CAP-101
Capstone: Personal Ministry Project
Apply two years of study by producing one complete, original teaching series — written, and recorded if you choose.
Topics: Original research, Independent project
Suggested resource: No outside resource required — this one is graded by your own conscience and your audience.
Week 1: Choose and Research Your Topic
Reading: Project week — no reading assigned
Choose one topic from anywhere in these two years of study that you genuinely want to go deeper on — something you'd be excited to teach, not just something you think you should cover. Spend this week purely in research and note-taking: rereading relevant scripture, revisiting your own notes from this institute, and consulting the free or already-owned resources you've used throughout. Resist the urge to start writing the actual lesson yet; a capstone built on shallow research will show it, and two years of study have earned you the right to go deep on one subject.
Key terms: Topic selection, Research before writing, Depth over breadth
Discussion Questions
- Out of everything you've studied in this institute, what topic have you found yourself thinking about the most outside of the actual study time?
Challenge: Write down your chosen topic and a one-sentence statement of the specific, narrow angle you want to take on it.
Week 2: Write and Build the Series
Reading: Ecclesiastes 9:10; Colossians 3:23–24
Two verses set the standard for this week's actual work: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10), and Paul's fuller version of the same conviction, “whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24). Apply everything from Homiletics I and II here: one big idea, a logical outline, real illustrations, specific application, and whatever visual or video production fits the topic and audience.
This is the moment to use your own production workflow at full strength, decks, worksheets, a recording, whatever format actually serves this specific content best. Treat this the same way you'd treat a paid client project or a piece for your own ministry brand, because functionally, it's both, and because Colossians 3:23 means it's ultimately neither, in the end this is work done heartily unto Christ, not merely for an audience or a portfolio.
Key terms: Ecclesiastes 9:10 (do it with thy might), Colossians 3:23–24 (as to the Lord), Applying Homiletics I & II, Full production workflow
Discussion Questions
- What format best serves the topic you chose — written lesson, slide deck, video, or some combination?
- How does treating this project as work done 'as to the Lord' (Colossians 3:23) change your standard for finishing it well, beyond just meeting a deadline?
Challenge: Complete a full first draft of your capstone project this week, even if it isn't polished yet.
Week 3: Deliver and Reflect
Reading: Project week — no reading assigned
Deliver the finished project the way it's meant to be used — teach it to someone, publish it, or record and release it — because a lesson that's never actually taught isn't finished, it's just written. Afterward, take time to reflect honestly on the full two years: what changed in how you read Scripture, what you understand now that you didn't when you started with OT-101, and where you still want to keep growing. This capstone isn't a graduation from study; if anything, two years in, you should have a longer list of things you want to learn than the one you started with.
Key terms: Finished means delivered, Honest reflection, Study never really ends
Discussion Questions
- What has changed most in how you read and understand Scripture since starting this institute?
- What's the next thing you want to study that this experience surfaced?
Challenge: Write a short, honest reflection on the full two years, and decide what you want to study next.
Course Exam
Five questions for review or self-testing.
Q: What is the purpose of the capstone project?
Reveal Answer
To apply two years of study by producing one complete, original teaching series.
Q: What should you do before starting to write the capstone?
Reveal Answer
Spend real time in focused research and note-taking rather than rushing to write.
Q: What does 'finished' mean for a capstone, according to this course?
Reveal Answer
Actually delivered — taught, published, or recorded — not just written and set aside.
Q: Why does the course end with reflection rather than just delivery?
Reveal Answer
Because study never really ends, and two years in, you should have more to learn, not less.
Q: What should the capstone's production quality resemble?
Reveal Answer
A real, paid client project or a piece for your own ministry brand — not a school exercise.