IFDC1930 – Culture Matters: Understanding Cultural Identity in Mission

Quick Info:

Number of weeks: 6

Price: $125

CEUs: 3.0

Required books?: Yes

Live video session?: Yes, required

Part of a certification or series of courses?: Yes

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As diversity continues to move from “out there,” to “right here,” this course is critical to understanding what defines culture and how it shapes who we are and what we believe about each other. Our identities are often defined and refined by the cultures we experience. Before we move into a cross-cultural mission experience of any type, it’s critical that we understand how we define culture and what are the expectations and assumptions each cultural lens brings to a mission-oriented relationship. Examining these contexts help us become more in tune and deliberate about our mission experience.

Learners are required to obtain this book for the class:

Crossing Boundaries: Sharing God’s Good News through Mission by David W. Scott

The live sessions for this course are required.  These will be held on Thursday evenings at 7:00 pm Eastern time/ 6:00 pm Central for the duration of the six weeks.

This course is eligible for 3.0 CEU.

Pre-requisites for this class are IFDC1910 & IFDC1920

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About the Instructor

Rev. Dr. Amy Valdez Barker has had a full life experience in mission and ministry over the past two decades. As the former Executive Director of the Global Mission Connections Unit at Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, she has had the opportunity to travel and meet incredible people all over the world. She was responsible for leading the five regional offices and the two global offices in Leadership Development and Scholarships as well as the UN Office. Prior to that she served as the Chief Connectional Ministries Officer for the Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church. She saw the inside and outside development of the church bureaucracy at it’s best and it’s worst. This experience became the basis of her book on TRUST. Recognizing that TRUST is an essential value of the Christian faith, Dr. Valdez Barker ventured to explore, research and discover where TRUST has helped churches thrive and grow and where the lack of TRUST has contributed to failures in church systems. Join her as she shares what she has learned in hopes that we can all learn to TRUST God and TRUST each other more.