A Note from Dr. Williams, Vice President of Ministry Affairs
Mission—Our Purpose
You will continually
hear that the mission of Northland is “preparing servant-leaders for
Great Commission living.” It is a college born out of the burden to
influence and shape young lives for service to God. It continues with
that same focus today. At the heart of that service is the local church
ministry. Our desire is to help prepare leaders for today and tomorrow
in local churches here and around the world.
Message—Our Presence
Many people use the word heart
when describing the atmosphere at Northland. As we seek to prepare
leaders for service, the heart is the key. At Northland, we are
committed to helping one another crucify the flesh and submit our lives
in obedience to God and His Word. We intentionally strive to be a place
where worldly behaviors and attitudes stand out as abnormal and where
peer pressure is godly rather than worldly.
As we seek to prepare
leaders for service, pastors are key to us. Our desire is to send
disciples back to you with more purpose and more preparation for
ministry. Pastors are important to us. It is from churches like yours
that our students come. Our desire is to communicate with you,
fellowship with you, and partner with you as we seek to make disciples.
But not only that, many of us in administration here at Northland
either have been or currently are pastors. As an institution of higher
learning with so many incredible resources at our disposal, we desire
to provide services that will uplift pastors and strengthen the local
church.
Ministry—Our Plan
Dr. Sam Horn articulated well our plan for discipling our students in a Heart
article some years ago. “It was because of this philosophy and heart
for students that I was drawn to Northland. I can say that even
now—after changes in faculty and staff, changes in name, and changes in
student body—this philosophy remains unchanged.” He writes:
How
has Northland accomplished the mission of raising up a generation of
servant-leaders, an army of dedicated soldiers abandoned to the cause
of Christ and stationed around the world for over thirty years? The
answer is found in our seal. The Northland seal articulates four values
that make up the how’s of successful Christian living. Without these
life values, no believer will be successful as a soldier of Jesus
Christ. These four values are honesty (being transparent with God and appropriately transparent with others about my life), obedience
(doing what I should do, when I should do it, in the way it should be
done, with the right heart attitude toward the authority asking me to
do it), wisdom (the skill, ability, or insight gained daily from God's Word necessary for living a life that honors and glorifies God), and service (investing my life, time, talents, and treasure for the glory of God and the good of others). Read more...
Ministry—Our Partnering with You
We
seek to offer helps to you as pastors as we partner with you in this
discipleship process. Whether you are seeking to continue your
education, connect with other pastors of like faith, or simply receive
encouragement and refreshment, we hope to provide something for you.
On-going training: Classes are available through Northland Graduate School and Northland Online.
On-going
ministry: Take advantage of the energy and enthusiasm of Northland
students in your church ministry and at the same time disciple them as
they learn from your experience in ministry.
For those closer to us, students may become involved in a regular extension ministry at your church. (Read more here.)
For
those farther away, there are a variety of ways that students become
involved in local church ministries around the world—through
internships, student teaching, study abroad programs, and more. E-mail
the office of Ministry Affairs to find out if there is some way that you
can get involved in the training of future servant-leaders.
On-going
inspiration: Listen to chapel messages at home or in your office. I
remember visiting Northland as a parent and sitting in chapel thinking,
"My children get to hear this every day!" Now, you can too. Click here to access Northland's chapel messages.
I
have the privilege of directing our office of Ministry Affairs where I am
able to make that connection between Northland and pastors as well as
between our students and the ministries they are involved in. Please
contact me or one of my office staff if you have any questions about
how we can be of service to you. You can e-mail or call 715.324.6900, ext. 1650. We would love to hear from you!