The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is the highest degree in professional ministry and seeks to provide advanced level leadership for the church. The 30-semester hour program is to be completed within a minimum of three years to a maximum of six years. The Doctor of Ministry program is accredited by Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
The excellence of this DMin track, distinguishes itself from every other DMin program in many respects: its depth of scholarship, its practical relevance to congregational ministry, its international reach, and its attention to students' needs for learning. The following are just a few of the important components of the program that will help you learn more and better:
Articulate biblical and theological foundations for social justice and children and youth ministries
Employ biblical, theological, and social scientific conceptions to articulate the relationship between socio-political, economic, gender role constructions, institutional systems and the environment on children
Analyze from a Christian ethical perspective the effects of poverty on children
Engage and articulate the connections between interpersonal, congregational, and communal, as well as local and global, issues of children and poverty
Recognize and develop strategies to impact the diverse social, cultural, and environmental factors that contribute to or hinder children's ability to flourish
Assess ecumenical, interfaith, and other community (local and global) resources that address issues of children and poverty
Develop, from a Christian perspective of social justice, a plan for ministry that addresses (an) issue(s) related to children and poverty in a particular context
Learn how to attend to the interconnection of individual, congregational and communal experiences of health and wholeness
Understand the interconnections of body, mind and spirit in persons
Examine specific health care injustices associated with malnutrition and poverty, aging, interpersonal violence and war, mental illness, disabilities, and addictions, and lack of access to health care for the marginalized
Special emphasis will be given to the importance of fostering health and wholness of all both locally and globally
Develop new or revitalize existing programs or modes of advocacy, intervention or care within congregations, agencies, and communities
Articulate and demonstrate a commitment to sound leadership, including issues related to visioning, stewardship, and conflict resolution,
Consider the contextual implications of place and people in shaping local ministries, including such things as thick sociological descriptions and preaching to one's context in rich and varied ways,
Name and value the many kinds of diversity present in our society today, including cultural, religious, racial, and sexual expressions of diversity, while helping work toward the formation of community,
Recognize and implement social justice ministries committed to caring for all of God's children, especially the marginalized,
Articulate and implement approaches to worship that are diverse, meaningful, inclusive, and vibrant,
Articulate and demonstrate vibrant preaching practices that are biblical in their foundation and relevant to congregants, including examining one's theology of preaching, various interpretive approaches to the Bible, and homiletical burnout.
Read more (pdf) about the Revitalizing Congregations DMin Track
Praxis Thesis Sample Read what a recent DMin graduate wrote for his praxis thesis in this abstract. James Gordon graduated with Honors and Praxis Thesis Distinction in May 2008. A full version of his praxis thesis may be obtained in the Saint Paul library.
