Our Core Curriculum
The Core Curriculum consists of the required experiences that carry no academic credit. Every student completes them each term of residence.
| Requirement | When | Amount | Completed through |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chapel | While on campus | 5 days per week | Attendance |
| Outreach | Each term on campus | About 30 hours each term | Assigned EVMS ministry |
| Redemptive Service Experience | Each term on campus | 120 hours per term | Assigned RSE site |
| Physical fitness participation | Each term on campus after the freshman year | 3 hours per week | Group participation and attendance |
| Literature evangelism | Sophomore winter break | Four weeks | Hartland literature evangelism program |
| Local church involvement | Each term on campus | About every Saturday | Church participation |
Outreach ministry
Students participate in one of the following ministries each term of residence.
- Bible Work
- Health Ministry Outreach
- Youth Ministry
- Literature Evangelism
Each outreach ministry is registered as a zero-credit course carrying 30 hours of activity per term.
Outreach Descriptions
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) In this ministry students will be engaged in finding people in the community who are interested in growing spiritually and then studying the Bible with them.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) This lab serves as a continuation of the summer Youth Ministry outreach. Students will lead weekly Bible studies for youth and engage in mentoring relationships, both online and on campus, fostering spiritual growth and personal development among young people. This course emphasizes active participation, leadership, and the application of ministry skills in real-world settings.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) Students who join this ministry will support health outreach events in the community and in local churches, which will be organized by the health outreach coordinator.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) Students involved in this ministry will participate in a week-by-week home ministry to the sick, elderly, disabled, and lonely in the surrounding community. This ministry requires maturity, discernment, and compassionate love. Working in cooperation with county service agencies, students do a variety of small jobs and counseling.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) Students involved in this ministry will be taught how to be effective literature evangelists and communicators and will learn how to touch people’s hearts with gems of relevant truth.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) This course trains students for gospel evangelism and discipleship through digital media, grounded in the biblical mandate to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). Students study the theology and ethics of Christian digital witness—including discernment of authentic ministry presence over platform performance and the pastoral care of online audiences—while producing gospel-centered projects such as missional video, Christian social media outreach, faith-based graphic design, and podcasting as expressions of that calling. Assessment centers on evangelistic clarity, theological integrity, and spiritual discernment, rather than technical media production competency alone.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) Youth are the best motivators of youth. This ministry is designed to inspire the youth of our churches and those in the community into developing a personal relationship with Christ, as well as getting involved in active mission service. Three words sum up the mission of this dynamic ministry: revival, encouragement, and evangelism.
(0 credit – 30 hours of activity per term) Students working at Hartland’s Wellness Center have an opportunity to minister to health guests individually and to lift up Christ to them. Those engaged in this type of work are enrolled in the Wellness Center outreach.
Redemptive Service Experience
The Redemptive Service Experience (RSE) is a required spiritual discipline in which students practice the biblical theology of work as an act of worship. From the beginning, God placed man in the garden “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15), and Scripture calls every laborer to work heartily, “as to the Lord, and not unto men” (Colossians 3:23). In harmony with these principles, the Seventh-day Adventist philosophy of education holds that “useful manual labor is a part of the gospel plan” and that true education is “the harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual powers” (Ellen G. White, Education, p. 13), preparing the student “for the joy of service in this world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come.”
RSE gives our students the opportunity to develop their practical and mental skills at real ministry sites such as churches, Christian schools, and other Christian ministries. The experience is designed to challenge students to apply what they learn in class by giving them projects and assigning campus responsibilities that require problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and teamwork. Students learn to take responsibility as stakeholders with invested interest in the functioning of our college.
Program Breakdown
| Freshman | RSE Spirit of Service Development |
| Sophomore | RSE Major-Related Capacities Development |
| Junior | RSE Major-Related Capacities Specialization |
Freshman Year
General Skills Development
In the freshman year, all students will participate in the RSE program with an emphasis on developing a Christian Spirit of Service. Practical service benefits mental capacities, making individuals more creative and better problem solvers. These abilities will also help students in their major-related skills development year, as the general training will help them learn collaboration, communication, productivity, and taking initiative and responsibility.
Sophomore Year
Major-Related Skills Development
In the second year, students will complete hands-on training in their specific areas of study, which provides students with practical experience in their area of religious training. Examples of on-campus RSE sites that offer advanced training in major-specific areas include:
- Wellness Center (Christian Health and Wellness Ministry and Biblical Counseling majors)
- Hartland Day Academy (Elementary Education and Religious Education majors)
- Evangelism/Canvassing (Pastoral Evangelism and Biblical Studies and Digital Ministry majors)
Junior Year
Specialization
Third-year students will continue in their major-specific areas but will be given further opportunities for development.
Redemptive service sites
- Hartland Bookstore
- Last Generation Magazine
- Farm
- Food Services
- Music Department
- Wellness Center
- Media Department
- Maintenance
- Piedmont Bible Camp
- Grounds or Landscaping
- Distance Learning
- Business Office
- Donor Relations
- Library
- Events
- Custodial
- Directed Teaching
- Auto Shop
- Church Commitment
- Trail Maintenance or Construction
Students take PHED 101–103 during the freshman year for academic credit; those courses are described in the General Education Curriculum section. During all subsequent years, students studying on campus monitor their own physical fitness and participate in an organized exercise activity for each term of residence, except during internships and off-campus academic commitments.
Physical Fitness Activities
- Students will develop a personal physical fitness regimen through training/coaching.
- Physical fitness training and coaching
- Additional activities such as hiking, backpacking, canoeing, mountain biking, trail running, rock climbing, and wilderness survival/homesteading may be offered based on season and instructors.
Students engage with a local congregation for every term of residence on campus. This ongoing involvement provides students with consistent opportunities to practice for real-life ministry after graduation, allowing them to gain practical experience in church life, outreach, teaching Sabbath school, and other congregational service roles.