Mission Georgia Master's Commission

	WHAT IS MISSION GEORGIA MASTER'S COMMISSION? Mission Georgia Master's Commission School of Emerging Missional Leadership is a one-year residential collegiate discipleship, ministry, and leadership training program. It is designed to equip and train students to engage in culture and influence the world for Christ. The Mission is a total lifestyle commitment for the Christian disciple seeking hands-on ministry preparation and intensive ministry training. Daily classroom instruction and Bible training are immediately applied in ministry, youth ministry, residential shelters, retreats, mission trips, evangelism, personal mentoring, children's ministry, school assemblies, community outreaches, musical and drama productions, and so much more!
	WHAT CAN MISSION GEORGIA MASTER'S COMMISSION OFFER? Mission Georgia Master's Commission provides a balance of discipleship training and evangelism opportunities through practical daily involvement. During their year, students will participate in structured classes on the Bible, Christian doctrine, leadership, communication, and public speaking. They will memorize Scripture and gain a working understanding of the Bible while developing skills for effective evangelism, ministry, leadership, and discipleship in the post-modern cultural context. Students are eligible to earn 24 hours of optional college credit each year through Truett-McConnell College. Our partnership with Truett-McConnell is fully accredited and offers various degrees from business to religion. Students who decide to transfer to any other acredited college or university will keep their applicable credits. The first year focus is direction and discipline. The second year is leadership development. From nursery to nursing home, church services to street evangelism, The Mission students will experience it all!
	WHY CHOOSE MISSION GEORGIA MASTER'S COMMISSION OVER OTHER SIMILAR PROGRAMS? Our location 75 miles north of downtown Atlanta provides Mission Georgia Master's Commission with a wide spectrum of training and experience opportunities. Our partnership with local churches offers students a ministry internship environment and experience. The staff and leadership network of Mission Georgia Master's Commission is comprised of some the sharpest, most creative, most influential, and most sought-after ministers within the Church of God. Students are able to interact with and serve under the mentoring leadership of some of the most experienced and progressive ministers in our denomination. Our location and relationship with other ministries afford us numerous opportunities for major inner-city work with ministries and organizations that are highly experienced in urban and inner-city ministries. Mission Georgia Master's Commission has been strategically placed by God to equip students to reach a hurting world through the local church. Furthermore, Mission Georgia Master's Commission seeks to equip our students to understand and engage the culture instead of withdrawing them or isolating from it. We want our students to take their relationship with Christ out of the church and into the world and truly know what it means to be "in the world but not of the world." We strive to live in constant interaction with the culture and society while exercising godly wisdom and discernment and searching for opportunities to share and represent Christ.
	WHO SHOULD ENROLL? The Mission is open to high school graduates (18-25 years old) who desire to devote one year of their life to "knowing Him and making Him known." This is not for those in need of a spiritual "boost" or in search of a yearlong "church youth camp" experience. The Mission is not structured for crisis intervention, drug or alcohol recovery, or those needing to "get their life together." But neither is it strictly for those desiring to enter into a full-time ministry. It is designed for the heroes and would-be heroes of the faith and those searching for clarity of purpose and direction in choosing a path in life that they can best travel and serve God fully. Anyone who feels God calling them to a radical commitment of time, talent, energy, and self in order to spread His gospel, share His love, and disciple His followers should prayerfully consider The Mission.
	WHEN DO CLASSES BEGIN AND END? Classes will begin in late August and finish late July with a graduation ceremony. Breaks are scheduled for Thanksgiving (5 days), Christmas (2 weeks), and spring (2 weeks in May).
	HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? The total yearly cost for the program depends on the student's chosen track. Rates for the 2011-2012 Mission year: $8,500 for first-year and second-year students, and $6,500 for third-year and fourth-year student leaders or ministry interns. This includes program fees and expenses, housing, utilities, limited transportation, meals, books and materials (related to The Mission program), and deposits for any scheduled missions trips (the remaining balance for mission trips and ministry programs will be solicited through fund raisers, sponsorship letters, and personal payment). As with all colleges and universities, program rates and fees are subject to change each year. Most colleges and universities would have a difficult time providing intensive training and experience of this nature for such a low cost. A $50 processing fee is required with each application to The Mission. (A separate application fee will be required by Truett-McConnell College for students enrolling to receive college credit through Truett-McConnell for their course work.) A deposit of $300 is due 30 days after acceptance to secure your space. The remaining balance for program fees, book fees, and registration fees is due when the student moves in. A payment plan is available for room and board. It is recommended, but not required, that each student have some funds available or some level of financial support for miscellaneous spending throughout the year. Students will also be required to participate in various types of fundraising to raise money to cover team travel expenses. While students pay for their college credit and housing, much of the ministries we provide and community outreaches we engage in are made possible only through the support of individuals, churches, business contributors, and group fundraising efforts.
