Kansas City

Courses are being offered in Kansas City for spring 2010. Class sizes are small and the focus is on individual attention from the instructor in a relational environment. For more information click on the links below that direct you to class enrollment and information forms..

Learning Greek for New Testament Reading

09/30/2009 -

In each of four six-week modules the student will learn the basics of New Testament Greek with a small group of fellow-learners. The course will be limited to five students, taught at a convenient, central location. Courses are forming now.

Your teacher is Dr. Liam Atchison, who has taught college and seminary Greek since 1984, and has taught the History of Ancient Greece at Kansas State University. This is an exceptional learning opportunity with small classes in a relational atmosphere with close personal attention from an experienced teacher.

What this course is like

This is a course in which you will be involved in the exciting process of learning to read ancient Greek. The journey will seem arduous at times, but the labor--shared with others--of learning the language will bring about fresh ways to see the Scriptures--and the world in which we live. The outcome of the Greek courses will be a basic reading facility of what is called Koine, or common, Greek, but the shared journey that brings you to that end should prove to be unforgettable. You will concentrate on learning to read Greek, and will be aided by learning grammar—not just Greek grammar, but the grammar in general we didn't catch as schoolkids—and upon translating what we read to English. With a small community of people in the same boat as you (wanting to learn Greek but just a little intimidated by foreign languages), you will learn your way around the myriad Greek tools that are indispensable for New Testament study, but more than that you will be poised for a lifetime of the joy of reading the New Testament text.

Here's how it works:

Sign up for the course here: sign-up. There are actually four manageable six-week modules. Completing all four is the equivalent of what is considered the first-year or basic level of Greek.
Your course begins when the minimum number of enrollees (5) sign up. These fellow classmates will be your cohort.
In the meantime, order your textbooks from the list here: textbooks. You will need them for when class begins.
When the cohort is formed, the instructor will contact you with a beginning date and place. The instructor will attempt to form a cohort based on the time and day preferences you provided on the sign-up form.
You are encouraged to continue through all four modules with the cohort, but if you must drop out you can always pick up the module you missed with a different group. Tuition and fees are reasonable, but still represent a significant investment both for you and in you and others; so please make sure you come to class prepared and continue through to the end, if possible.
It is common for language students to feel overwhelmed by the new way of seeing the world that a different language represents. The instructor will do everything possible to encourage you and help you to persevere.
In the module you need have no fear of being "left behind." The philosophy of the class is to only go as fast as the slowest learner. This will comfort many, but discourage a few who pick up new information faster than most people. Be of good cheer! The instructor has designed tasks for reading in the Greek New Testament for those who are looking for an additional challenge.

Learning Greek for New Testament Reading: Four Modules (1,2,3, and 4) of six weeks each. Class times and dates are to be announced. Classes meet three to four hours per week. Tuition is $135 per module (about $90 per month).

Each module is the equivalent of a two-hour credit course.