Office of Contextual and Lifelong Learning
The Office of Contextual and Lifelong Learning’s (CALL) purpose and vision are clear: a faithful, healthy church for a just and flourishing world. From inspiration for next week’s sermon to training congregations, our seminary faculty are ready to train, equip, and serve alongside those in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) and beyond.
Contextual learning for degree programs
Contextual learning, or field education, is the space where theological knowledge flows to the heart and hands. We practice what we preach; we are intentional about reflection; and we grow in awareness of ourselves, our communities, and our cultural context for ministry. Integrated across all degree programs, our transformative learning model seeks to cultivate more holistically formed persons.
We discern our identity as pastors and leaders.
Explore the meaning of ordination, healthy vocational identities, ministry ethics, and the responsibilities and guidelines for licensed ministry, especially in the context of the ECC.
We develop intercultural agility.
Our individual and communal stories shape our meaning and values. We use experiential case studies and our Intercultural Development Inventory to self-assess and identify our goals and barriers to bridging differences.
We live what we learn.
Ministry fieldwork or internships in local church or ministry settings are integral to our curriculum. They aren’t just for those fresh out of undergraduate studies—both new and experienced ministers benefit from creating, testing, and applying conceptual coursework to lived experience. North Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) credits ministry per semester, and you can apply them toward either full- or part-time study.
We learn to care for those in need.
Clinical Pastoral Education is a structured training program for spiritual advisors, particularly in healthcare settings. We step into moments that stretch our pastoral skills, offering care for patients and families, and use an action-reflection model under chaplaincy supervision to learn and grow. This is required for Master of Divinity students and optional for other programs.
Association for Clinical Pastoral Education
We examine our entire journey.
Lifelong learning via non-degree programs
Popular non-degree-seeking options for alumni, pastors, leadership teams, or congregational members.
Course audits
Not looking for graduate credit? Anyone is welcome to audit courses at NPTS, available online and in the classroom. Explore new issues in intercultural ministry or refresh an interest in Biblical languages. The fee is discounted to $50 per credit hour.
Certificate in Spiritual Direction
Training in the practice of listening, discernment, and prayer in the Protestant tradition. The two-year cohort-based program is designed for both lay and ordained ministers called to this special ministry.
Training workshops for churches and leaders
These workshops are led by NPTS faculty and tailored to each church’s needs. Contact us to request a presenter.
English workshops
| Workshop title | Presenter | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Discovering Your Church Culture | Cheryl Alexander-Bermudez | This workshop will help you discover the culture within your church. |
| Experiencing God Through Old Testament Worship | Nathan Clayton | The Old Testament preserves a variety of musical worship experiences. In this workshop, we will explore how Old Testament music and song can enrich our Christian worship life. |
| Intercultural Development Group Workshop | Paul DeNeui | This workshop can include church leaders or entire congregations. Incorporates group activities, goal setting, and follow-up. |
| Listening Well: Gospel Communication | Michelle Dodson | This workshop focuses on listening well, challenging our assumptions about the other, and communicating from a place of humility. |
| Living Out the Psalms | Nathan Clayton | Can the psalms, which reflect a breadth of human emotional experiences, help us deal with stress and anxiety? In this workshop, we will learn how to expand our prayer language by engaging both the themes of individual psalms and the message of the whole Psalter. |
| The Parable of the Prodigal Son as New Testament Theology | Max Lee | This workshop features four seminars that cover the major tenets of New Testament theology through a biblical and theological interpretation of Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). The seminars include: “The Waiting Father (The Doctrine of God),” “The Far Country (The Doctrine of Sin),” “Coming Home (The Doctrine of Salvation),” and “The Older Prodigal (The Doctrine of the Church).” |
| Pastoral Care for Singles in Your Church | Elizabeth Pierre | The church sometimes forgets to minister to single adults. This workshop will help your congregation discover the joy of serving single adults. |
| Race and Place: How to Do Diversity in a Monoracial Context | Michelle Dodson | This workshop will help participants broaden their thinking about race and diversity in their contexts. It is geared toward racially homogenous congregations that understand the value of diversity but feel excluded from the conversation because their context is not racially diverse. |
| Sacramental Imagination | David Bjorlin | In many of our churches, we do the sacraments because Jesus told us to, but they often aren’t integrated into our understanding of worship or the world. In this workshop, we will discuss the meaning of the sacraments and how they can inform a sacramental imagination that sees all of God’s creation as a means by which God communicates love. |
| Serving Around the Globe | Paul DeNeui | This workshop covers the how and whys of ECC global service today with guest speakers. Anyone interested in global service with the ECC is welcome to attend. Includes taking the Intercultural Development Inventory. |
| Trauma Workshop | Elizabeth Pierre | This workshop will help your congregation minister to people who have experienced trauma. |
| We Were Created for Worship | David Bjorlin | In this introductory workshop, we will discuss why humans worship in the first place and the particular place of worship for Christians. This will include how worship connects to how we live with our neighbors in the world. |
| Who Are We and Why Is It Important? | Hauna Ondrey | Your history is Covenant history … will future generations be able to tell it? This session will share resources and best practices for preserving your congregation’s story through oral history and archival collections. |
| Who Is My Neighbor? | Paul DeNeui | By developing skills in cultural exegesis, participants will learn about the histories and cultures in their own regions of ministry, recognizing opportunities to partner with how God’s activity is already at work. |
| Worship: What’s Your Preference? | David Bjorlin | Too often, our churches have divided not over theological issues or divergent visions of mission, but over the style of the songs we sing. In this workshop, we will explore the many traditions of congregational song and the particular gifts each tradition can bring to the life of the church. |
Spanish workshops
| Workshop title | Presenter | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Comadrazgo En La Biblia y con La Biblia | Sophia A Magallanes | Este taller explora el tema del Comadrazgo (relaciones entre mujeres) en la Biblia pero también introduce un acercamiento exegético integrado y relacional a la Biblia. Juntos con el Espíritu Santo, desarrollaremos una fraternidad con los textos bíblicos mientras que analizamos las escrituras con herramientas académicas. |
| Desarrollo Intercultural en la Biblia | Cheryl Lynn Alexander-Bermudez | ¿Que es ser intercultural y como podemos aprender del testimonio en Scriptura? |
| Fundamentos de la hermenéutica bíblica | Armida Belmonte Stephens | ¿Cómo leemos la Biblia? Este taller presenta principios y métodos fundamentales para la interpretación bíblica con el fin de ser intérpretes fieles y responsables al servicio del reino de Dios? |
| Teología de la Iglesia del Pacto Evangélico | Armida Belmonte Stephens | Este taller se centra en los distintivos teológicos de la IPE como las enseñanzas de la salvación, los sacramentos, la misión integral de la iglesia, y la participación sin restricción de la mujer en el ministerio |
Staff Spotlight
Rev. Cheryl Alexander-Bermudez
Alexander-Bermudez is an ordained Covenant pastor at Church of the Good Shepherd in Joliet, Illinois, and CALL’s assistant director. She holds a Doctorate in Intercultural Studies from the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary and facilitates the Sankofa and Journey to Mosaic intercultural learning experiences.
CALL workshop inquiry form
Contact
Assistant Director of Contextual and Lifelong Learning Rev. Cheryl Alexander-Bermudez
Nyvall Hall, room 007
3225 W. Foster Ave.
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 244-5259
clcain@northpark.edu