnan GA
Ryan and his wife, Katie, live outside Atlanta, GA with their three young children. He currently serves as a Strategy Director for a new family foundation, with a heart for making disciples around the world. Ryan's focus is on alleviating the risks to children. Previously, he was Community Engagement Pastor at West Shore Free Church in Mechanicsburg, PA, USA. He is also the founder and past President of Forgotten Voices, which he led for 12 years before transitioning to the church. Forgotten Voices is innovating orphan care through local churches in Africa. Ryan is a Praxis Labs Fellow, committed to building Gospel-centered organizations. He earned his Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School, where he was also a Pforzheimer Fellow in the Hauser Center. Ryan is also a proud Falcon, graduating from Messiah University with a BA in Politics. Follow Ryan on Twitter: @ryanmkeith. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, March 26, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 13
The Spontaneous Multiplication of Churches
Look beyond institutional features of churches to understand churches as dynamic movements of Christ Himself being followed. Such a view of churches as organic, living things opens up the practicality of seeing them multiply rapidly as movements and also flourish in society bearing the fruit of social transformation. Churches as counter-communities, acting as salt and light, bringing change to their cultures. How movements multiply by connecting with entire families and larger social structures.
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Instructor
James Cha
Crescent Project, Leesburg VA
Rev. James Cha was born in Korea, but grew up here in the US. He studied electrical engineering at Cornell University, and worked ten years as an engineer. In 2000 he and his wife, Faith, took their 3 kids to Central Asia, where they served ten years as church planting missionaries with Pioneers. They are now back in the US reaching out to the Muslims in the Washington, DC area. James & Faith are Washington DC Area Coordinators for Crescent Project. They also direct ESL ministry in Leesburg, VA. They have three adult children and one grandchild. James recently published a book about their missions journey - Fear Not: Living a Life of No Regrets. Available on amazon. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, April 9, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 14
Pioneer Church Planting
The hope of planting churches among unreached peoples. How the breakthrough of the gospel in an unreached people requires that the gospel be "de-Westernized". The difference of contextualizing the message, the messenger and the movement. Distinguish and appreciate people movements, church planting movements and insider movements.
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Instructor
Steve Sanford
Ethnos360, Sanford FL
My wife Sharon and I served as Church Planters with Ethnos360 from 1993 to 2005 among the Joti people of Venezuela. We returned to the U.S. in 2006 after Ethnos360 was forced to leave all church planting works by the Venezuelan government. We have been serving in mobilization for Ethnos360 in Pennsylvania since our return. In November 2023 we will be moving to our home office in Sanford, FL to assume the role of Ethnos360 CEO. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, April 16, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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Lesson 15
World Christian Discipleship
What it means to integrate life for Christ's global purpose as a "'World Christian". Into the great story for His glory: a Person-driven life as a way of. pursuing a purpose-driven life. The basic practices of world Christians: going, sending, welcoming and mobilizing. The essential disciplines of World Christian discipleship: community, giving, praying and learning. Simplifying your lifestyle as if in "war-time". Exploring the practical ways of pursuing God's purpose. Business and mission. Short-term mission. Welcoming international visitors. Wisdom in working with local churches and in partnership with Christians in different parts of the world.
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Instructor
Terry Ruhl
T Peoples Resource Network, Duncansville PA
Dr. Ruhl has filled many roles as a missions mobilizer while practicing as a full time family physician. He has served as a short term worker in Asia and Africa. He has devised missions curricula and taught in a number of locations. He was one of the founding board members of an innovative missions support network, focused on the T people. b
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Class Info
Date: Monday, April 23, 2018
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM
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