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Master of Arts in Christian Ministry

The Master of Arts in Christian Ministry program is designed to help prepare students for a wide variety of ministries in churches or church-related fields. The degree plan permits students to focus on practical, biblical, historical, theological, and general ministry-related course options offered throughout the various ministry programs in the Graduate School of Ministry. In doing so, the program will offer students a broad, multifaceted exposure to Christian Ministry in the 21st century. In addition, the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry program will assist students in discerning and defining the particular direction of their call to ministry. It will also assist students in gaining additional practical and theological training while they are currently serving in churches and church-related vocations locally, nationally, and globally. 

In addition to previously stated admission requirements, the following program-specific requirements must be met:

  • Evidence that the student is a Christian and is compatible with DBU’s mission by proven conduct in accordance with Christian standards set forth in the Bible, announced intent, and by church involvement.

  • Church Membership Requirement (for admission into the Master’s Ministry Degrees, Advanced Ministry Certificate Programs, EDD in Educational Leadership—all concentrations, and PHD in Leadership Studies’ Ministry Concentration): Within the last 12 months, the applicant must have been an active member of a Christian church that holds Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who holds solely the Old Testament and the New Testament as sacred Scripture.

Graduate School of Ministry Portfolio

Dallas Baptist University’s Ministry Degree Programs seek to provide an academic experience that enables all candidates to engage and impact Christian Ministries of the 21st century. The Portfolio is designed to be an individualized collection of documents that represent the candidate’s preparation for future ministry positions, demonstrating the candidate’s ongoing knowledge, skills, and ministry experiences.   

The Graduate School of Ministry provides candidates the opportunity for self-reflection through the compilation of documents in an electronic Portfolio. Documents in the Portfolio may include Signature Assignments, Resume, and Philosophy of Ministry among others.  

Throughout the program, the candidate will collect designated documents and upload them to the Portfolio within Blackboard. The Portfolio will be used to assess development as the candidate proceeds through their designated ministry program.  It is the candidate’s responsibility to meet with their GSOM Program Director to discuss the Portfolio required documents prior to graduation.

REQUISITES

  • Old Testament Survey

  • New Testament Survey

Requisites may be met with equivalent courses from another institution or from a passing grade on the GSOM Old Testament and New Testament equivalency exams and do not count toward degree completion.

course

Credit hours

Core Courses

18

MINS 5302 - Ministry Research and Writing Across Media

MINS 5303 - Foundations of Spiritual Life

MINS 6305 - Ministry Mentorship (S-L)

THEO 5313 - Applied Hermeneutics

THEO 6305 - Christian History and Heritage

THEO 6306 - Systematic Theology

Program Specific Courses

9

MACM 5301 - Foundations of Christian Ministry

THEO 5307 - Old Testament Literature and Interpretation

THEO 5308 - New Testament Literature and Interpretation

Elective Courses

Select any three courses from the Graduate School of Ministry with approval of Academic Advisor.

9

Christian Ministry Courses

MACM 6303 - Conflict Resolution in Ministry

MACM 6307 - Christian Ministry Travel Study

MACM 6309 - Pastoral Care

Children's Ministry Courses

MACH 5312 - Ministry with Children

MACH 6311 - Early Childhood Ministry

MACH 6351 - Children and the Christian Faith

Christian Counseling Courses

MACC 6301 - Introduction to Christian Counseling

MACC 6302 - Abnormal Psychology

MACC 6303 - Christian Counseling Skills

MACC 6304 - Contemporary Christian Counseling Theories


Educational Ministry Leadership Courses

MAEML 6301 - Christian Education in the Local Church

MAEML 6304 - Principles for Bible Teaching

MAEML 6307 - Business for Legal Administration for Ministry

Family Ministry Courses

COUN 6314 - Marriage and Family Counseling

MAFM 6316 - Faith Formation in the Life Stages

MAFM 6353 - Ministry to Families

Global Leadership Courses

MAGL 5330 - Introduction to Missiology

MAGL 5331 - Cross-Cultural Living and Ministry

MAGL 5341 - Global Christianity

MAIS 5303 - Comparative Global Religions and Worldviews (S-L)

Theological Studies Courses

THEO 5310 - The Gospels

THEO 5321 - The Early Life and Letters of Paul

THEO 5322 - The Later Life and Letters of Paul

THEO 6322 - Old Testament Readings: Pentateuch

THEO 6360 - Biblical Preaching

Worship Studies Courses

WORS 5308 - History of Christian Worship

WORS 5309 - Worship Life: Education and Administration

WORS 6316 - Worship Theology for Contemporary Ministry

WORS 6326 - Worship Praxis II: Worship Media: Technology and Production

WORS 6329 - Worship Praxis V: Worship Leader Travel Study

Total Credit Hours Required

36

Refer to course descriptions in the back of this catalog for course requisites.

(S-L) =Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

ADDITIONAL PROGRAM:

Chaplaincy Ministry Program

REQUISITES

  • Old Testament Survey

  • New Testament Survey

Requisites may be met with equivalent courses from another institution or from a passing grade on the GSOM Old Testament and New Testament equivalency exams and do not count toward degree completion.

Students selecting this concentration will take the eight Core Curriculum Courses, twelve designated General Ministry Courses as outlined below, and the four chaplaincy courses listed below.

course

Credit hours

Core Courses

24

MACM 5301 - Foundations of Christian Ministry

MACM 6309 - Pastoral Care

MINS 5302 - Ministry Research and Writing Across Media

MINS 5303 - Foundations of Spiritual Life

THEO 5313 - Applied Hermeneutics

THEO 6305 - Christian History and Heritage

THEO 6306 - Systematic Theology

MINS 6305 - Ministry Mentorship (S-L)

or

MINS 6306* - Clinical Pastoral Education Mentorship (S-L)*

*MINS 6306 only applies to those students who are in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at a hospital.

Chaplaincy Ministry Courses

12

MACM 6301 - Introduction to Chaplaincy Ministry

MACM 6302 - Introduction to Ecumenical Liturgy

MACM 6303 - Conflict Resolution in Ministry

MACM 6304 - Victim Assistance Ministry Training

or

MACM 6305 - Introduction to Clinical Pastoral Education*

*MACM 6305 only applies to those students who are in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at a hospital.

General Ministry Courses

36

Christian Ministry and Discipleship (15 hours)

MACC 6301 - Introduction to Christian Counseling

MAFM 6353 - Ministry to Families

THEO 5345 - Christianity in a Pluralistic World

THEO 6360 - Biblical Preaching

THEO 6361 - Pastoral Theology and Ministry Practice


Christian Scriptures (15 hours)

THEO 5307 - Old Testament Literature and Interpretation

THEO 5308 - New Testament Literature and Interpretation

THEO 6303 - Biblical Greek Linguistic and Exegetical Tools

Select one Old Testament and one New Testament course:

THEO 6322 - Old Testament Readings: Pentateuch

THEO 6323 - Old Testament Readings: Prophets

THEO 6324 - Old Testament Readings: Psalms and Wisdom Literature

THEO 6333 - New Testament Readings: Synoptic Gospels

THEO 6334 - New Testament Readings: Johannine Literature

THEO 6335 - New Testament Readings: Pauline Epistles

THEO 6336 - New Testament Readings: General Epistles


Heritage and Missions (6 hours)

THEO 5317 - Baptist Heritage and Polity

Select one of the following courses:

MAGL 5321 - Sharing Gospel Faith

MAGL 5331 - Cross-Cultural Living and Ministry

Total Credit Hours Required

72

(S-L)=Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

Refer to individual course descriptions for course requisites.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Find course descriptions by category under the Graduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel.