Ministry Requirements & Report

A student’s ministry/service must meet one or more of the following criteria:

Serving in a church setting.
Serving in an organization that supports the church.
Serving in an organization that meets the needs of people in a local community (Ex. Habitat for Humanity, Choice One, nursing home).
Participating on a mission trip team (at least three days long).
Volunteering in a professional setting that utilizes and enhances what students are learning in their curricular program.
Participating in Cairn University organizations, activities, office settings, leadership capacities in which you serve the community at Cairn and/or potentially the community at large, by utilizing a combination of professional skills, spiritual gifts, and modeling the Christian faith.

Full time undergraduate students must satisfactorily register and complete six (6) ministry/service experiences and receive a satisfactory evaluation from a mentor in order to graduate from Cairn.
Transfer and part time students will have the number of required ministry/service credits reduced in coordination with course credits transferred into Cairn.

12-18 credits: requirement reduced to 5

19-36 credits: requirement reduced to 4

37-52+ credits: requirement reduced to 3

A minimum of two (2) ministry/service credits are to be completed in a local church setting. Exceptions to this expectation are rare and are only granted when extenuating circumstance prevented some aspect of ministry to a local church.
Students may be involved in ministry/service experiences during the fall, spring or summer term.
A Ministry/Service Registration Form and Mentor Evaluation Form must be submitted by the due date for each ministry experience in order to receive a satisfactory grade and credit.
Students will submit Registration Form in the fall and spring by the due date assigned by the University Ministry Center (September 30 and February 15).
A $25 late fee will be assessed by the registrar for seniors in their graduating semester who hand in late paperwork for previously accomplished ministries.
Students will submit a signed Registration Form by May 30 for a summer ministry.
Registration Forms will not be accepted after the due dates for each term.

Students will be assessed by their ministry/service mentor and a grade of S or U will be recorded on the student’s academic transcript.
No grade will be recorded if the mentor’s evaluation of the student’s ministry/service is not returned. This grade will be changed when the Mentor Evaluation Form is received.
Updates will be provided for students to keep track of how many ministry/service experiences they have successfully completed.
Students may not graduate until all six (6) ministry/service experiences are successfully completed (Exceptions will be made for transfer and part time students that do not have six (6) full time semesters at Cairn).

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