Bachelor of Community Development
This Program is Designed for students concerned about implementing God’s justice for a world in need. With a strong biblical foundation, students will graduate with the practical and theoretical skills to make a global impact.
Program Format
On Campus or Online
Delivery Method
Flipped Classroom= Videos +
Podcasts +
Live Workshops
Course Length
8 Week Terms
4 Week Intensives
7 enroll periods a year
Program Length
127 Credits
4 Year Degree
Program Outcomes
Upon completion of the Bachelor of Community Development program, a graduate will be able to:
Explain the Great Commission within the context of the Old and New Testament
Design and implement a project that addresses a developing world issue in a culturally appropriate way.
Communicate cross-culturally in a foreign language at an intermediate level.
Demonstrate a specialized skill in a category of service
Understand approaches to design, implementation, and the evaluation of projects that meet the basic needs of communities in a cross-cultural context.
Identify their gifts and discern how to use them to benefit their community.
Pursue further studies in community development, missiology, or organization leadership at the graduate level.
Your Institute Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Community Development
Program Benefits
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100% of courses incorporate the Bible
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Personalized Advising
for Academics & Career -
3 Mission Experiences
in the developing world built into the curriculum -
100% of Alumni
graduated debt-free -
Customizable Professional Development (ProDev) path with stackable certificates and experiential learning
-
Guaranteed job placement
after graduation + ProDev completion
Graduate a Biblically-Grounded Development Expert
At The Institute, our mission is global impact. You can’t make one without understanding what God wants in the world and growing in the skills necessary to make it happen. Community Development means helping communities achieve the potential God created them for, aiding those without food, shelter, education, health care or work to experience the abundance God wants for all his children. It’s a complicated, highly skilled task and the “harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.”
In our program, you will gain a canonical overview of the Bible and in the process, gain a clearer understanding of your identity in Christ, God’s mission in the world, and your part within it. In our CommDev program, students learn a second language, theories of third world development, cultural sensitivity, sustainability, empowerment, global economics, policy creation, and more.
Students get equipped to make a real change and put it into immediate practice through regularly ministering to those in need in Nashville, and studying abroad on three separate occasions throughout their undergrad -- each one progressively adding more skill and responsibility to the mix.
On campus students connect their biblical education to professional development opportunities in Christian workplaces through our innovative ProDev partnership with Nashville’s Job Creation Group. This unique ProDev model is what allows our students to graduate with a full resume in a specific field of work, debt free, and with a guaranteed job offer.
Admissions
Our applications run year-round, with seven enroll periods a year. To get started, explore our admissions requirements.
The Institute Experience at a Glance
Weeks spent on
the mission field
20+
of alumni graduate debt-free
100%
guaranteed upon graduation
Job Offer
of alumni are still involved in ministry & missions 10+ years later
96%
Annual Educational Investment
First Year Student - On Campus
$27,830 Total Annual Cost
-$17,830 Average Aid Package
$10,000 Out of Pocket Cost
Total annual cost includes tuition, fees, housing and meals for an academic year. Mission experience pricing is separate. Students receive curricular assistance on fundraising for mission. 100% of our incoming freshmen receive scholarship aid. Learn what scholarships we offer here.
First Year Student - Online
$17,900 Total Annual Cost
-$7,250 Average Aid Package
$10,650 Out of Pocket Cost
Online students pay for tuition, fees, and books. If students are not full time, classes are billed at $575/unit before scholarships are applied. See what scholarships we offer here.
Testimonies
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Jordan on Outcomes
Our featured alumna and a family nurse practitioner, Jordan, testifies about the importance of knowing who you are before determining what you'll do to help a world in need. For Jordan, a biblical education was instrumental in that pursuit.
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President Garner on the Institute's Impact
Our Founder and President shares why he began The Institute for GOD and what contrast it brings to the typical Christian college. Our college is ready to help Jesus followers change the world. Are you ready?!
