Doctor of Ministry
Other Experiences
Professional Development of New D.Min. Students
New D.Min. participants will undergo extensive personal and professional assessment prior to a weekend orientation at the beginning of their course work. These events are held each January and July.
The mission of the Doctor of Ministry Program is to equip God-called, Christ-centered, Spirit-energized servant leaders to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. The vision is to renew Christ’s Church globally through her leaders by providing catalytic learning and transforming experiences. These learnings and experiences during the program will increase the participant’s ministry capacity, strengthen the sense of alignment with God’s call, and fuel fresh spiritual passion. Through the multiple interactions with professors and peers, the participant builds relationships and gains content that substantially adds value to his or her ministry.
One of the design facets of the Doctor of Ministry Program is the professional development component. Beyond academic stretching, the D.Min. Program begins with professional development assessment and coaching. What is God’s unique claim on the participant’s life, his or her opus gloria? How will the participant integrate the learning with every domain of experience – family, devotional life, social and emotional growth, and impact in the community? The participant will design a set of goals for his or her personal and professional development to which the participant will be held accountable by a mentor in the field as well as the dissertation committee.
Cross-Cultural Experience
An important aspect of growth in the D.Min. program will be an experience in cross-cultural learning. By immersion into another culture, whether domestic or international, you will begin to:
- Experience and explore different ways the church expresses its identity and mission
- Identify cultural artifacts in a ministry context
- Theologically and biblically identify the core of the Gospel and how it is understood through cultural lenses
Participants will use the experience to begin designing a ministry plan within their concentration that begins with the current realities of the participant's context and leads to a more inclusive biblical model. Example: if the ministry context is primarily a white constituency within a mixed ethnic community, what are the cultural issues involved and how would a leader seek to influence the organizational and ministry culture to better reflect Kingdom values?
Sites
The cross-cultural experience can take place in a number of settings. Important to a participant's decision will be selecting a site that differs somewhat from their current ministry context, to expand their experience and creative capacity. Examples of possible sites include:
- North America
- Greater New York City (Second Cathedral Baptist and Brooklyn Tabernacle)
- Chicago (Willow Creek and St. Sabina)
- Greater Los Angeles (Saddleback and Mosaic)
- International
- China or Taiwan
- Zimbabwe or Kenya
- Argentina
- Russia
- Australia
- London
- Custom-as designed and negotiated by cohorts and professors
The experience can be taken simply to meet the program requirement or for course credit (limit to one per participant for course credit). Taken as a course, there will be a professor of record. There may also be an online component for preparation before and processing after the experience. (Previous experience cannot be applied towards the requirement.)