The Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies is a two-year program requiring 72 credit hours of course work to complete in addition of 3 credit hours of electives. The program is designed to equip Christian men and women for local and global missionary tasks in evangelism, church planting, disciple making and social service in cross-cultural settings. The emerging total of 75 Masters Credit hours invariably prepares the student for a further DMin programs in Cross-Cultural Missions and Evangelism. The Islamic Studies lays emphasis on equipping students to pursue intercultural work and to engage globally and more thoughtfully with Islam and Muslims in love, compassion, respect and diplomacy. Students will gain an overview of Muslim faith and practice, with special attention given to comparisons with Christianity and its varieties. The students will also survey and analyse Muslim-Christian relations throughout history and in modern day.
This program should produce missions’ leaders who are:
- Competent to understand and explain the historical, theological, sociological and cultural foundations of Islam and its relevance to the Christian mission.
- Directly and competently engaged in evangelization of Muslims and the discipling of Muslim Background Believers (MBBs).
- Able to properly understand and interpret the Qur’an and other literature within the Muslim Hadith, and to compare and contrast such with the teachings of the Old and New Testaments.
- Enable students to have a comprehensive understanding of Islam.
- Know the ways, life and practices of Muslims.
- Discover common grounds through which to reach and minister to Muslims.
- Identify ways on how to relate and minister to Muslims.
- Appreciate and demonstrate practical love and respect for the Muslims.
- Provide the students in the department with the right foundations of knowledge, ethics, and behaviour to help the Muslim community.
- Learn the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity in order to enhance the relationship between both as a foundation for genuine dialogue.
- Gain knowledge of the tools and techniques needed to analyze the theology, traditions and worldview of Islam.
- Witness and engage in Muslim evangelism and church planting in Islamic contexts.
- Mobilize the churches for cross-cultural missions.