Intercultural Experience

At Eastern Mennonite Seminary we believe engaging with people and cultures different from one’s own better prepares you for ministry in our diverse world.

Learn why we feel intercultural study is beneficial for seminary students from our catalog.

Options for filling the intercultural requirement

Students may choose to fulfill their intercultural requirements in a number of ways. They may take a trip led by faculty members at EMS. They may arrange an internship with significant intercultural dimensions or they may develop another proposal for approval by the director of intercultural studies.

Intercultural Options

CM 613 Intercultural Experience

Instructor: David Evans
Schedule: May 10, 13, 20, 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Credits: 3

This seminar involves at least three weeks of immersion in a cultural setting distinctly different from one’s past experience. This includes interaction with religious, social, cultural, political, economic and commercial groups and their leaders. The basic goals of the seminar include becoming a learner at the feet of the people of this community, acknowledging that they alone know what their world is like. Approaches to learning in this seminar emphasize the methodology of “participant observation” with careful attention to personal reactions and responses to one’s experiences through journaling and group reflection. Special attention is given to how the Christian gospel is communicated and expressed in that setting and how it engages the realities of that world. The particular characteristics and requirements of a given seminar vary depending on the particular setting and who is leading the seminar. The seminar does not assume other-than-English language capability, but learning the basics of another language is sometimes a part of what we learn through participant observation. Descriptions of specific intercultural seminars offered are circulated each year.
CM 572 Intercultural Integration Seminar

This seminar is designed for mature students who have had a significant amount of intercultural ministry experience prior to enrollment in the seminary. It provides a setting where they can think reflectively and critically on the strength and struggles of those past experiences for the purpose of achieving important insights and personal growth. The seminar meets the intercultural requirement in the MDiv program for those with significant prior experience.