Northstar Bible Institute Pastoral Ministries Class 101 and 201 Syllabus
Rev. Patrick Misener – Instructor
Course Objectives:
1. Help students reflect on God’s call to ministry and the cost factor in such a call.
2. Help students develop a basic understanding of the pressures and expectations that church
families will have built in to their view of the Pastor.
3. Help students develop basic skills related to ministries and leadership in church ministry.
Pastoral Methods – Class 101 - Spring Semester
This class will focus on the relational context of ministry within your church family. The class will begin by
addressing your personal call to ministry and how the Gospel is affecting your life personally at this time.
The class will also address ways in which you can affectively minister in the “nuts and bolts” of ministry.
We will address a pastor’s responsibilities related to office hours, sermon preparation, oversight of
worship, prayer, evangelism, weddings, funerals, visitation, personal evangelism, personal health,
technology’s dark side, and the administration of the ordinances of communion and baptism.
Pastoral Methods - Class 201 - Fall Semester
This class will focus on the leadership and administration skills needed in a local church setting. The
course will examine personal leadership skill development, casting vision, goal setting, working with
boards and committees, working with ministry teams, and development of leaders in your church, and the
management of changing and existing environments, and how to handle conflict within the church family.
Class Procedure and Format
1. Classes will follow a lecture-discussion format. Students will be expected to interact and dialogue
with the teacher and with one another.
2. The textbook for the class will be 7 PRACTICES OF EFFECTIVE MINISTRY by Andy Stanley,
Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones. Students will also need to bring a Bible. Students will need to
have read this book prior to Class 201. Other materials may be sent out by the instructor for
students to read or view. A brief 1 page report of such materials will be required.
3. Students will write a 8-10 page paper outlining how they will develop their personal pastoral
leadership skills as well as implementing a long-term vision for a local church family. Students will
also need to clearly explain how they arrived at their decisions in both these areas.
4. A final exam will be given during the final class session. The class grade will be based on the final
paper (50%); final exam (35%); and class attendance and participation (15%).
a. The final exam will cover the textbook and the 7 areas of ministry that the book covers.
Class Schedule for Class 101 and Class 201
All classes will be held at North Star Office & Ministry Center, 2221 1st Avenue, Hibbing, MN.
CLASS 101 – April 10-12



Thursday night 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Friday night 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. Lunch will be served.
CLASS 201 - October 16-18



Thursday night 6:30-9:00 pm
Friday night 6:30-9:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Lunch will be served.
o Final exam will take place on Saturday afternoon.
o Information related to final paper will be handed out on Saturday. Students will be given
until Saturday, Nov. 15 to finish paper and send it to Patrick Misener. You can see
information below related to ways to contact Rev. Misener.
o Final grades will be sent out by Dec. 1.
Patrick Misener can be reached for personal input in the following ways:
Email: impreacherman@yahoo.com
Phone: 320-310-8877
Mail: P.O. Box 563, Crosslake, MN 56442
PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT REV. PATRICK MISENER
Rev. Misener graduated from Crown College in 1978 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology, and a B.A. in
Communications. He has been a licensed pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance for 33 years.
During that time he has pastored four churches in Minnesota. In 2007 Rev. Misener and his wife Judy
founded Smile Again Ministries (SAM). SAM has a retreat center located in Crosslake, MN where families
who have had a child die can come for 3-5 night stays. During their stay, parents and surviving siblings
receive counseling related to their grief and the struggles that follow the death of a child/sibling. SAM’s
website is www.smileagainministries.com
Rev. Misener also does Interim Pastoral ministry now. He has served in five church families between
2008 and 2014. His latest ministry was at the Nashwauk Alliance Church in Nashwauk, MN.
Rev. Misener and his wife Judy have been married for 42 years. They have three children and five
grandchildren. Their middle child, Michelle, died from heart disease when she was 13.