FIELD EDUCATION WITHIN FOUR THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS IN INDONESIA

Abstract

One of the problems faced by a theological school from time to time is how to integrate the academic discipline with the field education, which serves to train theological students for readiness in ministry within the church. Often times, the field education does not receive proper attention, such as good supervision, sufficient opportunity to serve, and so on, from the theological school. This causes the graduate students to be insufficiently prepared for their service to the Lord. To be able to serve well, the student must be well prepared in spiritual maturity, personal maturity, competent knowledge, and readiness in ministry The attainment of these four aspects of preparedness should become the goal of the theological school Field education is the key to achieving that goal and a means to the integration of the academic discipline and the field ministry I believe that the existence of the theological school is not only to teach and pass on the content of belief, but also to train the ministerial candidate for readiness in ministry Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to develop a model of integration of discipline and the field education are integral parts of the educational whole which should not be separated. I propose five hypotheses to test the effectiveness of the field education of four theological schools in Indonesia. Based on the collected survey data, it becomes evident that the field education programs within these four schools have not yet fully managed to achieve the ideal goals of a field education program in the areas of experience of internship, supervision, full scope of ministerial duties, and integration of the classroom study and competence in ministry. The possibility of successfully developing an optimal field education program depends on a clear understanding of the purpose for the existence of the theological school and its relation to the church, and the awareness of faculty members of the importance of the field education itself. The theological school should handle field education thoughtfully, not as a secondary job within the school I believe that the model of field education proposed in this dissertation will bring significant results for the theological school which seeks to further develop its field education as an essential aspect of theological training.