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Course Materials

Unique Curriculum Materials

In our training, students are not merely handed a book that they are told to go off and read . . . as though reading alone is going to cause them to learn spiritual truths. Instead, we use curriculum materials that have been carefully developed for this type of training in small groups. Each course book has been written for self-study purposes. The student is made to engage with the reading material by the abundant use of carefully constructed questions. These questions check to see that the student comprehends the material read, but also cause him/her to personally think through and apply what has been learned to his/her own life.

Many of the course materials utilized by ACBS have been designed and produced by a Christian ministry that has been working since 1979 to provide the most urgently needed courses for every pastor and Christian leader to understand and master. But our curriculum also includes other course materials that have been written for the express purpose of training Christians living in the Middle East and which address relevant issues for Arab Christians.

By design, these courses were written to be used by Christians of various denominations and in countries around the world. Yet they have been written from an evangelical perspective with a belief in the Bible as the inspired Word of God. Their translation into Arabic makes them ideally suited for use in the Arab world. As a result of many years of faithful preparation, numerous courses in Arabic have now been developed providing a balanced curriculum of biblical studies, theological studies, character formation, ministry skills and leadership development.

Advantages in Using the Courses Provided by ACBS

There are many advantages to using the courses provided by the Arab Center for Biblical Studies, including the following:

• Many years of experience and field-testing have gone into the production of these courses, and they have been successfully used in many countries around the world.

• They are suitable for use in most cultures. [They are not limited to any one culture].
• The courses are biblically “trustworthy,” meaning that they have been written by conservative evangelical Christian scholars who have a high view of Scripture.

• Although these courses are thoroughly evangelical, they are not “denominationally bound,” meaning that they have been designed for a broad audience. Furthermore, they are written with sensitivity, so that more controversial matters are handled tactfully and fairly, allowing the student to come to his own conclusions.

• The courses—by design—were written at a level suitable for a high-school graduate, making them appropriate for use at the bachelor level. A.C.B.S. does also offer a program at the master level. Some courses are common to both levels, but some higher-level courses are reserved for the master level program alone.

• They were designed to be used in a discussion-style setting (i.e., in a non-lecture approach). Before meeting together with his study group, the student first completes assignments in a self-study course book. Afterwards, he joins other students in his group in meeting with a certified facilitator who leads them in discussion, interacting over what they have been learning.

• Some of these courses—by design—focus on Arab biblical heritage and address challenges to doing ministry in the Arab world.

• These courses were designed to have a balance between learning good “content” and making “application” to one’s life. The important aspects of knowing, being and doing are incorporated into every course.

• These course materials have been carefully translated into Arabic.

• The students are not only trained with these materials, but they are also trained in how to facilitate them to others. This provides our students with both a methodology and the tools for training others wherever they might desire to minister.