University to offer Christian ministry certificate to non-religion majors

By Chuck Gordon

In an effort to better serve religious-minded students who are not majoring in religion, the Department of Religion and Philosophy will soon offer a Christian ministry certificate. The program begins next semester and consists of five three-credit-hour classes, one of which is an internship.

Adjunct faculty member Sarah Blackwell got the idea for the certificate while teaching her Bible Beyond Borders class.

"What I started to notice was that we had a lot of students who were very active in their faith communities, serving as Bible-study leaders, working with their youth group, helping with the music," she says. "I got to thinking, We're not seeing these kids in the religion department. We're not serving them, what their needs are."

Sarah Blackwell

She and Dr. Cathy Wright, professor of religion and philosophy, are spearheading the effort. They say the certificate is aimed at students who might want to work part time in a church or for a faith-based nonprofit one day.

Blackwell says the certificate will be especially appealing to music, education and nursing majors, though it is open to any student who "just knows that the church is going to be part of their life moving forward."

Students will take Religion 110: Bible Beyond Borders; Religion 225: Foundations of Christian Ministry; Religion 330: Foundations of Christian Theology; a ministry-work elective; and Religion 405: Ministry Internship.

Wright says that in addition to the University's recent increased focus on vocation and purpose, faith-based organizations in the local community have been clamoring for part-time workers.

"We were hearing over and over again, 'Do you have anyone who could fill a part-time role in the evening for X, Y and Z?'" she says. "Churches are more apt to hire part time, and students might not be looking for a full-time religion degree, but they want the skillset to be successful at the ministry that they're being called to."

Blackwell and Wright hope to get eight to 10 students signed up initially, and they emphasize that the cohort component should be a draw, saying that the networking aspect will be helpful to students once they're in the field.

Cathy Wright

"What happens to these people who get pulled into these church positions is that they have no network," Blackwell says. "We want to give them that networking here, where it's like, 'I know that you're doing youth and I'm doing youth. What are you finding that's good?' Or 'What are you seeing that's challenging youth?'"

"When they become alumni, they'll have their networks of support in ministry, because you can't do ministry without those," Wright says. "You just really can't."

Because the program includes an experiential-learning component, students will walk away with a portfolio of work that will help them land a part-time role in ministry.

"A lot of times when you're hiring in a local church, one of the questions you might ask somebody is, 'What's your theology of ministry?'" Blackwell says. "'Oh, I've got it here.' And then they say, 'Come teach a sample lesson for us for our youth,' and they can say, 'Oh, I've got one here.'"

Internships could be with a church, a faith-based nonprofit (such as a food pantry), a summer camp or a sports ministry.

"Churches are the go-to, but it's not necessarily the end trajectory for our students," Wright says.

A Lyceum to be held Oct. 15 will provide more details and will feature guest speakers who are in ministry. The event will be at 5 p.m. in Hayes 209.

Interested in earning a Christian ministry certificate from Wingate University? Email Cathy Wright or Sarah Blackwell, or learn more on the website.

Sept. 25, 2026