After years of research and production, the Iowa-Missouri Conference recently launched its online resource, Protestant University, on its website. Five videos with accompanying study guides, facilitator guide and terminology list were available upon launch.
Protestant University script writer and team member Rob Alfalah said the first video series, which focuses on the Five Solas, was created with the hope that Adventists would better understand Protestant values so they could live and share these values more easily.
“I summarize [Protestant University] as educating on the principles of Protestantism within a Seventh-day Adventist context,” Alfalah said. “The curriculum is tailored for Seventh-day Adventists.”
Fellow Protestant University team member Kent Dunwoody said one of the most important aspects of the series is examining how Protestant values apply to Seventh-day Adventists today.
“Our purpose is to educate people on what it means to be a Protestant … and also how that applies to us today,” Dunwoody said.
The series was created for group settings like Sabbath schools or LifeGroups, according to Dunwoody. Each of the five videos include times for discussion. Protestant University offers accompanying study guides and a facilitator’s guide for the videos to help facilitate conversations.
“We are hoping that Protestant University encourages discussion—that’s the big thing,” Dunwoody said.
Protestant University was formed after several pastors in the conference began researching and discussing Protestantism in 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.
“That process enriched us and educated us on some of the historical aspects of Protestantism and we wanted to share what we learned,” Dunwoody said.
The group decided to record a video series to share their findings. Conference members helped fund the purchase of video equipment (now located at Sunnydale Adventist Academy) necessary for the production.
“It’s the donations from our members themselves that helped fund this project,” Dunwoody said.
The team produced three videos then presented these videos to three focus groups: pastors, SAA students and churches in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas, according to Alfalah. Taking into consideration the feedback from these groups, the team created the last two videos in the series and added a terminology list.
“I had [SAA] students coming up to me asking, ‘What does this mean?’” Dunwoody said. “I thought, ‘Well, if we have students [asking these questions], I wonder how many members might ask the very same thing.’”
Protestant University team members plan to continue creating content, which will be added to the Protestant University’s webpage, imsda.org/protestant-university/, upon completion.
“It’s been a fun project and a hard project,” Alfalah said. “I am looking forward to what other things God might want to do through this curriculum. I am excited about those possibilities.”
