The Certificate Program is appropriate for:

• Bi-vocational pastors
• Interested laypeople
• Candidates for ministry licensing
• Church leadership-development programs
• Deacons
• Elders
• Sunday School teachers
• Youth ministers
• Children’s ministers
• Continuing education in ministry

Program overview

The Lanier Certificate in Theology and Ministry consists of ten courses in Christian Scriptures, theology and ministry. Each course requires approximately ten contact hours with an instructor or instructors.  Courses are taught in a variety of modalities including face-to-face, online (using Zoom) and hybrid.  Generally, courses are taught in intensive (weekend or week long) seminars or in short semesters (6 weeks).  Intensive courses require some pre-work (reading) and post-work (writing).  In the short semesters all work must be completed by the end of the semester.

Intensive, weekend seminars

• Fridays & Saturdays plus 2-3 hours of online instruction by Mark Lanier
• Pre-work: some readings beginning two weeks before the seminar
• Post-work: a 1000 word paper submitted four weeks after the intensive weekend

Short semester

• Instruction (face-to-face or over Zoom) 1 hour week for 6 weeks
• 2-3 hours of online instruction by Mark Lanier
• Reading assignments of about 20-30 pages per week
• Short paper: a 1000 word paper submitted at the end of the semesters

No Grades.  Just the Goods.

• Faculty take time to read your work and give you feedback

Teachers of record with a Masters or PhD

The certificate program is not accredited and cannot be transferred to an accredited institution.  The value is in the learning itself.  When certificate requirements are completed, students receive a certificate designed by the staff at the Lanier Theological Library and Learning Center.