Christian Ministry, M.A.

The M.A. in Christian Ministry is an advanced degree for persons interested in furthering their ministerial education, primarily in the practical and educational disciplines of leadership and administration, age-related ministries, pastoral ministry and counseling, evangelism, and missions. The non-thesis track allows students who elect not to complete a Master of Divinity the opportunity to gain additional ministry training while actively serving in a local Christian ministry. It may also provide interested students an avenue for additional study in the practical ministry disciplines.

The thesis track substantively prepares the student for work on more advanced degrees, such as the Ph.D. or Th.D. in practical ministry discipline, with the addition of a research thesis. (Note, however, that the Doctor of Ministry degree requires a Master of Divinity.) Students considering a career teaching at the college or seminary level should understand that the M.A. in Christian ministry is a step toward the academic credentials required for college or seminary teaching positions.

To help students to be good stewards of their financial resources, the School of Christian Studies proudly offers an accelerate B.C.M. Christian Ministry to M.A. Christian Ministry program for students who apply as undergraduates. The accelerated program can reduce the financial cost for the student by reducing the time required to complete a master’s degree.

Program

The non-thesis track is 42 hours for students with no undergraduate work in Christian studies. The thesis track includes an additional 6 hours of graduate work. Up to 12 hours of foundations courses may be waived in either track for applicants who have relevant academic background in Christian studies.

Christian Ministry Core - 27 hrs

THST 5303 - Old Testament Foundations 3 hrs
THST 5304 - New Testament Foundations 3 hrs
THST 5300 - Foundations of Biblical Interpretation 3 hrs
MNST 5300 - Foundations in Ministry 3 hrs
MNST 5260 - Practicum 2 hrs
MNST 5100 - Capstone 1 hrs

Praxis - six hours from:

MNST 5303 - Preaching 3 hrs
MNST 5320 - Christian Leadership 3 hrs
MNST 5321 - Issues in Co-vocational Ministry 3 hrs
MNST 5322 - Evangelism 3 hrs
MNST 5323 - Christian Worship 3 hrs
MNST 5330 - Principles of Pastoral Counseling 3 hrs
MNST 5331 - Understanding Christian Marriage 3 hrs
MNST 5332 - Psychology of Religion 3 hrs
MNST 5340 - Cultural Exegesis 3 hrs
MNST 5341 - Contemporary Christian Missions 3 hrs
MNST 5371 - Topics in Ministry 3 hrs
MNST 5372 - Topics in Pastoral Counseling 3 hrs

Educational Ministry - three hours from:

Spiritual Formation - three hours from:

MNST 5301 - Spiritual Formation 3 hrs
THST 5301 - Christian Spirituality 3 hrs
Combination of three courses (if one of the above courses was completed as an undergraduate):
MNST 5160 - The Practice of Spiritual Disciplines 1 hrs (may be repeated as topic varies)
THST 5160 - Readings in Christian Spirituality 1 hrs (may be repeated as topic varies)

Electives - 15 hrs (at least 9 hrs MNST)

Fifteen hours of electives from the School of Christian Studies, of which at least nine must be MNST.

Additional Requirements

M.A. in Christian Ministry students must take the following courses if they did not take undergraduate courses that cover similar content. Students should take these as part of the 42 hours required in the degree.

Specialization (Optional)

Students may designate 12 of the 42 hours as a specialization in Practical Ministry, Educational Ministry, or a structured specialization in African American Church Leadership or Hispanic Church Leadership. These hours are neither added to nor deducted from the required hours listed above. (Foundation courses cannot count toward specialization hours.) Students considering doctoral study should select a specialization in consultation with a faculty mentor.

Thesis (pre-doctoral) track - 6 additional hours

In addition to the 42 hours above, students who wish to prepare for doctoral work in an area of practical or educational ministry are encouraged to complete the thesis (pre-doctoral) track. Students should complete the appropriate specialization for their field of interest in consultation with a faculty mentor.

The thesis requires a student to demonstrate the ability to do independent research. Students should be aware that many doctoral programs require competency in additional modern research languages, and perhaps biblical languages, so advance exploration of doctoral programs is suggested as is consultation with a faculty mentor.

Thesis (pre-doctoral) track additional graduate courses: