After three months "on the job" and a week in "ICU," the fog is starting to lift. It is true that God directs our steps, but it has been my experience that He does it - more often than not - one small step at a time! As I have been acclimating myself to Coeur d’Alene and Koinonia Institute, I now am able to see clearly two separate tracks, both worthwhile pursuits!
First, we have Louisiana Baptist University and a few other "partners" who have recently come alongside of KI and offered to work with us. This partnership allows the student who desires college credit to take courses with us at KI and apply them towards a degree program through LBU (and possibly others). The degrees include Bachelors, Masters and even Ph.D.s. I encourage anyone who is interested to follow up in this pursuit, especially with the skyrocketing costs of "continuing education." I think you will find the tuition here more than reasonable.
Secondly, we have found that a lot of people are interested in KI as a "stand alone" pursuit. For those of you who are interested, we have developed our own program that is consistent with our mission statement and our values. We have mapped out three different tracks, the third available only after being involved in the first two.
1. THE BEREAN: It is here that we focus on the expository (verse by verse) study of the Word of God. Each area has three separate levels of achievement. The first level of the Berean requires 30 units of credit. At the other end of the spectrum we will have a designation for when our student completes the entire Bible. Besides all the books of the Bible, we will also be offering a class on Hermeneutics, Hidden Codes, as well as credit for trips to the Holy Land. It is one thing to read about Israel, it’s quite another experience to walk it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—a trip to Israel can literally change your life! The foundation for this field of study is the text from Acts 17:11—the mission of KI is to turn Believers into Bereans!
2. THE ISSACHAR: I Chronicles 12:32 provides our Scriptural foundation for this field. Our goal here is to raise up "sons/daughters of Issachar" who understand the times that we are living in (in a prophetic sense) and what WE should be doing. We have also latched on to Benjamin Franklin’s quote as a foundation for this pursuit. Franklin’s quote being that a learned man should be "a jack of all trades and a master of ONE!" (Yes, this is the correct quote. He has been misquoted as saying "…a master of none.")
Our goal for "The Issachar" is for those students in this field to know a little about all of the "strategic trends" of our day. Our first level will require our students to know a little about everything. As one transcends from one level to another, he will refine his research to be a master of one! The end result could be an invitation to participate in a "think tank" that will produce publishable materials.
3. THE KOINONOS: For us, this last field has to do with ambassadorship and sending out (apostolos). A person in this field is "joined at the hip" with Koinonia House/Institute and will be our representatives in "Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth." Our desire for the future is to develop worldwide "partners" who share our passion and our vision!
As you can see, these programs are currently in the beginning phases but, as mentioned earlier, the fog is lifting and we are seeing things a bit more clearly. With this as a foundation, where does one begin?
First, a reminder that all of our courses carry with them the ability for "college credit," in other words a student in KI can pursue the Berean, Issachar and Koinonos and still be accumulating collegiate credit from LBU. We currently have ten courses and are adding a KI credit component for those going to Israel with us. We are also committed to developing more courses and have an aggressive plan in place, so keep connected with us to see what’s next. All of our courses are available anytime as "self study," plus we have recently added an "online" component. These online classes provide structure and interaction with other students and a facilitator, bringing the classroom environment into your studies. We are starting sign-ups for five new online classes scheduled to launch mid-January. We encourage you to sign up right away. The classes range from 8-10 weeks in duration. The January classes include: Learn the Bible in 24 Hours (OT); Revelation Part I; Prophecy 101; Hermeneutics 101, and the Book of Daniel. Again sign-ups are limited, so we encourage you to register at http://www.studycenter.com.
What’s the Cost?
- Registration for Koinonia Institute (one time only): $50.00
- Registration for Louisiana Baptist University (one time only) for those students seeking college credit: $50.00
- KI classes (online and self-study): $50.00 per course
- LBU degree credit: $75.00 per credit (KI class fee of $50 will be refunded when you apply for LBU college credit)
Other Costs
- Workbook: $14.95
- Course material costs depend on the format you choose (CD, MP3, or DVD)
Small Group Leadership Roundtables
Now on a different note, our recent Small Group Leadership Roundtable more than surpassed our expectations, so much so that we are currently scheduling our third one. We are starting to take sign-ups for what we will refer to as our Third Conclave, and we are circling the weekend of February 24 - 25 in Coeur d’Alene, ID. The event will begin Friday evening and go all day Saturday and conclude that night. (By the way, if you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, our Second Conclave will be held at the First Baptist Church of Melissa, TX on December 9 - 10.)
If you have any further questions about Koinonia Institute or the Small Group Leadership Roundtable Conclaves, please contact me at dan@khouse.org.
