This course introduces students to the purpose, methods, and skills of ministry research. It gives an overview of the DMin program and the DMin project. Students do personal reflection and ministry reflection for the purposes of missional vocation and calling. Methods for personal leadership development are explored.

This course is an intersection of Old Testament theology with missional theology. Students engage the mission of God in the Old Testament by examining creation, God’s blessing to Abraham, the calling of Israel, the law, temptations of idolatry, social ethics and other topics. Students develop a theological framework of God’s mission in the world and how God is seeking to form a people to bear witness to God’s redemption.

This course is an intersection of New Testament theology with missional theology. Students notice the missionary background to the New Testament writings, explore the mission of Jesus, his call to His disciples to be witnesses, the missionary movement in Acts, and Paul’s letters to form a missional people. Students develop a theological framework for God’s mission in the world and how the church fits within that mission.

This course is an intersection of the study of the church and the study of mission. Starting from a trinitarian framework, students discuss biblical metaphors for the church and explore historical understandings of the nature and purpose of the church. Particular attention is paid to the missionary nature of the church and the impact this nature has on the ministry and practices of the church. Students develop a contextual ecclesiology for their ministry.

This course focuses on bringing creativity, freshness, and originality to sermons that enable listeners to embrace the perspectives and challenges of the biblical message more effectively. Particular attention is given to the value of preaching to cast vision and offer leadership. Creative preaching is not just an art but also a skill one can learn. This seminar equips preachers to develop that skill and identifies resources that contribute to it.

This course studies the practices and habits of a missional leader. Attention is given to church polity, contextual ministry, and missional vision. Students learn practices in affecting change, handling anxiety, discerning a context, and creating environment for missional innovation. Students engage leadership theory for helpful insights in providing transformative leadership.

This course explores comprehensive approaches to developing spiritual leaders in one’s context. Personal leadership development is discussed briefly, but emphasis is placed on the selection, training, mentoring, and coaching of individuals and groups that have missional leadership potential. Students learn about ongoing leadership enrichment, delegating, discipling, and empowerment.

The course explores a variety of social science research tools and methods. Students craft a research question and determine which tools are most helpful in addressing this question. They also learn how to analyze and interpret data. This class culminates in a faculty-approved dissertation prospectus.

This year long seminar provides students with a structured process to implement their research design, analyze results of the project, and write a dissertation. The dissertation is a culmination of the program that offers a theologically-framed research design with key results and observations. The seminar concludes with a presentation and oral defense.