School of Practical Theology

Through the School of Practical Theology, Asbury Seminary students are equipped for ministries of Christian discipleship (including youth and campus ministries), leadership, counseling, and pastoral care. Students, as servant leaders, learn to ground their ministry practices on biblical and theological principles, to gain wisdom from history, and access insights from the human sciences. This takes place in a supportive community of learners and through hands-on experience in the real-world of ministry.

The School of Practical Theology houses five specialized Master of Arts degrees: the Master of Arts in Christian Education, the Master of Arts in Christian Leadership, the Master of Arts in Counseling, the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, and the Master of Arts in Youth Ministry. The school also supports a concentration in Campus Ministry for the M.Div. program.

Four departments make up the School of Practical Theology, the departments of Christian Leadership, Christian Education and Youth Ministry, Counseling and Pastoral Counseling, and the Mentored Ministry Program. These departments serve students in the M.Div and MA programs.

The department of Christian Leadership is committed to the development of servant leaders for the church and other organizations. Leadership courses equip students to understand organizations and also the basic disciplines for personal Christian leadership development. They assist students as they grow in their abilities to lead organizations, to guide them in the process of change, and to develop other servant leaders.

The department of Christian Education and Youth Ministry focuses on the Christian discipleship of children, youth, and adults. Courses are designed to help students grow in their understanding of human development, learning, and spiritual formation across the life span. Students also develop skills in designing incarnational models for ministries of discipleship and grow in their commitment to servant leadership that equips and empowers others in ministry.

The Department of Counseling and Pastoral Care serves two main purposes. First, it serves students in the M.Div. degree program through providing courses designed to form their identity as pastoral care-givers and to foster the skills necessary for effective pastoral care. Second, it serves students in the Master of Arts in Counseling and Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling degree programs. Ultimately, the Department aims to produce competent professional and pastoral counselors who are grounded biblically and theologically and who are able to integrate this data with sound psychological method.

The Mentored Ministry program provides an action/reflection approach to learning and leads students in the integration of the practice of ministry with theological and theoretical understandings from other courses. Through Mentored Ministry students learn vocational tasks in a church or other ministry setting as they do ministry and receive instructive feedback from a mentor. This experiential learning is combined with self reflection and theological integration in a group of peers and a faculty guide. Theologically grounded personal and vocational formation are the goals of Mentored Ministry

The M.Div. requires coursework in two core elective areas: Leadership and Servant Ministry; and in Mentored Ministry (MM601, MM602).

At least one, 3-hour course must be completed in Christian Leadership, choosing courses in the range, CL610-649. Having successfully completed the core elective requirement in Christian Leadership, students should be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the four classic organizational frames;
Demonstrate an understanding of the basic disciplines for personal Christian leadership development;
Demonstrate an understanding of key strategies for developing other servant leaders;
Demonstrate an understanding of organizational change processes;
Assess an organizational context;
Practice disciplines for personal and spiritual renewal;
Grow other servant leaders; and
Implement organizational change.

Students may choose to devote their 6 hours of required core elective units in Servant Ministry to coursework in Christian Discipleship or Counseling and Pastoral Care or both. The first three core elective hours in Christian Discipleship should be drawn from courses in the following ranges, CD510-549, CM510-549, YM510-549. If students should choose to use all six of the required hours in Servant Ministry in Christian Discipleship, the second core elective course should be drawn from courses in the following ranges, CD610-649, CM610-649, YM610-649. Having successfully completed the core elective requirement in Servant Ministry: Christian Discipleship, students should be able to:

Articulate biblical/theological principles that provide the foundations for disciple-making ministries;
Understand the creation design for psycho-social development and learning;
Design incarnational models of ministry that provide structures for discipleship (evangelism, teaching, and nurture);
Provide a contextual analysis of the church as institution and community;
Demonstrate a commitment to servant leadership that equips and empowers others according to their gifts and calling;
Exemplify a commitment to a life of personal integrity and spiritual growth; and
Orchestrate an ongoing pattern of planning-action-evaluation for ministry effectiveness.

Core elective hours in Counseling and Pastoral Care should be drawn from courses in the following ranges, CO510-549 or PC510-549. Courses that fulfill the core elective requirement(s) in Counseling and Pastoral Care are designed to form students' identities as pastoral care-givers. Hence, having successfully completed the core elective requirement in Servant Ministry: Counseling and Pastoral Care, students should be able to:

Bring biblical/theological perspectives and theoretical frameworks to bear on pastoral situations;
Reflect on how personal formation provides a foundation for pastoral work;
Develop a view of persons and their varied social systems that is biblically and theologically sound;
Integrate this view of persons with the best psychological principles;
Demonstrate acquaintance with a variety of theoretical models to help facilitate their pastoral work;
Demonstrate basic competence in skills necessary for providing pastoral care to persons in varied life situations, including personal, family, and crisis situations.

Students thus prepared for professions of counseling and pastoral care shall:

Utilize self-knowledge, personal faith, and moral reflection to facilitate their work with others.
Understand and use Scripture and theology as foundational for the practice of counseling.
Apply relevant truths discovered through the psychological and other behavioral sciences so as to enhance their future work.
Demonstrate specific skills in counseling and pastoral care.
Comprehend ethical and legal obligations relative to counseling and pastoral work.

In addition to the above goals, students in the M.A. in Counseling degree program shall:

Demonstrate skills in assessment and diagnosis and relate these to effective treatment planning.
Apply specialized counseling skills relative to working with career and cross-cultural situations.

Asbury Theological Seminary

Academic Catalog

School of Practical Theology