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Mission and Goals of AIM

The mission of the AIM (American Baptist Churches of Maine Institute for Ministry) is to provide ongoing theological, ministry and discipleship education to pastoral leadership and laity in Maine. The Institute for Ministry is committed to providing excellence in learning, instruction, research, and equipping for ministry. The Institute for Ministry seeks to uphold the foundation of biblical teaching, Baptist heritage, and global awareness of mission to all men and women enrolled.

The goals of AIM include:

Providing courses and resources necessary to complete the process leading to ABCOM commissioning,

Offering courses that will enable and enrich leadership development among American Baptist congregations in Maine,

Making courses and resources available on an associational and local level, thus encouraging a broad base of participation,

Offering courses that will be appropriate to the needs and ministry of lay and ordained pastors, interim ministers, bi-vocational pastors, and lay leaders on all levels,

Providing a central resource for historical research and instruction in the area of Maine's Baptist History,

And encouraging participation in opportunities that will nurture life long learners who strive to build a solid theological, intellectual, ethical, and spiritual maturity as Christian disciples and leaders.

Core Courses

Ethics

Practical ethical understanding of the issues of pastoral ministry.
To understand the exegetical (historical grammatical literary cultural) context
Building an ethical biblical framework for resolving the issues.
Discovering tools for ethical decision making.

Old Testament Introduction

To apply the Old Testament for faith and practice
To form a basis for understanding the New Testament and the Ministry of Jesus.
To develop the Great Themes of the Old Testament and their relevance for New Testament interpretation.

New Testament Introduction

To understand the exegetical (historical grammatical literary cultural) context
To apply the New Testament for faith and practice
To form a basis for understanding the Gospels
To develop the Great Themes of the New Testament (found in the letters, prophecy, history) and their relevance for interpretation.

Preaching

This Course is designed to introduce and enable the student to construct an expository sermon based upon the skills of exegesis, the process of moving from biblical text to sermon manuscript. In addition, the student will gain experience explaining a biblical passage and delivering a biblical sermon without notes.
How the preacher hears the word and how that word is heard within the congregation

Theology

Explore the art and science of the biblical discipline in the discovery of God’s self revelation in a systematic way.

Suggestion: A paper needs to be written by the student that provides a systematic theology.

American Baptist History and Polity

To survey the major ideas, personalities and developments in Baptist life.
To understand the distinctives of Baptist in the greater Christian family
To gain in appreciation the unity and diversity of Baptists
To understand the dynamics and structure of the local church, associational life, the regional, and national bodies.
To understand the “call to ministry” within the Baptist family
To compare the worship models found in Baptist Churches
To compare the biblical model of the church to the present-day Baptist model
To briefly survey the major personalities and movements that have been present in Maine.

Suggestion: Have students bring their local church’s constitution and by-laws.

Church History

Discovery of doctrinal development (the story of people – their motivations, the issues they grapple with, and the decisions they make) and the importance history that brings to the pastorate.
Broad overview of the church and its development (Early church history, reformation history,) and American history, particularly in its American context.

Practice of Ministry

To develop a theology of ministerial practice and engage in the practice of ministry and skill development.

AIM American Baptist Churches of Maine Institute for Ministry