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![Mission Experiences]()
Amelia on Missions Training
A senior double majoring in Bible and Community Development with an occupational focus in film, Amelia explains The Institute’s missions training program that’s taken her on multiple trips to El Salvador and Uganda, and how it’s preparing her for a lifetime of service to the poor.
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Emily Marotta & Angelique Nibaruta on Community Service
Emily and Angel explain the community service opportunities that help students make a difference in Nashville. Angel, a refugee from The Congo, believed she could achieve a college degree because of the kind of love and service given to her family by Institute students and staff.
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Austin on the Flipped Classroom
Austin has a huge heart to serve people, but the academic environment wasn't necessarily his forte. He helps viewers understand The Institute's creative flipped classroom model and the availability of our faculty, which have helped him succeed.
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Gabby on Professional Development
Gabby explores our Professional Development (ProDev) program, our innovative approach to giving students experience in Christian workplaces while helping them to graduate without debt. Students here don't just think about what they'll do one day; they start doing it now!
Related Pages & Quick Links
Biblical Studies Course Requirements
General Education
(30 units)
COM225 Cross-Cultural Communications
MAT125 Math for Development Agents
BIO150 Intro to Public Health
ANT200 Cultural Anthropology PSY125 Psychology of Faith Development
ART225 Arts Elective
BLG300/1 Fundamentals of Hebrew/ Greek I
BLG325/6 Exegetical of Hebrew/Greek II
BLG350/1 Intermediate of Hebrew/Greek I
BLG375/6 Fundamentals of Hebrew/Greek II
MLG300 Foreign Language Acquisition I
MLG 325 Foreign Language Acquisition II
MLG 350 Foreign Language Acquisition III
MLG375 Foreign Language Acquisition IV
ENG100 College Composition
ENG175 Analytical Approaches to Literature
HIS100 History of Christianity: c. 30 - 312 CE
HIS125 History of Christianity: c. 313 - 476 CE (1.5)
*Biblical Studies and Community Development majors are both required to take six units of language credits. Biblical Studies majors choose between Hebrew & Greek.
Hebrew Scriptures
(36 units)
BIB 100 Exodus
BIB 125 Deuteronomy
BIB 150 Intro to Biblical Interpretation
BIB 200 Reading the TaNaK
BIB 250 I & II Samuel
BIB 251 The Psalms
BIB 275 The Psalms
BIB 276 The Philosophy of Qohelet
BIB 277 The Kings and Chronicles
BIB 300 Wisdom Literature
BIB 351 The Prophets I
BIB 375 The Prophets II
BIB 326 Jeremiah
BIB 301 Genesis: Protohistorical Narratives
BIB 325 Genesis: The Abraham Chronicles
Theology
(8.5 units)
THE 175 Theology of Human Sexuality
THE 250 Theology in Practice
THE 400 The Body of Christ: Vocation as Calling
THE 425 The Body of Christ: Prophetic Identity
THE 450 The Body of Christ: Apostolic Mission
THE 475 The Body of Christ
Ministry and Professional Skills
(18 units)
MIN 150 Mission Driven Service
MIN 175 Ministerial Skills
CD 200 Intro to Community Development
SKL 275 Professional Skills
SKL 352 Entrepreneurial Skills
MIN 300 Essential Experiences for Vocational Missions
MIN 325 Principles of Preaching
New Testament
(16.5 units)
BIB 225 Reading the Gospels
BIB 350 Intertestamental History
BIB 400 The Gospel of Luke
BIB 425 Luke/Acts
BIB 450 The Gospel of John
BIB 475 Johannine Literature
BIB 451 Romans: A Theological Manifesto
Occupational Focus
(15 units)
At the Institute for G.O.D. students choose an occupational focus that can be applied to either undergraduate degrees. These occupational focuses help students to graduate with the competencies necessary to engage the world, regardless of their occupational choices.
Electives (3 units)
A Biblical Studies major must take 3 units from a pool of upper-division courses.