PBU University Ministry Center - Student Ministries

Student Ministries

Finding the ministry that fits your giftedness and passions is a critical priority of the University Ministry Center. Believing that your academic learning is enhanced through a weekly ministry, we want to be sure that the ministry location you are serving in expands your mind and challenges your heart. With that in mind, we have created a number of ministry resources that will assist you in locating the ministry location God has for you. We offer individual counseling, ministry preparedness assessment, ministry information, ministry connections with specific contact information and other services. Please stop by our office as we exist to serve you!

The Value of Your Ministry!

To help achieve the mission of the University, all traditional baccalaureate students are required to participate in the Student Ministries program designed to integrate students’ classroom experience with church-related and professional ministry experience. Its primary purposes are to provide opportunities for students to integrate, enhance, utilize, and apply what they are learning in their course work, and in the process, to develop their leadership skills and develop a heart and passion for ministry! In an effort to achieve maximum personal, spiritual, and ministry formation, all baccalaureate students will be expected to fulfill a plan of student ministry experiences during the course of their study at PBU, that will enable them:

To share the Word of God with believers and unbelievers and have a confidence of the Gospel
To participate in outreach ministries to the community
To cultivate a deep passion for a lifetime of ministry service
To serve in the ministry of a local church
To gain expertise and promote biblical integration in the area of their professional specialization at PBU
To use their specific giftedness to further the Kingdom of God and have opportunity to share their faith with others
To develop creative ministry opportunities on campus and in the community that meet the changing dynamics of the culture around them

While some student ministries may not include all of these experiences, the objective is to accomplish as many as possible each semester and all in their course of study at PBU.

Requirements

All students are required to register for a ministry experience for each semester they are enrolled for seven credits or more through the University Ministry Center located next to the Office of Student Life.
Student ministry experiences during the Fall and Spring semesters require involvement of 3-5 hours per week for a minimum of 12 weeks for each semester.
All students involved in a student ministry must read and sign a KidSafe form. KidSafe is a ministry program that ensures all students understand and implement a ministry protocol when working in ministry with people under the age of 18. This is required of all students regardless of their ministry assignment and need only be filled out once during their time at PBU.

Ministry experiences may not be completed in advance of a semester.

Local Church Requirement

For a minimum of two semesters, a student’s ministry experience must involve a teaching and sharing ministry with people of various age levels and spiritual needs in a local church setting. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in these ministries in their first two years at PBU.

Students must complete the required church ministry to graduate. Other types of ministry will not substitute for this requirement. It must be local church-based ministry!

Exemptions/ Credit Received

Students who complete satisfactorily Student’s Life and Calling will receive Student Ministry credit for the semester.

Students who transfer into the University will receive an exemption for their first semester at Philadelphia Biblical University but will be required to attend one of the Student Ministry preparation sessions held throughout the semester of exemption. Transfer students will then be required to fulfill a student ministry experience for their remaining semesters at PBU and a minimum of one semester in the local church.

Students who enter the University as a new student in a Spring semester will receive an exemption for their first semester at Philadelphia Biblical University but will be required to attend one of the Student Ministry preparation sessions held throughout the semester of exemption. Students will then be required to fulfill a student ministry experience for their remaining semesters at PBU.

On-Campus Ministry

Student ministry experiences require students to integrate what they are learning in their course work into ministry with people. It is the goal of the University Ministry Center to see students involved in ministry that is off-campus. A student at PBU may only use two semesters of on-campus ministry as a fulfillment of their student ministry experience. The remaining semesters of ministry must be off-campus. Exceptions will be granted by the University Chaplain on an individual basis. Students under the direction of Student Life or the School of Music and Performing Arts will be granted credit for 4 semesters of on-campus ministry.

Other Ministry

Professional Program Ministry: Upperclassman ministries may include student internships, field placement, student teaching assignments, and other community services prescribed by a student’s professional program and supervised by the program faculty in cooperation with the University Ministry Center. Upperclass students not involved in a ministry prescribed by their PBU professional program will be directly responsible to the University Ministry Center.

Creative Ministry Experience: Over the course of a student’s education at PBU, unique ministry opportunities become available that do not fit the current criteria for student ministries. It is our hope that students would have the ability to use these creative ministry experiences for one semester of their student ministry requirement and the Glory of God! These ministries may have a unique ministry aspect that can be of great benefit to the student. Examples of these ministries would include serving at a weekend retreat, coaching or instructing in the area of athletics or music or some creative on-campus ministry options. Students will be responsible for the same paperwork for this semester of creative ministry.

Reporting Procedures and Grading

Student ministry experiences are arranged through, and approved by, the University Ministry Center and require a ministry mentor and a completed Ministry Covenant for each semester. Ministry Covenants are due at the end of the third full week of each semester. All Ministry Covenants handed in after the third full week will be assessed a $10 late fee. Ministry Covenants will not be accepted after the 6th week of the semester.
Students will be assessed by their mentor and a grade of “S” or “U” will be recorded on the student’s academic transcript. No grade will be recorded if the mentor’s evaluation of the student’s ministry is not returned. This grade will be changed when the evaluation form is received. Students may not graduate with a grade of “U” or “NR” in any semester.
Students who compile two unsatisfactory grades may not be permitted to register for classes until a resolution of the problem has been achieved with the University Chaplain. In extreme cases, the student will be dismissed from the University. A student may participate in two ministries during a semester or perform a summer ministry in order to make up an unsatisfactory grade from a previous semester. In order to graduate from PBU, all unsatisfactory grades must be rectified. A student with two unsatisfactory grades will not be eligible for Honor Roll and Dean’s List.
The University Ministry Center has ministry make-up packets available at the start of each semester and in the summer for students that need to make-up a ministry from a previous semester. These make-up packets can be obtained in the University Ministry Center.
In the event that a student is under disciplinary action, the University Chaplain will create an in-house ministry program for that student until that student is ready to serve.