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Northern KY S21    Spring 2021
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Welcome to NORTHERN KENTUCKY PERSPECTIVES
Register at the button on the right!!

Monday evenings, 6:30-9:15PM beginning January 11, 2021

Northern Kentucky University
Baptist Campus Ministry Building at NKU
Highland Heights, KY 41076

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:3)

Why should you take Perspectives? 

Perspectives is a unique class that will give you a deeper understanding of God's glorious plan  and His desire for you to be a part of it. It will open your eyes to the heart and purpose of God. The readings alone will enlarge your understanding; but each week you will hear from a different instructor who will share his/her expertise and experience, bringing the readings to life!


What is this course?

Perspectives is a discipleship course for any adult follower of Jesus; high school students will also benefit greatly from the course. It will take you on a journey as you explore God's global purpose through Scripture, see God's purpose worked out through History, expand your understanding of reaching across Cultures, and engage Strategically in the work He is doing in the world today. 


Perspectives can be taken at three levels:


 

Certificate

Key Reading

Credit (transferable to NKU)

Homework Time

7 hours of reading per week

3 hours of reading per week

8 hours of reading per week

Assignments

Weekly review

5 one page "Personal Reflections"

1 research project due at week 15

No weekly review
5 one-page "Personal Reflections"

Weekly assignments

Mid-term and final exams

Integrative project

Cost

$220 + $30 for books$220 + $30 for books$520 + $30 for books


Credit given through Trinity International University

Cost discounts are available, please see the Class Pricing section

No parking pass required (free parking) in Lot E on the north side of the BCM Jan. 11 and Jan. 18. Starting Lesson #2 (Jan. 25), free parking available in Welcome Center garage across from BB&T Arena or you can purchase a parking pass to continue parking next to BCM for $40 for the semester.


Perspectives Alumni are welcome to attend for free.

Registration & Orientation Night - January 11, 2021 6:30-8:00PM

We highly recommend registering early. Our class will be reading the required material for each lesson PRIOR to the class (no reading required before the registration evening). Once you register, you will be sent a prompt to purchase your class books (Study Guide and Reader) directly. Please order them in time to bring with you to the orientation.


Note"First night free" is extended to anyone interested in experiencing the class prior to financial commitment. Register and come to the Orientation and the first two lessons (Jan. 18 and 25) as our guest. Payment will need to be made prior to lesson #3 (Feb. 1). The first few lessons focus on the Word of God,  bringing to light the truth that God's heart extends to all people and His glory is greater as more cultures and languages are brought into His kingdom of worship and praise. 



Questions? Contact Lindsay Skipper, Coordinator, at

Class Info

Date: Monday, January 11, 2021

Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

Location: Baptist Campus Ministries - NKU Corner of Nunn Dr. and Caroll Dr. Highland Heights KY 41076

Contact: Lindsay Skipper

(859) 512-7822

 
    • Registration & Orientation

      Brief Intro to the Class

      Registration & Orientation

    • Instructor


    • Date: Monday, January 11, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Luke Kuepfer

      The Truth Made Simple, Prospect Heights IL

      Luke Kuepfer is a keynote speaker, workshop leader, and co-author of Becoming a Leader Worth Following. Having founded and directed a non-profit in Southeast Asia, he now serves as president of the Reverb Network, a non-profit organization committed to growing missional leaders and starting serving leadership movements around the globe. Primarily focused on the business world in North America, Luke facilitates workshops on Serving Leadership, The Art of Listening, Employee Engagement, Teamwork, and Winning at Customer Service. He has a Master's degree in Leadership and has taught a class on Foundations of Management and Leadership at Colorado Christian University. As a leadership developer and life coach, Luke helps business and non-profit leaders understand how to maximize their God-given potential to lead and serve others. His newest venture in the experience economy integrates leadership development with high-mountain trekking adventures. You will find Luke online at LukeKuepfer.com, thetruthmadesimple.org, and ReverbNetwork.org.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, January 18, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • 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 25, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Todd Ahrend

      The Traveling Team, Fayetteville AR

      Todd Ahrend graduated from Northeastern State University, has a Masters from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctorate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the founder and international Director of The Traveling Team, a national missions mobilization movement. He and his wife, Jessica, have spent almost two decades traveling both nation-wide and abroad, speaking to thousands of people about involvement in world evangelization. Todd has exposure in over sixty countries and has lived in the Middle East. He is the author of The Abrahamic Revolution and In This Generation. Todd and Jessica have six children: Camden, Brody, Axel, Noble, Quincy and Cruz!

