Certificate in Apologetics at 4C Ministries Institute

Embark on a journey of intellectual and spiritual discovery with an Apologetics Certificate Program

NationsUniversity, in partnership with 4C Ministry Institute, is offering NU students the opportunity to study apologetics. The 4C Ministry Institute offers a Certificate in Apologetics that can now be transferred to NationsUniversity for fifteen (15) undergraduate credits towards a Bachelor of Religious Studies (B.R.S.) degree. Upon successful completion of the Certificate in Apologetics, all five courses can be applied to a B.R.S. student’s general or religious electives and, in some cases, some may be applied to general education requirements.

If you are a current undergraduate student, write to your advisor to determine if these courses will fit into your remaining B.R.S. requirements.

If you are a former undergraduate student or a graduate student at NationsU, you cannot receive credit for the courses at NationsU, but you can still take advantage of the excellent training offered by 4C Ministry Institute without tuition or fees.

General Requirements

Courses taken at 4C Ministries to complete the requirements of the Certificate in Apologetics will transfer to NationsU and be applied to the appropriate category of courses as indicated in the Program Articulation Agreement below.
Consistent with NationsU’s Transfer Credit Policy, a 4C Ministry student must earn a grade of 70% (or a letter grade of “C”) on each course seeking to be transferred to NationsU. A maximum of 15 credits will transfer from the Certificate in Apologetics offered by 4C Ministries.
Students wishing to complete the 4C Ministry’s Certificate must apply directly with 4C Ministry Institute using the link below and are responsible for completing all admission requirements for their institution.
The 4C Ministry program is asynchronous, but it is not on rolling enrollments. 4C Ministry has two terms per year beginning in January and September. This means you must apply in time to begin at the start of a term, and it means that it could take up to 18 months to complete the certificate.
Per 4C Ministry’s admission policy, you must pass the first course, APO 250 Introduction to Apologetics, before moving on to the other courses.

Admissions to NationsU

For students not currently admitted to NationsU, we offer open admission to all students holding the appropriate secondary school credentials. Students for whom English is not the primary language must show evidence of English proficiency. Students wishing to matriculate to NationsU should contact the Registrar’s Office or may apply directly on NationsU’s website.

Students may be concurrently enrolled at both institutions, but credit for courses completed with 4C Ministries will only be transferred upon completion of the Certificate in Apologetics with the appropriate grades on individual courses.

In addition to courses at 4C Ministries, students wishing to complete a degree at NationsU must take a minimum of 30 credit hours at NationsU to earn a bachelor’s degree, including the undergraduate foundation courses BRS 100, BRS 121, BRS 122, BRS 123, BRS 124, BRS 125, and BRS 126. NationsU requires a minimum of 120 credit hours to attain a bachelor’s degree. Students must satisfy all general education, graduation and major requirements as outlined in the NationsU Catalog.

PROGRAM

The following details the transfer equivalencies anticipated by students earning the Certificate in Apologetics at 4C Ministries and transferring to NationsU in pursuit of the Bachelor of Religious Studies. Where noted, category equivalencies, general education and major applicability are indicated.

4C Ministry Course Title and NationsU Course Category and Credits

APO 250	Intro to Apologetics	Religious Elective, General Elective	3 Credits
APO 255	God, the Bible, and the Resurrection	Religious Elective, General Elective	3 Credits
APO 360	Knowledge, Language, and Rhetoric	Religious Elective, General Elective, General Education (COM)	3 Credits
APO 450	Apologetics and Culture	Religious Elective, General Elective, General Education (HUM)	3 Credits
APO 455	Religion and Science	Religious Elective, General Elective	3 Credits

Program Learning Objectives

Identify and intelligently describe key claims related to Christian faith.
Recognize common objections to Christian faith along with their basic critiques, rationales, and implications.
Understand basic philosophical, scientific, theological, and sociological evidence for Christian faith and or responses to objections.
Show competence in intelligently, compellingly, respectfully, and humbly articulating evidence for Christian faith, including the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and the resurrection of Jesus.
Understand how and why the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and the resurrection of Jesus are particularly important to the Christian faith.
Recognize common objections to God, the Bible, and the resurrection, along with their basic critiques, rationales, and implications.
Encounter (Engage) philosophical, scientific, theological, and sociological evidence for the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and the resurrection of Jesus.
Be introduced to epistemology and its relationship to the Christian faith.
Know the processes and criteria that can be applied to distinguish truth from opinion.
Recognize the range of factors that influence the relationship between language and meaning.
Understand the basic rules, strategies, and tools associated with rhetoric.
Understand the definition of culture and various ways it is codified and expressed in society.
Be introduced to historical examples of how the Church has interacted with external culture.
Understand the importance of worldview and its relationship to culture.
Recognize key elements that comprise culture and how they influence perceptions of the Church, morality, and Christian faith.
Be introduced to the ways the Church has historically engaged with and responded to scientific method, curiosity, and discovery.
Recognize the capacities and limitations of science and faith as they claim to establish and convey truth.
Understand basic challenges to Christian faith that are commonly associated with physics, cosmology, quantum mechanics, geology, evolutionary biology, etc.
Encounter ethical considerations that arise when faith intersects science and scientific advances.
Demonstrate the ability to apply all course topics to personal evangelism.