Tuesday, April 18, 2006 

Martin Methodist College/United Methodist Communication Christian Communications Ministry Institute--Application Deadline May 5

The Christian Communications Ministry Institute (CCMI) is a cooperative project of the Committee on Certification in Christian Communication and Martin Methodist College. This Institute’s purpose is two-fold:

The first purpose is to enhance the skills of people who are serving in communications ministry with little or no professional training in communications and/or United Methodism.

Secondly, by successfully completing two sessions of the Institute, people with an interest in earning certification in Christian communication can meet the academic requirements for this professional ministry credential. Remember, the Institute is one of several routes available for meeting the academic requirements for certification in Christian communications.

Enrollment is not limited to people who are pursuing certification, but it is open to anyone wishing to enhance their skills as a communicator in The United Methodist Church.

To complete the Institute, students will attend one-weeklong summer course in each of two years on the Martin Methodist campus. Students will also be required to complete pre- and post-summer course assignments that will include e-mail discussion.

Three courses will be offered each year and students may begin with either Year A or Year B. Year A on campus will be July 9-14, 2006 (pre-work will begin in May).

Credit and Grading

The on-campus class time for the mass communications courses will be 15 contact hours and 75 hours for the United Methodist studies. The pre- and post-class work will be equal to 15 contact hours total per course (7.5 hours for the United Methodist studies). Students will earn 3 continuing education units (CEU) for each of the mass communications courses and 15 CEU for each component of United Methodist studies. Grading will be pass/fail.

Students successfully completing both Year and Year B will have met the academic requirements for Certification in Christian Communications. Communicators with extensive experience or degrees in mass communications and/or theological studies may want to consider other routes for meeting these requirements.

Cost is $765 per term ($255 per course including a $55 registration fee). Payments must be sent with the completed registration form to the Center for Church Leadership at Martin Methodist College by May 5. After the deadline, a total late fee of $10 will be charged. Much fuller information can be obtained from the Martin Methodist website at www.martinmethodist.edu/ccl/education/ccmi

Instructors for Year A (2006) will be:

Cecile Holmes. After many years as religion reporter and editor for the Houston Chronicle, she is now on the journalism/mass communications faculty at the University of South Carolina. Cecile taught the Communications Theory course in last year’s Institute. This year she will be the instructor for Writing for Print and Mass Media.

Dr. Domenic Nigrelli will teach the United Methodist Studies (Polity). Dr. Nigrelli is the Director of the Center for Church Leadership at Martin Methodist College.

Douglas Cannon will be teaching Legal and Ethical Issues for Religious Communicators. This course will focus on campaign planning, selecting media, and evaluating the results and other business aspects of using advertising to communicate your message.

For questions directly related to institute, please contact Mrs. Tina McGill, Executive Assistant, Center for Church Leadership. tmcgill@martinmethodist.edu or call 931-363-9898. For more general information or questions related to certification please contact Kathy Noble at knoble@tncom.org 615-742-5441