Hartland College’s reason for existence is to educate 21st-century missionary professionals to spread the gospel of Jesus to the world. Our mission is to ensure that every student is expertly trained in their chosen vocation to serve in this capacity wherever the Lord might lead. Throughout the past 12 months, the college administration and department chairs have spent many hours reviewing, assessing, and evaluating our effectiveness at reaching this goal. The result of this review has led to some exciting innovations in our college curriculum that we would like to share with you.
One of our most significant updates is our improved core curriculum. Core classes are courses that every Hartland graduate will take regardless of their major. It is important for us to maintain the solid Biblical instruction that Hartland College is well-known for while adding additional classes that will benefit missionaries-in-training. We have now included four new classes in missiology and a world religions course that will equip students to understand the worldview and beliefs of those they are ministering to and how those values compare to our Biblical worldview and values. We also added a teaching seminar that will give all of our students’ basic strategies for effective instruction specifically tailored to their chosen area of ministry. A new Digital Ministry Fundamentals class will teach students how they can potentially use different media platforms and information systems for ministry and evangelism. Our new Ministry & Leadership and Ministry & Economics classes will offer students opportunities to learn how to be effective leaders while developing the business aspects of their future ministries. The class Entrepreneurial Mindset continues this training by showing students how to combine business and mission using innovative entrepreneurial principles. Every Hartland student will also receive training in life, mental and health coaching, which is being used effectively in the mission field to encourage people to make practical changes that improve their life and wellbeing.
We dedicated a lot of thought to establishing a balance among the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of our curriculum, as well. In her book Education, Ellen White writes that the object of education is the work of redemption—restoring the image of God in “body, mind and soul” (Education, pp. 15, 16). We have enhanced the academic mental training of our students by ensuring that every class is overtly practical in orientation while consciously blending faith and learning into every class. We felt that it was important to improve our training in the physical realm by adding a cooperative physical education class to our core curriculum. This will teach students how to enjoy outdoor activities in nature that will help them choose a healthy, active lifestyle. We have increased the spiritual experience of our students by teaching every one of them how to effectively share their faith, give Bible studies, and conduct evangelistic seminars as part of our new on-campus Bible School. Every student will begin their Hartland experience by attending this intensive summer experience. This enables us to develop weekly outreach experiences in advanced mission and evangelistic activities during the normal school year because all of our students will already be trained soul winners. We think all of these changes will improve the learning experience of our students while aligning us ever closer to our stated mission.
This is only a brief summary of some of the enhancements we have made at our college. We very much covet your prayers and support as we continue the important task of training young people for service in the various mission fields of the world.
Kevin Grams, PhD
Dean of the College