No matter where you are in your spiritual journey (from doubts to confidence), Summer of Theology exists to help students strengthen their spiritual core.
A 10-week interactive experience to help you grow in your understanding and application of God and His word.
Have you ever wanted to learn more about WHY Christians believe what they believe? As a follower of Jesus, would you like to know the Bible better sharpen your theology? Would you like an intentional way to grow in your faith this summer while working at your internship, UROP or other summer job? Theology for Students is for you! It is a great opportunity to sharpen and bring depth to your relationship with God through the study of God’s Word. Read more below to learn more..
Summer of Theology is a ten week experience happening during the summer that strengthens a participant’s spiritual core. Summer of Theology exists to equip students to become spiritual leaders who are better equipped to make a difference in the world. Using Cru’s interactive web-based tool called Core Doctrine, coaches will guide students through an interactive course that surveys the breadth and depth of Christian beliefs and they’ll get to do it in community by meeting weekly (online) with other students. Students from around the country will be participating. MIT students can be put in a group together. For questions, contact Chris.Swanson@cru.org
The Details:
When does it start? You can choose between 2 sessions. Both are the same content. These are the projected dates.
Session 1 (Early Session) will run from the week of May 20 – August 2, 2024 - Sign up by May 5th
Session 2 (Late Session) will run from the week of June 10 – August 16, 2024 - Sign up by May 27th
How much does it cost?
$20, though we will reimburse you or scholarship your cost if you can’t afford to pay. Please email Chris.Swanson@cru.org to get more info about this option.
Time Commitment:
To get the most out of this course, we anticipate individual work on the content to require 2-3 hours per week of individual preparation and study. In addition, the coaching groups will last an hour each week. The entire duration of Theology for Students is 10 weeks.
How does someone sign up?
Follow the instructions below. Currently, the official registration link is not working, so for now fill out this form and we’ll send you the official registration link when it is working.
Fill out this form by May 27th if you want to participate in
Session 2: June 10-August 16
What previous MIT student participants have said:
“The Summer of Theology helped me to understand more of the beauty of God and of the gospel, and to truly apply it to my life. Talking through various theological topics in our small group made me more confident in talking about my faith to others, and also gave me more biblical insights I hadn’t thought about before.”
”Through the Summer of Theology, I came to realize that although I called myself a Christian, I hadn’t ever given my life to Christ. I was still living for myself, and I now recognize I was lukewarm. By the end of the summer, I came to a place of telling God “not my will, but yours be done,” and I know I was changed!”
“I loved my experience with Summer of Theology! The Summer of Theology modules were very interesting and engaging to go through, and they truly helped me understand why we believe what we believe as Christians. I felt like I came away equipped with more understanding of God and His Word. Not only did I learn a lot, but it was nice to get to meet with other college students and a Cru mentor on a weekly basis to discuss the content with one another. The time commitment was very manageable along with my other summer obligations. I highly recommend Summer of Theology to anyone who is looking to dig deeper into our beliefs as Christians.”
“The content was biblical sound and saturated with gospel truth. The videos and additional articles were exceptional.”
“Learning more than I ever imagined I would learn and learning how much more information is out there that I did not even know existed.”
“I love how everything was broken down and there were TONS of references to back up what is being taught.”
Desired Outcomes:
That participants gain a greater motivation to know, love and worship the triune God and reflect God’s character as an image-bearer.
That participants gain a greater confidence in the Scriptures as the Word of God and final authority shaping their lives.
That participants experience a deepening understanding of and commitment to the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.
That participants discover that Christian theology isn’t just about right beliefs (orthodoxy - Side A) but also right practice (orthopraxy - Side B)
That participants grow in their capacity to relate the foundational doctrines of Scripture to personal growth, evangelism, discipleship, movement-launching, cross-cultural mission.
That participants’ deeper understanding overflows into a greater motivation to share the gospel of grace.
That meaningful relational connections be made between staff/volunteer coaches and student participants.
An Overview of the Course:
The Curriculum is 10 modules. Each module should only require about 45-60 minutes to complete.
The platform and content is highly interactive with questions to answer and opportunities to journal.
It presents information in a variety of compelling ways – Interviews, short sermon clips, songs, shows, and movie clips make the material come to life.
The Course is built to be experienced in community with their peers and their coach.
The Coaching Element
As students work through course, they interact with the material in a few different ways. They are able to take notes on any section and questions are sprinkled throughout each module. Then each week, students will jump on a video call with their coach and the rest of their coaching group (we ususally request the MIT students be grouped together). This is a place for them to dig deeper into the content of Core Doctrine and learn from each other as they seek to apply the content to their real lives.
The Content: The course gives students a foundation for ministry – it covers the very same topics that Cru Staff get when they go through New Staff Training and lays a foundation for Bible saturated, gospel-centered ministry by covering topics like:
Doctrine Overview
God’s Word
Nature of God
Christ
Humanity
Redemption
Sanctification
The Church
Eschatology / End Times
The Great Commission
Rooted in the Scriptures: The course provides hundreds of Scripture references for participants to access and refer back to as they live out their calling as multiplying disciples.