by Clem Boyd, Communication Content Manager
Christian elementary and secondary teachers have turned to Cedarville over the years for professional development, but now for the first time, they are able to earn continuing education units (CEUs) using videos from the university’s popular Old Testament (OT) Literature class.
In a recent agreement with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI), Cedarville University will offer OT Literature, one of Cedarville’s Bible minor classes, on video for no charge. These course videos can be watched for CEUs by teachers whose schools are ACSI members and subscribers to the platform.
ACSI is the largest Protestant educational organization in the world, with nearly 24,000 member schools in more than 100 countries serving 5.5 million students. Teachers will be able to view the OT Literature class videos beginning March 1 through ACSI’s ConNexus Premium Online course library, found at acsi.org under the Learning Portal tab.
Every Cedarville undergraduate earns a Bible minor as part of their degree program. The Bible minor is comprised of 15 hours of coursework in the following classes: The Bible and the Gospel, Old Testament Literature, New Testament Literature, Theology 1, and Theology 2. So far, Old Testament Literature, Theology 1, and Theology 2 are available for free in video format at cedarville.edu/bibleminorproject.
Dr. Chris Miller, senior professor of biblical studies, has been working with ACSI to make OT Literature available for CEUs.
“Dr. Phil Bassett, who is the former chair of the Cedarville education department, put me in touch with the right people at ACSI, and they were thrilled to partner with us,” Miller said. “It came about as an expression of our interest to provide education for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
This is Miller’s 40th year teaching the Old Testament. “I've loved the course as it has developed over the years, and it thrills me to share it with a broader audience for the edification of God's people,” he said. “We trust this will bless Christian teachers around the world, and even Christian K-12 Bible teachers who might be able to use these materials in their own ministries and classrooms.”
In addition to the videos, Miller’s written notes and PowerPoint files will also be made available by request. Each video will include a brief introduction to Cedarville and its programs.
To maintain their ACSI certification, teachers are required to earn CEUs related to their professional development, which includes teaching methods, classroom management, and content specific to the discipline they teach, i.e., English, math, social studies. They are also required to earn CEUs for their spiritual growth and development as well, which is where the OT Literature class comes in.
“This is an opportunity for our teachers to grow the biblical foundation of their own Christian faith, which will then inform the process of how they teach,” noted Sarah Loncar, ACSI learning and development manager. “Our teachers are a living curriculum for their students. We are confident the Lord will use the lessons Chris presents to impact our teachers and then to impact the students who are in their care.”
According to Loncar, the OT Literature videos will be available to ACSI teachers in the United States and worldwide. “We serve 20,000 teachers caring for 800,000 students in 3,500 global national schools,” she explained. “We will add Spanish subtitles to the OT Literature content and English captions to make the content easier to read and understand for those who have English as a second language.”
A number of ACSI teachers, especially those in international settings, have not engaged in biblical learning at a university, so this is a breakthrough opportunity. “To learn this content and build that biblical foundation is huge,” Loncar shared.
“Our primary goal is the edification of the universal body of believers and to share about Cedarville with people interested in Christian higher education,” commented Miller. “We're just making it that much easier to get high-quality content for Christian school teachers across the globe.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,550 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about Cedarville University, visit www.cedarville.edu.