Associate of Religious Education

The 64-semester hour Associate of Religious Education (A.A.) degree has been designed to train laypersons for a variety of leadership ministries in the local church. Examples of these leadership ministries might be Sunday School teachers, youth and children's ministry workers, Sunday School superintendents, church program directors, women's ministry leaders, and deacons.

Upon completion of the Associate of Religious Education program, the student should be able to:

1. Display a general understanding of the Bible as a whole including the background and content of many books and passages, and a proficiency in Bible study.
2. Articulate the major doctrines of Scripture.
3. Obey the Great Commission by serving in the local church, its educational ministries, missions, and evangelism.
4. Function within the ministries of a local church as a disciple-maker individually or through group ministries.
5. Know the basic principles of and be able to provide effective biblical counsel.
6. Train others within the local church by leading teacher training and adult education programs.
7. Share the gospel clearly with unbelievers and be competent to train other believers how to share their faith.
8. Display a biblical character and lifestyle through working out the personal implications of biblical and doctrinal content.
9. Use written and spoken English effectively, reading and listening with understanding and critical discernment.

The program includes 27 credit hours of Biblical studies, 15 credit hours of Christian ministry, and 22 credit hours of general studies. In addition to the courses listed below, the student must successfully complete at least four semesters of Christian service (see Christian Service Requirements).

Most of the courses required for the A.R.E degree can also be applied to the B.S. Students are strongly urged to take courses as much as possible in the order listed below.

First Year
	Fall Semester		Spring Semester
	GL 100 Crossroads Experience	1	CP 101 Personal Evangelism	3
	BI 101 Old Testament Survey 1	3	BI 102 Old Testament Survey 2	3
	GL 101 College Study and Life	3	BI 103 Bible Study Methods	3
	BT 102 Building a Biblical Life	3	GL 112 Public Speaking	3
	GL 102 English Grammar	3	GS --- Social Science elective**	3
	CE 201 Intro to Christian Ed	3
	Total Credits:	16	Total Credits:	15
	**A.A. electives are listed by division at Electives.
Second Year
	Fall Semester		Spring Semester
	GL 103 English Composition 1	3	BT 101 Survey of Doctrine	3
	CM 201 Introduction to Missions	3	CU 203 Culture, Race & Church	3
	BI 204 New Testament Survey 1	3	BI 205 New Testament Survey 2	3
	GS 206 Geo & Cult of Ancient Near East	3	CC 314 Biblical Counseling	3
	CE 212 Principles & Meth Teach	3	BT --- Theology elective**	3
	BI --- Bible elective**	3
	Total Credits:	18	Total Credits:	15
	**A.A. electives are listed by division at Electives.