	CAN I RECEIVE CREDIT FOR COURSEWORK? All students enrolled in The Mission will have the option to enroll at Truett-McConnell College, a fully accredited Christian college, to pursue the degree of their choice. In one year, Mission students can earn 24 hours of transferable college credit. Students planning to earn college credit for the courses are required to complete applications and enroll with Truett-McConnell College. Truett offers scholarships for all students accepted to The Mission program. Tuition for college credit from Truett is not included in Mission Georgia Master's Commission program fees.
	IS FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE? Truett-McConnell College offers a generous scholarship to all students accepted to The Mission program. For the 2011-12 school year, tuition cost for a Mission student at Truett-McConnell College after the Mission scholarship is applied will be $180 per credit hour. Federal Financial Aid (government-subsidized student loans, Pell Grants, scholarships, etc.) is also available to those students who enroll with Truett-McConnell. Such grants and loans are sent directly to Truett; they will apply the funds to the student's college tuition first and send the remaining balance to the student to cover the cost of housing and Mission Georgia MC program fees. Most of our students and leaders depend on raising additional financial support to attend The Mission - much like missionaries. We will be glad to provide you some helpful guidelines in raising the needed funds, including sponsorship letters and resources that have been successful with previous students and leaders. As an approved non-profit organization, all donations and contributions made directly to Mission Georgia Master's Commission are tax deductible.
	WHAT DO YOUR STUDENTS DO AFTER GRADUATION? Our goal is for The Mission students to be trained, equipped, experienced, and sent forth into a ministry. Some graduates will do so on a full-time basis in local churches and ministries; others on a part-time or volunteer basis. Many of the first-year students will return as second-year and third-year students and ministry interns to continue their training. Others will continue to pursue a degree through Truett-McConnell College or another college or university. It is our desire to see our graduates return to their home church and city and impact that community and fellowship with the hope of Christ through the skills and training they received at The Mission. Some of our graduates will go on a field of labor other than church ministry. Several of our graduates have gone on to become directors of similar programs, pastors, youth pastors, evangelists, house parents for orphanages, professional musicians, teachers, and missionaries. Our goal for any third-year student is to prepare them for full-time ministry and to help them find their place of service in existing local churches or para-church organizations, or to start churches. Whether in a ministry or in the secular workplace, we believe whatever The Mission graduates do career-wise, they will be more prepared to answer the question "How can I further the Kingdom of God through this career field?" Regardless of the graduates' future plans and decisions, we feel confident that they will be thoroughly equipped to engage their culture and change their world for Christ as a result of their time spent in The Mission.
	WHAT IS THE DAILY SCHEDULE LIKE? One of the main focuses of The Mission is instilling Godly discipline in the daily lives of our students. While precise daily scheduling will change according to ministry demands and ministry projects, our goal is to provide as much consistency and stability in personal growth and discipleship as possible. Students typically have one full day per week off, and Sundays are reserved for church involvement. There are times throughout the year when weekends are spent on the road serving in other venues. Days are devoted to college classes, ministry classes, ministry preparation and involvement, and spiritual growth. While most of our ministry experience is hands-on, people-to-people, we are not above doing servant tasks. Ministry skills are built through ministry experience, but most often character and discipline are built through acts of service.
	WHERE DO STUDENTS LIVE? Mission Georgia Master's Commission owns a 6 unit apartment complex. Each unit has 2 bed rooms which house 2-3 students in dormitory style arrangements with bunk beds, dressers and nightstands. Each unit is also furnished with sofas, table and chairs, 1 1/2 bathrooms, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, dishwasher and oven range. There are 4-6 students housed per unit. The Mission Program fees covers rent and utilities. Daily transportation for the group is provided from the dorms to the church each day. This is not a shuttle service, so students who wish to run errands or go back and forth during the day should be prepared to drive their own vehicles.
	CAN I COME CHECK IT OUT BEFORE APPLYING? ABSOLUTELY! We offer an Open House every year in the spring for high school juniors or seniors and young adults ages 18-25. The weekend is not only for prospective Mission students, but also for those planning to attend college, remain at home and work, and those who are still searching for direction and the next step in their spiritual journey and into adulthood. Prospective Mission students are invited to spend the weekend with us and get to see everything firsthand and have all their questions answered personally by our staff and current students. Prospective students are also invited to join us for some of our Summer Tour, where they will serve right alongside our team at various State Youth Camps and retreats.