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Perspectives Study Program
Curriculum Change FAQ
Will classes using the Worldwide Perspectives text still be offered?
Yes, but beginning in 2003, these classes will no longer be considered part of the Perspectives Study Program.
Can a class using the Worldwide Perspectives text still be promoted as "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement" or simply "Perspectives"?
The names "Perspectives" or "Perspectives course" have been widely used, and at a popular level, have become synonymous with classes supported by and run in conjunction with the Perspectives Study Program. Through the end of 2002 the name "Perspectives" will refer to all classes that are run in conjunction with the Perspectives Study Program, regardless of the curriculum used in any given class.As of January 2003, classes using the Worldwide Perspectives curriculum should be promoted as "Worldwide Perspectives" classes, not as "Perspectives" classes. This will distinguish them from those that are run through the Perspectives Study Program.
There are two primary reasons for using a single curriculum within the Perspectives Study Program. One is to eliminate the confusion that resulted from having two unique curricula with different editors, different lesson structures, different styles and different emphases that were being promoted as the same class. The second is to clarify Perspectives' Core Ideas. With the major revision of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement curriculum in 1999, the distinctives between the two became more pronounced.
What relationship will these non-Perspectives Study Program classes have with the National Perspectives Office?
We will continue to encourage the development and use of resources for the broader "Perspectives Movement"* (beyond the Perspectives Study Program). A common desire and vision for both the Perspectives Study Program and the larger Movement is for churches and individuals to grow in awareness of and participation in the Great Commission. Yet the National Office will supervise and service only Perspectives classes that use the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement curriculum.* See final paragraph regarding the Perspectives Movement.
What is the National Office's role?
We will continue to act as a service center for Perspectives Study Program classes, which includes providing support, supervision and promotion for individual classes and regional networks that use the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement curriculum. We will also provide resources via the internet for instructors and coordinators. Coordinator resources in particular can be used both for Perspectives Study Program classes and as a benefit to the wider Movement of frontier mission mobilization efforts.
Will classes that are not affiliated with the National Office continue to be publicized in Mission Frontiers magazine and on the Perspectives website?
Beginning with spring 2003, there will be a distinction between classes that are operating in conjunction with the National Office and those that are not. We want non-affiliated classes to be promoted, and are looking at ways to create links from the Perspectives web site for these classes.Mission Frontiers magazine has undergone a revision that reduced its size, resulting in less space available. How that will impact classes other than Perspectives is not clear at this time.
Will the requirements or qualifications be changing for future coordinators?
Separate from the curriculum decision, the Executive Coordinator Council and the National Office have been partnering together on a sweeping revision of the Perspectives Coordinator Workshop (PCW) manual. Perspectives classes affiliated with the National Office, as well as classes using the Worldwide Perspectives curriculum, will benefit from this collaborative effort.Through the end of 2002, any certificate or credit alumnus from any class may attend a PCW and become certified to coordinate a Perspectives Study Program class. Beginning with workshops in Spring 2003, those who intend to host a Perspectives Study Program class, affiliated with the National Perspectives Office and network of classes, will need to successfully complete the Perspectives class using the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement curriculum. Alumni from classes that used the Worldwide Perspectives curriculum during or prior to 2002 will not be required to retake the class to become a coordinator after 2002.
What does the term Perspectives Study Program or "PSP" refer to?
The Perspectives Study Program, first called the Summer Institute of International Studies (SIIS), and later the Institute of International Studies (IIS), was established in 1974 and became the springboard for the U.S. Center for World Mission. The name Perspectives Study Program coincided with the creation of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement curriculum under the guidance of Steve Hawthorne as a reproducible extension version of the IIS curriculum.The Perspectives Study Program continues to be one of the most significant ministries of the U.S. Center for World Mission. It is operated by a network of coordinators and regional partnerships that offer Perspectives classes under the supervision of and in partnership with the National Perspectives Office.
What does the term "Perspectives Movement" refer to?
The Day of Discovery seminar, Perspectives Exposure, Perspectives on the World of Islam, Unveiling God's Glory, Vision for the Nations, Worldwide Perspectives, World Mission (aka "Lewis manuals"), and the Condensed World Mission Course are all part of the broader Perspectives Movement that was, in large part, birthed by the Perspectives Study Program. Each has the common theme of the "unreached peoples" message. But they connect people in different ways to God's heart for the nations.While these resources were inspired directly, or indirectly, by the Perspectives course or the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement curriculum, support for each comes from different sources. Both the ECC and the Perspectives Study Program actively encourage use of each of these resources.
It is also appropriate to recognize that what is known as the "Perspectives Movement" is part of a broader frontier mission movement that has been steadily growing over the last 30 years. The Perspectives course and other resources that have been inspired by it have played, and continue to play, a key part in this larger frontier mission movement.
June 25, 2002
Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Copyright 2000 U.S. Center for World Mission.
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