Equip
Centerpoint Church
School of Ministry
About
Equip is a college-level educational program designed to equip believers with a strong biblical and theological foundation, offered by CenterPoint in partnership with the Christian & Missionary Alliance. The goal of this program can be found in Ephesians 4:12 as we are working to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.”
Pastor Dave Hemmerle
EQUIP School of Ministry Director
Questions? Contact dave.hemmerle@cpchurch.com
FAQs
CenterPoint Church’s Equip School of Ministry Program is an educational program
designed in partnership with the Christian & Missionary Alliance’s “Alliance Center
for Leadership Development” in order to equip believers with a strong Biblical and
theological foundation.
The goal of the program is to equip followers of Christ to be disciples who make
disciples. As it says in Ephesians 4:12, we are working to “Equip the saints for the
work of the ministry.”
You may want to consider this program in order to better serve in a ministry here at
CenterPoint, such as a Life Group Leader, as a leader in CP Kids or Youth, or in any
of our other ministries.
Some simply want to grow in knowledge to better equip themselves as they live out
their faith. In this case, you may take only the classes that interest you.
For others, you may want to consider this program as an alternative pathway to
theological training for professional or pastoral ministry.
Equip runs annually from September through June. During this time, there are 6
sessions. Each session offers two 5-week classes. You may sign up for an Equip class
at any point throughout the year.
There are 13 total classes that are designed at the college-level, although we do
not require previous college experience to enroll. Students are expected to do a
variety of assignments per class, including reading assignments, writing papers, and
presentations. A syllabus with details of each class is provided at the time of
registration so you can see what is expected for that class.
Equip tuition is on a ‘per class’ basis. Each Equip class costs $50.00 for a 5-week- or 6-week class, plus the required books and possibly other resource materials. Payment is due at the time of registration.
That’s up to you! The entire program runs annually, but most students average two or more years to complete the course, considering that classes are taken around work and other schedules. Once you begin Equip, there is no deadline for completion.
If you have completed all 13 classes (please see our class completion policy below),
you will receive a certificate of completion of CenterPoint's School of Ministry.
From there, it's up to you! We encourage you to pray and seek God for where He wants
to use you.
If you are interested in pursuing ministry further, the Equip program can qualify
you with 18 credits towards the Alliance Center for Leadership Development School of
Ministry Certification, which requires a total of 30 credits. You can learn more at
https://www.allianceleaders.org. Please contact us, and we can guide you to the next
steps.
Auditing a class is by permission only and providing the class has room. Please do
not show up to a class without registering. Priority will be given to students
taking class for credit. If you are auditing, please expect to be on a waiting list
or dropped should a class fill up. Some classrooms have physical limitations.
Auditing an Equip class allows you to attend classes and participate in class
discussions but you will not hand in assignments, give presentations or take tests.
You will not receive grades, nor credit for the course. Instructors will not be
expected to read any work you choose to do. The purpose of auditing a class is for
personal enrichment only. If you decide in the future to complete the full Equip
program you will need to retake the audited class as an enrolled student to receive
credit.
There is no cost to auditing a class. To register, you will need a code for check
out to bypass payment. Please contact Dave Hemmerle at dave.hemmerle@cpchurch.com for more information.
CLASSES START
THIS FALL
2026 CALENDAR
Session 1 – wk of Sept 8
Inductive Bible Study | Starts: 9/8/25 | Ends: 10/6/25 | Day: MONDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM |
Location: Massapequa
REGISTER HERE
Church Ministry: Pastoral Care | Starts: 9/9/25 | Ends: 10/7/25 | Day: TUESDAYS | Time:
7–9:30PM | Location: Bay Shore
REGISTER HERE
Life of Christ | Starts: 9/9/25 | Ends: 10/7/25 | Day: TUESDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location:
Massapequa
REGISTER HERE
Session 2 – wk of Oct 27
OT Survey | Starts: 10/27/25 | Ends: 11/24/25 | Day: MONDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location: Massapequa
Raising Leaders for Harvest | Starts: 10/27/25 | Ends: 11/24/25 | Day: MONDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location: Zoom
Disciplemaking | Starts: 10/28/25 | Ends: 11/25/25 | Day: TUESDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location: Massapequa
Session 3 – wk of Jan 12
Inductive Bible Study – Bonus | Starts: 1/12/2026 | Ends: 2/9/2026 | Day: MONDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location: ??
