Thirdmill Institute exists to empower churches and local leaders globally to equip others for ministry through free certified biblical training.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> For more than twenty years Richard Pratt and Third Millennium Ministries<\/strong> have been creating \u201cBiblical Education, For the World, For Free\u201d in the form of high quality, multimedia lessons covering the topics practically all seminaries uniformly offer in their Bible and Theology departments. These multimedia lessons have been translated into a host of languages and given freely to all who are willing to learn and desire to know God\u2019s Word better. By design, these lesson series have been produced individually and without dependence upon the other series. This has given the curriculum the flexibility needed to meet a variety of needs in multiple cultures and contexts.<\/em><\/p>\n The Thirdmill Institute<\/em><\/strong> introduces something new. It provides design and structure by combining these lesson series into courses to give students and trainers a more standardized experience in their learning community environments. The Thirdmill Institute<\/strong> also meets that need for structure by laying out the overall direction of the curriculum into three certificate programs. Each Certificate incorporates weekly or regular activities, all ending in a diploma for those who complete all three. And you, the trainer, are the key to making it all work.<\/p>\n The goal of the Institute in the life of a student is threefold. First, that they would understand and assimilate the material. Second, that they would learn how to apply the material to their current and real-world ministry experience. And third, that the material would enrich their relationship with God and facilitate deeper growth with him.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> As a trainer, your role as a mentor is vital to the success of your students. You walk others through the material. In many ways, your role is one of a facilitator. The video lessons themselves will do much of the teaching, the quizzes and exam will do much of the assessment, and the discussion guides will give students the prompts needed to articulate what they have learned. Your role is to keep everyone on track and to make sure the materials for each course are used to their full potential in your particular context, especially in regard to the Institute Badges (ministry and life skills). To learn more about the role of trainer and the Institute\u2019s philosophy on training please see the document \u201cPrinciples of Thirdmill Institute Training.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> The people that you gather for your group or cohort is really up to you. Make sure they are dedicated and eager to learn. Make sure they have the time and energy to enter into a program like this. Make sure they are joining with you for the right reasons. After that, you are free to include whomever you would like. That being said, much of what we have included in the Institute curriculum has had in mind under-resourced pastors and church leaders as well as pastors\/leaders-in-training. The Institute Badges (more about them below) have been designed in response to the typical requirements pastors\/leaders face, both in their ministries and in their personal lives. That isn\u2019t to say those components won\u2019t be helpful for others, to be sure. But their benefit will most clearly be seen by those who are currently in a church position or have a role in active ministry.<\/p>\n Keep in mind, we anticipate students will spend approximately three to five hours per week in study on their own and about one and a half hours a week with you in their group. The courses range from 7 to 11 weeks if you choose to meet weekly. And each certificate<\/strong><\/em> involves four or five courses<\/strong><\/em>. Before bringing students into your group, it is important to let them know upfront how much time and work is involved and how regularly you plan to meet.<\/p>\n Lastly, group size is important to consider when you are forming groups to study together. As a trainer, you\u2019ll be keeping track of the progress of these students and leading them in discussion each week. For many people, having a group larger than 5-6 would be difficult. Some could perhaps have groups as large as 12-15, but we would encourage them to break those groups into smaller units for the discussion time with designated discussion leaders. At the same time, if you only have one student in your group, don\u2019t let that stop you.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> We recommend that you meet weekly to discuss each module\u2019s material. This will best facilitate understanding and application of the lesson in each module. We also understand that this is not always possible in every given context. As previously mentioned, you have the freedom to decide how often you meet.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Thirdmill Institute<\/strong><\/em> currently offers three distinct certificate programs that, when completed as a whole, make up the Institute\u2019s Diploma in Christian Ministry<\/strong><\/em>. The first of these is called the Foundations Certificate<\/strong><\/em>. This four-course certificate lays a solid foundation in both Bible and Theology and is where all groups should start. Once complete, groups can either work on the Certificate in Biblical Studies, the Certificate in Theological Studies, or both at the same time. This has been designed that each certificate should take approximately one year if you allow for breaks between each course. This can be done quicker or take longer, depending on what you and your learning community decides.<\/p>\n The Certificate in Biblical Studies<\/strong><\/em> covers Thirdmill\u2019s remaining Old Testament and New Testament courses, while the Certificate in Theological Studies<\/strong> <\/em>covers Thirdmill\u2019s remaining Theology courses. Whether you go through all of the remaining Bible courses, all of the remaining theology courses, or bounce back and forth between the two until you are finished with both is up to you as the trainer. Unlike the four-course Foundations Certificate<\/strong><\/em>, both the Bible and the Theology certificate include five<\/em> courses.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Thirdmill Institute courses are a combination of Thirdmill\u2019s lesson series plus additional documents such as Study Guides, Discussion Guides, and Institute Badges (ministry and life 3 skills). The courses also include a course guide, weekly quiz and final exam. In an effort to standardize Thirdmill curriculum into 7-11 week courses, we have combined 1-3 lesson series in each course. For example, the Theological Foundations Course is a combination of The Apostles\u2019 Creed and Building Your Theology. By doing this, you will notice that the video lesson and manuscript content for Theological Foundations Module 7 is the same as Lesson 1 of Building Your Theology. To prevent any potential confusion, it is important to point out this detail to your students.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> A key way to utilize the Thirdmill Institute is the online classroom institute.thirdmill.org<\/a>. This is where students go to create an account, enroll in courses, watch the lessons, take quizzes, and download relevant documents. And this is where you\u2019ll be able to track their progress. It\u2019s also where you\u2019ll be able to find everything you need to facilitate a group of students who don\u2019t have access to the internet and need an \u201coffline\u201d version. The full material is also available through microSD cards and in printable format when internet isn\u2019t available. To request the offline microSD card please fill out the form at thirdmill.org\/request<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>What is the Thirdmill Institute?<\/h3><\/div>
What is your role as a trainer?<\/h3><\/div>
Who should you gather?<\/h3><\/div>
How often should you gather?<\/h3><\/div>
3 Certificates = 1 Diploma<\/h3><\/div>
Thirdmill Institute Course Design<\/h3><\/div>
The Online Classroom and the Offline microSD card<\/h3><\/div>
Elements of Each Course<\/h3><\/div>