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, February 1, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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).

    • Instructor

      Andy Langdon

      Water for Ishmael, Toledo OH

      Andy Langdon is the Director of the American School Evening and American School Kids at Water for Ishmael in Toledo, OH, as well as Associate Pastor of Missions at Covenant Church. After serving as a pastor in southern Indiana for over 15 years and teaching English in Turkey for two years, he and his family moved to Toledo to invest in the lives of internationals. Water for Ishmael partners with the local church to build a welcoming community for Toledo area internationals, share the hope and love of Jesus Christ, and to empower internationals with skills to become successful.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, February 8, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Pam Arlund

      All Nations, Kansas City MO

      Pam is currently the Co-Editor of Perspectives 5th Edition and a member of All Nations. She lived in Central Asia for ten years, where she planted churches among three people groups, two of whom are Muslim. She earned an MA and PhD in Linguistics (i.e. Bible Translation) from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has published numerous books and articles in missions. She is most well known as “The Stick Figure Lady” for her popular book “Stick Figures Save the World.”

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, February 15, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Brian Hogan

      Disciple Making Mentors, Fayetteville AR

      Brian and Louise Hogan have served in mission since 1987. From the Navajo Tribe to Outer Mongolia, their passion has been to see Jesus glorified and lifted up among those who have never known Him. From 1993-1996 their team pioneered a church planting movement in Erdenet (AIR-DUH-NET), Mongolia that continues to grow under fully indigenous leadership to this day. Their Mongolian disciples are now training and sending out their own missionaries to other unreached people groups. The story of the work in Erdenet can be read in Brian’s book: There’s a Sheep in my Bathtub (Asteroidea Books), and in the case study article – “Distant Thunder: Mongols Follow the Khan of Khans” – on page 695 of your Perspectives Reader.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, February 22, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Christen Jacobs

      Cincinnati OH

      Christen is a lover of Christ, wife, and mother of three small children. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio God instilled in her a passion for the Kingdom of God at an early age. Christen is a minister of the Gospel, licensed at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship under the leadership of Dr. Tony Evans in Dallas Texas where she also earned her Masters in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. As a speaker and writer, Christen is passionate about bringing exegetical teaching and practical training to all. Her mission in life is to energize individuals and the local church to fulfill their role in the Great Commission. In 2018 Christen and her husband Matthew along with their children moved back to Cincinnati with a call to engage in inner-city missions. They serve as homeland missionaries through their local ministry Sow Cincy (https://sowcincy.com/) under the national leadership of The Table Coalition ( https://thetablecoalition.org/) formerly, the U.S. Lausanne Committee. Sow Cincy's mission is to equip every member to sow seeds for the kingdom. Together Christen and Matthew address Gospel fluency for the average churchgoer by providing free and customized educational training for evangelism and discipleship.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, March 1, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Barbara Yandell

      Hope for the Nations, Round Rock TX

      President Hope for the Nations, director of Engage Course and teacher at Horizons International, ordained minister and board member of the Alliance of Reformed Churches, Interserve USA, founder of Legacy Muslim Ministry conference.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, March 8, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Nathan J'Diim

      TOAG/Launch Internship and Frontiers, Chandler AZ

      Nathan J'Diim (pen name) is the Founder of TOAG and (semi-retired) Consultant, Instructor and Coach for Frontiers (www.FrontiersUSA.org). Launch (www.LaunchGlobal.org) has since replaced TOAG but carries the same DNA: a year long after-hours internship preparing beautiful feet to serve in the Unreached World. Offered in cities across the US, TOAG/Launch has apprenticed hundreds of interns, many who serve or will soon serve the least reached world wide.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, March 15, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Tom S.