Intro to Theology | Starts: 1/13/2026 | Ends: 2/10/2026 | Day: TUESDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location: Massapequa
Expository Preaching | Starts: 1/13/2025 | Ends: 2/10/2026 | Day: TUESDAYS | Time: 7–9:30PM | Location: Bay Shore
Equip Classes Summary
Classes 1-13 taught by CenterPoint pastors and staff, in person or online for 5-6 weeks per class. Auditing classes is available by permission. Please contact us for more information. Cost: $50 per class.
One of three courses in our Equip program specifically designed to help you:
1. Gain a basic framework for understanding pastoral/ministry work.
2. Learn strategies to help you study and teach the Bible.
3. Develop a practical theology of sacramental worship.
Develop a passion for God with a mind that is being transformed by God’s Word. This
class will prepare you to:
1. Be able to use the inductive steps required to study any passage of Scripture.
2. Be able to articulate an understanding of the message of the Gospel of Mark.
3. Be more comfortable explaining a difficult/unclear section of Scripture.
Learn and be able to explain the Big Picture of the Old Testament. Be able to grasp the relationship between the Old & New Testaments, present a panoramic view of the Bible and identify the main characters of the Old Testament.
Learn and be able to explain the Big Picture of the New Testament. Be able to grasp the relationship between the Old & New Testaments, present a panoramic view of the Bible and identify the main characters of the New Testament.
Develop a greater knowledge of the Life of Jesus, with particular focus on his birth, life, teaching, miracles, death, resurrection, ascension and discipleship strategy.
Be able to articulate a biblical philosophy of shepherd-leadership. Be aware of the particular challenges of leadership in ministry and increase awareness of leadership challenges in ministry.
By the time you complete this course you should be able to:
1. Implement resolve and intentionality in your own discipleship process as well as
with discipling a specific person in your life.
2. Develop discipleship vision for a congregation or ministry leadership team.
This class will help you learn and be able to explain the basic doctrines of the
Christian faith by:
1. Being able to state the major areas of the study of theology.
2. Being able to help people with their problems by pointing them to God’s Word.
3. Being able to apply God’s Word to your own life and ministry.
One of three courses in our Equip program specifically designed to help you:
1. Have a theological foundation of the Missio Dei in the world.
2. Plan a year-round program for missions education and promotion for your church.
3. Plan a compassion ministry for your church to meet social needs in your community
with the ultimate goal of using this for outreach to people who have not yet met
Christ.
State the major themes, concepts, and content of the Epistle to the Romans. You will
be able to:
1. Outline Romans, indicating the transition points between sections.
2. Explain the major doctrines and doctrinal differences arising out of various
interpretations of the Epistle to the Romans.
By the time you complete this course you should:
1. Distinguish between an expository sermon and other basic sermon types and
describe the advantages of expository preaching.
2. Develop and deliver expository sermons.
3. Relate a Scripture passage to its context for proper exposition
This course assists the student to deal with issues both personal and in family life, the management of time, human resources, and material resources. It also gives instruction on working with a governing board, transitions, and finances of a church.
By the time you complete this course you should be able to:
1. Identify emerging leaders in your church.
2. Develop a strategy for training leaders in your church.
3. Generate momentum for a church multiplication movement.
EQUIP CLASS COMPLETION POLICY
In order for students to qualify as having completed a course and earned credit, they may not miss more than one (1) class due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e., illness, emergencies, etc.). You must make up any missed lesson(s). Please ask a fellow student for notes and/or the teacher for any handouts or assignments you may have missed. All reading assignments, papers, and projects must be completed by the end of the last class. If there are extenuating circumstances for which you need additional time, you may discuss that with your teacher, but no more than a 2-week grace period will be accepted in order to qualify for having completed the course. Missing more than 1 week or missing assignments will default as an incomplete. In order to qualify for full credit for the Equip certification, you would need to retake the course.