Course Overview

This course is designed to guide the student through the pages of Scripture chronologically from Genesis through Revelation, to guide the student in developing and defending a Biblical missiology. The course is designed to help the student answer two overarching questions: (1) How does the Biblical narrative develop the theme of God on mission? (2) How does the Biblical narrative develop the theme of God’s people on mission? The student will interact with the Scriptures and various textbooks to develop a personal Biblical theology of missions. The course capstone project is to develop and defend a theology of missions from the Scriptures. As a result of completing this course, the student should be able to edify the church in her role as sending and discipling missionaries to go and make disciples of all nations. 3 credit hours

Textbooks

• Köstenberger, J.A. with T. Desmond Alexander. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove: 2020.
• Alexander, Desmond T. From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal Academic, 2009.
• Wright, Christopher, J.H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
  

Meet the Professor

Dr. Timothy Murdoch has earned his Doctor of Ministry from Liberty Baptist University. Prior to coming to ABC as the Missions Major Chair, he served in Africa as a church planter and university lecturer from February 2015 through February 2025. He and his wife Lisa served in West Africa (Ghana and Liberia as well as Togo) for just over two years, and Zambia for eight years. In Ghana he worked to see a college accredited as well as disciple local pastors in a church plant. In Liberia he served alongside missionaries to disciple local men for church leadership. In Zambia he served as a lecturer at Central Africa Baptist University, serving as the Dean of the Graduate School and lecturing in the undergraduate programs. Prior to his service in Africa, he served as a pastor for several years in the United States. Prior to this, he retired from the US Coast Guard after twenty years of service. He and his wife Lisa have been married for forty years, and now serve to disciple and counsel missionaries for the advancement of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Course Dates

• Course Work: April 6 – June 15, 2026
• On-Campus Dates: May 11–15, 2026

Course Overview

This course will use Grant Osborne’s modern classic, The Hermeneutical Spiral, to talk about all significant aspects of Bible interpretation, with a special emphasis on exegetical fallacies and the proper use of linguistics. Students will work through the whole process of interpretation and will read other advanced texts on Christian interpretation of Scripture. 3 credit hours

Textbooks

• Osborne, Grant R. The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. InterVarsity Press, 2006.
• Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically. Zondervan Academic, 2024.
• Augustine, Saint. Teaching Christianity (De Doctrine Christiana): The Works of St. Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century. Books, Parts 1–11. New City Press, 2013.
  

Meet the Professor

Dr. Mark Ward (PhD, Bob Jones University) is a video Bible teacher at Ward on Words who also teaches on RightNow Media and in assorted schools. He has written hundreds of Bible-nerdy articles for various publications; he is also the author of multiple books and textbooks including Basics for a Biblical Worldview (BJU Press, 2021), and Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible (Lexham Press, 2018). His next books are KJV Words You Don’t Know You Don’t Know and The Parallel King James New Testament, both forthcoming from Lexham Press.

Course Dates

• Course Work: July 7 – September 8, 2026
• On-Campus Dates: August 3–7, 2026