      Disciple Makers, Latonia KY

      Tom S. serves with Disciple Makers whose ministry is focused on reaching the least reached peoples of the world. Tom and his wife served on the mission field in Latin America for 10 years. Over the last 34 years, he has served as executive director of Disciple Makers, mobilizing the church to help fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. tom@disciplemakers.org / www.disciplemakers.org

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, March 22, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Deanna

      Spring Hill TN



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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, March 29, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Corrie Guckenberger

      Back2Back Ministries, Maineville OH

      Corrie has lived internationally for seven years, in Monterrey, MX and Jos, Nigeria. In both of those cultures she gained insight onto how others live in today’s world. She recognized early on what it meant to “walk out your Christian values” in other cultures and how it was different than the faith she had known in the USA, when it came to truly depending on God and living in community.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, April 5, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Eric Black

      Lagro IN

      Using a team-teaching approach modeled in their work throughout the developing world, Eric and Johnson are Perspectives alumni and passionate promoters. Eric combines a background in business and entrepreneurship with a contagious passion for missions. Johnson was a long-term church planter among working classes in an Asian urban setting shaping his approach to discipleship and business as mission. They have worked individually and together with teams in over 20 nations, most with restricted access. Currently they focus on training near-culture disciple-makers to multiply workers among least-reached peoples.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, April 12, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • 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.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, April 19, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • 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.

    • Instructor

      Richard Mendola

      International Friendships, Upper Arlington OH

      Rich was born in Buffalo, NY, the grandson of immigrants from Italy who settled in Western, NY. His mother and father were both raised in the Italian section of the city. Although he was raised in a religious family who attended church, he did not personally know Christ until he was 17 years old. Prior to that, the death of his father at age 13 triggered a search for meaning and truth. This eventually led to studying the Bible, where he discovered that the true purpose of life was to worship and serve God. Through reading the New Testament he learned that Jesus Christ made it possible to come to God because of His sacrificial death for sins. Immediately upon coming to know Jesus, Rich had the strong desire to let others know the good news. Rich attended Colgate University in New York State where he majored in Biology and minored in Education and Philosophy and Religion. After his graduation, he had the first opportunity to pastor and was called to serve a rural congregation . At the same time he served on the Dean’s staff at Colgate University as the Director of Housing. In addition, he studied for a Master’s degree in counseling. In 1979 Rich and Janet attended.the Urbana Mission Conference. There Rich sensed a call to full time cross-cultural ministry. In 1980 he began to work full-time with international students in Buffalo, NY. At the same time, Janet attended medical school at SUNY Buffalo. In 1987 they moved to Athens, Ohio to open a new ministry to international students while Janet fulfilled her obligation to the National Health Service Corp – a program placing physicians in shortage areas. In 1991, Rich and Janet moved to Columbus, Ohio to work with International Friendships. Since 1998 he has served as the Executive Director. He also leads Bible studies and does 1-1 discipleship with students. He has written several Bible studies for internationals. He has served as the Chairperson for the Association of Christians Ministering to Internationals. Rich has also helped to plant two churches. He currently serves as lead pastor for All Nations Christian Fellowship. During Rich’s 29 years of service among internationals hundreds have come to know Jesus and many have returned as effective witnesses of Jesus among their own people. The kingdom of God is advancing among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists because of the ministry to internationals. Jesus can share many wonderful and dramatic stories of God’s work among internationals. Rich is a regular speaker at missions conferences, evangelistic outreaches, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement and is a lecturer at Vineyard Leadership Institute. Rich and Janet have 6 children: Grace, Danielle, Hope, Philip, Melody, and Paul. Rich’s interests are: Evangelism, Discipleship, trips, chess, and hats. Rich’s spiritual gifts are leadership, exhortation, and evangelism.

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    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, April 26, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

    • Celebration

      International Pot Luck Dinner and Shared Testimonies

      Celebration

    • Instructor

    • Class Info

      Date: Monday, May 3, 2021

      Time: 6:30 PM to 9:15 PM

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