I started BSSM Online last week as a part of the first-ever full-time online group, and wow! It’s already been so interesting, and I’m excited to see what the entire year brings.
Because I was the curious one reading every blog post and watching every YouTube video I could get my hands on before deciding to apply to the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry, I want to create a resource for other potential and future students!
So here you have it: information for inquiring minds about what a week of full-time BSSM Online includes (so far, at least!):
Bible Reading: We read about two chapters a day. We are currently going through the book of John.
Book Reading: We read about one book a month. The current book is Experiencing Father’s Embrace by Jack Frost. An e-book download is included with the cost of tuition, but students have the option of paying the difference plus shipping if we prefer to order a hard copy. After finishing each book, we complete a “book report.” These are pretty simple and include questions about the main points of the book, things we agreed and disagreed with, and how the content affected our lives. (A note here: so many former BSSM students warned about the homework load, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised…I think one book a month is totally doable!)
Encounter Room or Table Talk: These are on Zoom and rotate every other week. I haven’t yet experienced Table Talk, but the Encounter Rooms are all about encountering the Holy Spirit. Last week, several different staff members ministered to us, mostly with corporate prophetic words and a few more personal words that they felt the Holy Spirit speaking to people in our group. Part-time BSSM students are also a part of these (and some of the other) sessions, so we have opportunities to interact with each other through the chat feature.
Live Teachings: These are exactly what they sound like: teaching sessions that are live from Bethel instead of prerecorded like some of the other sessions we watch. In last week’s session, we were introduced to the people who run BSSM Online, and they each shared how they came to BSSM and a few words God gave them for our group.
Live Worship: Again, pretty much what it sounds like! Bethel musicians lead us in an hour of worship live from Redding. This is on YouTube, whereas all the other live sessions are on Zoom.
Master Class: Each week, a member of the Bethel staff shares on a unique topic. Last week, that person happened to be my revival group pastor, Peter Mattis. Before coming on staff at BSSM, he worked with Jonathan and Melissa Helser at 18 Inch Journey. He shared a condensed version of a “Jesus-help tool” (as opposed to a self-help tool) for reflective prayer that helps us process emotions and learn what God has to say about them. Master Classes are unique to the full-time BSSM Online program; part-timers do not participate in Master Classes.
Revival Group: Led by a Revival Group Pastor (RGP), this is a group of about 30 students from around the world, designed to build community online and similar to the revival groups BSSM has on campus. Our third-year BSSM small group leaders are also a part of these groups. During our first meeting, my revival group also included a randomized breakout session with other group members before we broke into our assigned small groups.
Small Group: These groups are led by third-year students, as mentioned, and they allow students to get to know other students more easily since there are only a few people in each group. My small group is pretty diverse and includes four first-year students, plus our leader. The first week, we each shared a few things about ourselves and why we chose BSSM, and our leader even spoke some prophetic words over us!
Weekly Teachings: These are prerecorded teachings (Last week the speakers were Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton), about an hour each. After watching these sessions on our own time, we fill out approximately three questions for each one. The questions are available ahead of time, and we can pause, rewind, and re-watch these sessions (and all sessions) as many times as need be. I take full advantage of that because I like to take super-detailed notes, so these teachings take extra time for me to get through and I spend a few hours on each one.
This may sound like a lot, but personally, all of my live sessions are scheduled over two consecutive days each week, so the schedule isn’t as crazy as it seems! (Schedules do vary depending on your assigned revival group time, but I was fortunate to be assigned a time that falls alongside the other live sessions.) I use the remainder of my week to watch the prerecorded sessions, do my daily Bible reading, and dive into the current book. I really like the schedule so far, and I’m so glad I went with the full-time online option! I’m also only two hours ahead of BSSM’s time zone, so there aren’t any extreme time differences for me like others may have. None of my live sessions start before noon or go past 6:00 p.m., so I don’t have any early mornings or late-night classes, either. (Hallelujah! 🙌🏼)
If you’re interested in comparing the differences between BSSM’s part-time and full-time programs, you can see a chart here.
That’s BSSM Online so far in a nutshell! I know this is just the beginning, and I’ll continue to share things as the year unfolds.
Questions about BSSM Online? I’m a complete newbie, but I’ll do my best to answer based on my limited experience! 😊
[…] That the vast majority of our sessions could be watched on our own time. Revival Group was the only thing we were required to attend live each week, so the schedule was very flexible. This kept stress levels down and allowed for more autonomy. I wrote a more detailed post about the full-time online schedule here. […]
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About me
Hey! I'm Brianna and I'm a millennial. I'm also a reader, writer, God-lover, introvert, and recovering perfectionist. ☺️
I want to inspire millennials to retain their morality, hope, and faith as they transition into adulthood and full-fledged "adult."
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[…] That the vast majority of our sessions could be watched on our own time. Revival Group was the only thing we were required to attend live each week, so the schedule was very flexible. This kept stress levels down and allowed for more autonomy. I wrote a more detailed post about the full-time online schedule here. […]