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Master of Arts in Family Ministry

The Master of Arts in Family Ministry is a 36-hour degree program designed to equip ministers to be servant leaders in order to understand the needs of families, explore the principles of best strategies in biblical family formation, and implement ministries that impact families in different phases of life. While the focus of this degree is to design ways to impact families proactively in the formation process, there will also be components that attempt to address the therapeutic issues of life as they arise developmentally and from crisis. The program will provide foundations in theological, educational, and practical programming for effective family ministry. It will combine academic training and practical ministry application that will focus intentionally on the world families live in and the faith they need to follow Christ.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS

For academic and admission requirements, see the Master of Arts in Family Ministry Admission Requirements Sheet.

In addition to 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

Select three of the following:

MACH 5312 - Ministry with Children

MACH 6311 - Early Childhood Ministry

MAEML 5313 - Ministry to Students

MAFM 6316 - Faith Formation in the Life Stages

MAFM 6353 - Ministry to Families

Concentration Options

9

Christian Counseling Concentration

Select three of the following:

COUN 6314 - Marriage and Family Counseling

COUN 6320 - Counseling Victims of Trauma

MACC 6301 - Introduction to Christian Counseling

MACC 6302 - Abnormal Psychology

MACC 6303 - Christian Counseling Skills

MACM 6303 - Conflict Resolution in Ministry

MACM 6304 - Victim Assistance Ministry Training

General Concentration

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

Leadership Concentration

Select three of the following:

MAL 5302 - Vision-Casting and Leading Change

MAL 6303 - Leadership in Conflict and Adversity

MAL 6304 - Leadership Communication

MAL 6305 - Relational Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

Special Needs Family Ministry Concentration

MACH 6315 - Ministry to Children with Special Needs

MACH 6316 - Advanced Ministry to Children with Special Needs (S-L)

Select one of the following:

EDUC 6304 - Improvement of Instruction

EDUC 6308 - The School and Multicultural Society

MACH 5313 - Disability and Suffering

SPED 5310 - Introduction to Exceptional Learners

SPED 5350 - Educating Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities

Total Credit Hours Required

36

(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.