Bible and Society Master Degree – program in liquidation

Program in liquidation

The Master Programme “Bible and Society” offered by the Pentecostal Faculty of Theology of the Theological Pentecostal Institute from Bucharest was accredited by ARACIS (Romanian Accrediting Agency) on 29 May 2014 (see below). To consult the decision issued by ARACIS on 29 May 2014, see below, – page 2, par. 17.

The mission of the Master Programme “Bible and Society”, seen in light of the profile and specialisation of the Pentecostal Faculty of Theology.

Given the fact that the Theological Pentecostal Institute from Bucharest is the only accredited institution in Romania, belonging to the Pentecostal Denomination, where Pentecostal ministers are being trained, the role played by this school becomes crucial. Pastoral ministry, though primarily a vocation, it also requires good theological training. Such training is the objective of the Pentecostal faculty of Theology which functions within ITPB. In it, future ministers are being equipped spiritually and theologically. Pastoral ministry, in the current context, necessitates specific training, which prepares ministers to answer new challenges. Moreover, after joining of the European Union, due to work-related migration, the Romanian diaspora has increased exponentially, leading to an increased need for trained ministers to serve the newly established diaspora churches.

In light of these, the mission of the Faculty of Pentecostal Theology and its study programme “Pentecostal Pastoral Theology” start from the following premises:
a) Pastoral theology is a complex study-domain that combines communication, spiritual counselling and organizational management.
b) Pastoral theology is both an academic and a professional domain, the first consisting of academic work, aiming to set theoretical bases for pastoral ministry, and the second consisting of establishing the highest ethical standards for professional practice, in combination with the professionalism and competence resulting from professional development.
c) Pastoral theology is an interdisciplinary field of study. Its locus is at the intersection between the literary study of biblical and ecclesial documents, communication and human relationships. As such, a theologian is someone who combines intellectual formation with good communication skills and is a pastor of souls by vocation. Pastoral theology also touches upon philosophy, psychology, ethics and sociology, aiming to develop an advanced knowledge of the society in one’s context through qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The length of the Master Programme is 2 years (four semesters) – 120 ECTS. The length of one semester is 14 weeks. The teaching is modular and is scheduled during the first 5 weeks of each semester.

Taking into account the profile and specialisation of our faculty, and in light of the above, the Master Programme is designed to answer the need of evangelical church ministers to deepen their biblical knowledge and increase their capacity to communicate such knowledge in a relevant manner, so that they address adequately the complex issues facing religious workers.

Globalization has brought about changes in the religious ethos and within churches; good understanding of the Bible and a Christian way of thinking are ways in which we can access the fundamentals of European culture, which is the heritage of the Romanian people as well.

The Theological Pentecostal Institute from Bucharest aims to offer pastors, teachers of religion and other spiritual leaders from the evangelical group the possibility to learn methods of exegetical analysis of Biblical books, to understand and make good use of Biblical interpretative skills, and to gain the necessary theological depth in order to apply biblical knowledge rigorously and appropriately.

The mission of the Master Programme “Bible and Society” is:
a) the training of Christian ministers, skilled in interpreting the sacred text of the Bible in order to proclaim a relevant message to contemporary Christianity.
Phenomena such as the integration of Romania into the European Union and globalization have resulted in various spiritual, ecclesial and cultural challenges for the Romanian evangelical Christianity. In order to preserve the evangelical spirituality and ethos, while also integrating it in the new socio-economic and political contexts, is it mandatory that pastors, teachers of religion and Christian leaders from all evangelical denominations are Biblically trained and competent in actuating and communicating a biblically based spirituality.

b) the creation of an opportunity for further specialisation, made available to pastors and employed Christian personnel, in order to help improve the work of interpretation and the communication of Biblical truth.
Pastors, teachers of religion and Christian leaders, involved in church ministry or teaching, need to continuously perfect their methods of communicating biblical truth. In this regard, the Master Programme “Bible and Society” offers possibilities for learning the theoretical knowledge necessary in order to minister more efficiently to their fellow-believers.

c) the creation and development of a research collective in the field of exegetical and biblical theology. Being the only accredited Pentecostal institution of higher education from Romania, ITPB naturally has the responsibility to organise and carry out Pentecostal biblical and theological research in Romania. Faculty teaching in the Master Programme “Bible and Society”, together with the master students, will undertake such research, aiming to produce publishable quality work.

The Master Programme “Bible and Society” has the following specific objectives:
a) to offer a Pentecostal theological educational programme that is both up to date and performant:
– students learn methods of exegetical analysis of the biblical text in order to better understand the meaning of the sacred text.
– students become familiar with methods of biblical interpretation in order to apply correctly biblical truth.
– students adopt a biblical view on contemporary theological, social and political issues.
b) to design a system of learning for the master students that emphasizes excellence:
– classes are taught using enhanced pedagogical methods (interactive teaching, video-presentations, etc.);
– seminars are organised as debates and presentations of research work.
– evaluation is done using various evaluation tools during the semester and at the end of the teaching period (assessment tests periodically, presentation of research work and projects);
– application of knowledge is accomplished by organising apprenticeships for students in different Pentecostal churches.
c) to develop the theoretical and applicative research component of the programme:
– programmes and scientific / applicative projects are carried out in the area of specialisation offered by the Master Programme;
– research activities result in books, articles and scientific papers.

The perspectives of the Master Programme:
The prospective evaluation carried out in regard with the need for qualified church workers within the evangelical denominations of Romania has led us to to conclude that there is a growing demand for two categories of personnel:

First, there is further need for education among pastors, many of whom are untrained theologically.

Second, there is a growing need for training addressing other categories of Christian ministers and leaders (youth pastors, lay preachers and teachers, evangelists, etc.). These must learn to communicate biblical truths efficiently, both by exposing accurately the message of the sacred text and by applying this message in a relevant way to address the spiritual-moral needs of the contemporary Romanian society.
The mission and strategy of the Master Programme will be re-evaluated each academic year in order to make sure that the programme fulfils national and international standards for professional formation. In this regard, we aim to offer mobility opportunities to our teaching staff both in Romania and abroad.

Qualifications and career choices:
The qualification offered via the Master Programme “Bible and Society” is pastoral (Pentecostal) theology – code RNCIS: L50401001010. Possible career choices, according to COR, are: Chaplain – Code RNCIS: 263605; Denominational Counsellor – Code RNCIS: 263609; Deacon – Code RNCIS: 263611; Bishop – Code RNCIS: 263612; Pastor – Code RNCIS: 263625; Teacher of primary education – Code RNCIS: 234101; Preacher – Code RNCIS: 263635.

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