- I have taken Perspectives and it has expanded my view of what God is doing all over the earth. How can I get involved?
- Is it true that as an alumnus I can attend any Perspectives class for free?
- I am interested in bringing Perspectives to my home church. Who do I need to talk to about doing this?
- I am interested in starting a Perspectives course to my area. How do I go about that?
- I took the Perspectives class at the certificate level, but I never received my certificate. How do I go about obtaining that?
- Are you connected with the Worldwide Perspectives course? Is it the same course?
- In what other languages or countries is the Perspectives material available?
- What can you tell me about education programs beyond Perspectives?
- Where can I find out about career/volunteer opportunities with the Perspectives Study Program?
- My daughter is in college. How can her college/university integrate Perspectives in their curricula to earn credit?
- I took the class for certificate level. Can I use my graded work to earn credits if I take the class again at the credit level?
- I would like for my company/organization to be listed to endorse Perspectives. Who do I contact?
I have taken Perspectives and it has expanded my view of what God is doing all over the earth. How can I get involved?
Explore the resources and opportunities of the
Next Steps section of the website. We have been gathering ideas and resources from many different sources to help alumni find their most strategic role in the World Christian Movement and equip them to get involved where they are.
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Is it true that as an alumnus I can attend any Perspectives class for free?
Yes, although some classes may charge a minimal fee for materials and snacks. We ask that you register for the class as an alumnus at the audit level in the registration. Check out the
Attend a Refresher Class to find a class near you.
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I am interested in bringing Perspectives to my home church. Who do I need to talk to about doing this?
Check out
Find a Class and click on your state. Here you can view upcoming classes. If there are no classes listed near you, then you can call or email the Regional Contact and he/she will help you start a class for an upcoming semester. Also, check out
Start a Class.
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I am interested in starting a Perspectives course to my area. How do I go about that?
In order to coordinate a Perspectives Course, a person must take the Perspectives Study Program at certificate level or higher, and take the 2 day Perspectives Coordinator Workshop (PCW) training. Your
Regional Director can help you to find a trained coordinator in your area. If there are none and you have taken the class at certificate level or higher, then you can attend a PCW and work closely with your area supervisor to bring a class to your area. For more information check out
Start a Class.
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I took the Perspectives class at the certificate level, but I never received my certificate. How do I go about obtaining that?
If you have the contact information for the coordinator, then you can contact him/her for it. If you do not remember, then you can call the
Regional Director for your area and inquire.
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Are you connected with the Worldwide Perspectives course? Is it the same course?
The first Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course was in 1974, and in 1980 the first extension class was held at Pennsylvania State University. Since then, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement has inspired many diverse curricula which communicate some of the concepts in the Perspectives course to different audiences using different designs and styles of delivery. As a curriculum in the Perspectives family of curricula, Worldwide Perspectives is unique because from 1996 to 2002 it was accepted as an alternate curriculum to the 1992 version of Perspectives on the World Christian Movement within the North American Perspectives Study Program. In Nov. 2001, the leadership of the U.S. Center for World Mission decided to no longer offer Worldwide Perspectives as an alternative curriculum within the Perspectives Study Program. The major revision of the PWCM curriculum done in 1998 curriculum made the two curricula very different in content and emphasis causing heightened tension and confusion resulting from having two different courses both referred to as "Perspectives." It is not only our conviction that the two courses are different, by our analysis they simply do not convey the same set of core ideas.
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In what other languages or countries is the Perspectives material available?
Check out the Perspectives
Around the World in the About Perspectives section of the website. Contact the Perspectives Global Desk to find out what other countries the class has been taught, and what languages the curriculum has been translated to or is in the process of being translated.
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What can you tell me about education programs beyond Perspectives?
There are a number of curricula that have been developed and inspired by the Perspectives Study Program. The U.S. Center for World Mission has developed a number of courses and programs that can be used for further education: World Christian Foundations, Encountering the world of Islam, InSIGHT program, and many more. Check out the Perspectives
Around the World in the About Perspectives section to learn more about the Perspectives Family and the USCWM.
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Where can I find out about career/volunteer opportunities with the Perspectives Study Program?
Check the
Get Involved page of the Alumni Next Steps area of the site to find opportunities to get involved locally, regionally and nationally. There are plenty of opportunities to use your gifts and abilities in the World Christian movement. Check out opportunities with Perspectives, and the U.S. Center for World Mission.
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My daughter is in college. How can her college/university integrate Perspectives in their curricula to earn credit?
Some academic institutions have chosen to adopt the Perspectives program, in contrast to simply using the curriculum. Here is a brief overview of common hurdles we encounter with schools/institutions that have attempted to bring the Perspectives Study Program "in house" under their institution.
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Often schools/institutions prefer to have one of their faculty oversee the course. This has often been the case and presents some difficulty when it comes to handling specifics with respect to the larger program because neither schools nor faculty have understood our need for people leading classes to first attend our coordinator training.
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Parallel to this idea, schools often want one of their faculty to teach the whole class. One of the unique aspects of the Perspectives Study Program - and one of its strengths - is that students hear from different people for each lesson. This element is lost if one person, however well-qualified, teaches all the lessons.
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In our experience, once a school has begun hosting the program, there has been a tendency to change elements of the program, Though it is up to a particular school to set the requirements for credit that it will grant, most schools that grant credit for the Perspectives Study Program (as the program is normally run, not as an "in house" course at a school) haven't seen the need to add to the requirements. We have also found that adding academic work can detract from the application of principles because of the heavy load. Another common change is for the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Reader to be used apart from the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Study Guide. These were designed as complementary volumes and we highly recommend that they be used together, but they should always be used together in any class using the name "Perspectives" that is supervised by the National or one of the Regional offices.
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I took the class for certificate level. Can I use my graded work to earn credits if I take the class again at the credit level?
Yes, you can use your graded certificate work but there are additional requirements for credit students. Credit students also take the midterm exam, final exam, and complete a longer project. You will also want to redo any assignments if your work was below 70% so you can pass credit level requirements. Make sure you tell the local coordinator that you've completed your quizzes; show your graded work to them so it can be recorded, and pay the necessary school and grading fees for credit students. You will not have to pay the class fees since you are an alumnus of Perspectives.
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I would like for my company/organization to be listed to endorse Perspectives. Who do I contact?
We certainly appreciate your commendation of the Perspectives course, and we would appreciate a statement of how your experience in the course was valuable. You can email endorsements for the Perspectives class to pspalumni@uscwm.org. Please be sure to put Endorsement in the title of the email.
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