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North Central Jurisdiction United Methodist Church

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Native American Course of Study

 
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NACOS 2025 Sessions


NACOS 2025 Summer Sessions


NACOS 124: Transformative Leadership

Course Description:  TBA

Instructor: Michelle Oberwise Lacock

Online Sessions: June 16 - July 3rd, 2025

  • TBA

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NACOS 522: Theology in the Contemporary Church

Course Description:  This course covers significant individuals, movements, events, and theological developments from the nineteenth century to the present in light of GBHEM goals.

Class Prerequisite Courses: NACOS 100/200, 322 & 422

Instructor: Rev. Dr. Jerome R. (Jerry) DeVine

Online Sessions: June 16 - July 3rd, 2025

  • At the end of this course, Students will be able to:

    1. Explore the current theological situation with an eye to joining tradition and innovation and responding to the realities of our time. The Reformation is always reforming and we need a theology as lively as the world in which we live.

    2. Understand the origins and theological tenets of theological liberalism from the early

      19th century to the present, including its influence on ecumenism and process theology.

    3. Understand and distinguish reactions to liberalism, including Fundamentalism, and Neo‐Orthodoxy, and Evangelicalism. Also exploring current trends toward white Christian nationalism in the U.S.

    4. Understand the historical development and theology of the Holiness Movement, Pentecostalism, and the Charismatic Movement.

    5. Understand the origins and tenets of Liberation, Environmental, Feminist and Contextual Theologies

  • To give the student an awareness of the major themes that the Church dealt with in the modern era. To help the student to begin to grapple with “post-modern” Christianity. To aid the student in beginning to envision what the Church may look like in the 21st century. To have the student encounter non-Western expressions of Christianity. To invite the student to deepen their own theological development.

    1. Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology. 4th Edition. Daniel Migliore. Eerdmans Press. 2023

      Note: Additional required texts, reading and online sources will be in final syllabus.


NACOS 2025 Fall Sessions - Wesley Woods - Dowling, Michigan


These courses will be hybrid courses with both in person and zoom classes. Registration is now open. These classes will occur from September 21 - September 26, 2025.

NACOS 223: Worship and Sacraments

Class Sessions: September 22-23, 2025

Prerequisite Courses: NACOS 121 & 122

  • TBA

  • TBA

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NACOS 321 Bible III: Gospels

Class Sessions: September 22-23, 2025

Prerequisite Courses: NACOS 121, 122 & 221

  • TBA

  • TBA

  • TBA


NACOS 324: Preaching

Class Sessions: September 24-25, 2025

Prerequisite Courses: NACOS 121 & 122

  • TBA

  • TBA

  • TBA


NACOS 524: Theological Reflection/Practice of Ministry

Class Sessions: September 24-25, 2025

Prerequisite Courses: Students should have completed at least 16 courses to be eligible for this class

  • TBA

  • TBA

  • TBA


 

How to Sign Up for a NACOS Course

Step 1

Select Course(s) by clicking on the “Register” button(s). Each click will add a $75 registration fee to your Cart.

Step 2

Click on the Pay COS xxx Tuition button. A $300 Course Fee will be added to your Cart.

All students must have DS and Registrar approval signatures, even if they are returning students. Follow all instructions on the form.

Step 3

Go to the Cart and Checkout.*

*First time enrollee? Welcome! We need a little extra information about you.


If you have special circumstances that need to be considered, please click on the button below, fill out the form, and submit. 


Still Have Questions?

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History 

In response to needs identified by members of the West Michigan Indian Workers Conference, and a Racial Ethnic Task Force report of 1998, serious conversation about starting a Native American Course of Study was begun. Classes began in the Spring of 2003.

Content

The intent is to make pastoral training economically accessible, culturally interpreted, contextually relevant and communally comfortable for those attending the class. A typical course includes: Two four-day sessions, reading texts and preparing papers prior to class, interactive sessions with dialogue, field application and feedback that will include some written and oral work.

Who May Attend

Our mission is to educate and train Native American local pastors in the United Methodist Church. The school uniquely prepares students to work cross-culturally in a variety of settings. In addition to Native Americans, NACOS is open to pastors of all races/ethnicities serving Native American people within their congregations and communities, as well as those pastors responding to a call to work in Native American Ministries.

Accreditation

This school is an extension school of the Course of Study School of Ohio at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. It is under the accreditation of the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education, and has been approved as a national school, accredited for both the basic and advanced course of study. Although a course of study does not terminate in a degree, classes are accredited and can be applied toward a seminary degree.

An Extension of Methodist Theological School of Ohio 

A Course of Study Program Under the accreditation of the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education