You will learn from world-class leaders who are driving scholarship in thought and praxis. With experience in pastoral ministry, church planting, intercultural studies, missiology, and much more, the diverse and accomplished faculty are essential to the uniqueness and caliber of the program.
Join with like minded pastors, learning together how to best serve churches of 1000 or more members
The M.A. in Ministry Leadership is a program designed for those with a desire to deepen their faith and raise their level of leadership while collaborating with others. Through this program, you will add a new dimension to your ministry as you learn from practitioners, church builders, and ministers who have worked in both small and large community church contexts.
The cohort model will allow you to go through the entire curriculum with the same group of pastors, learning together, encouraging one another, sharpening one another. It is a unique and rewarding model for advanced education.
As cultural changes accelerate, we need ministry leaders skilled in theory and practice who are able to make disciples and pursue Jesus’ mission in the world. The M.A. in Ministry Leadership is built with three core competency areas to train culturally savvy leaders for a life of service: Mission, Bible and Theology, and Leadership.
Our program is designed for people like yourself, who are in full time ministry. Courses are offered in either a modular format or fully online. The modular courses include online work and a week at Wheaton to gather with others in cohort for an intensive week of learning. The fully online classes mean you do your work from home, mostly at your own pace.
The benefit of this format is that you are able to immediately apply what you're learning in your current context while earning a Master's degree.
This is an example. Please note that the most current and official curriculum information is found in our Course Catalog.
Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership
As cultural changes accelerate, we need ministry leaders who can make disciples who are pursuing Jesus’ mission in the world. The M.A. in Ministry Leadership requires 42 hours of course work and is built with three core competency areas to train those types of leaders.
All students must complete:
Mission Core
The mission core is designed to train ministry leaders to be change agents for the Church and society and lead churches that grow through conversion.
EVAN 526 Gospel: Theological Perspectives (4 hours)
EVAN 542 Church: Movements and Models (4 hours)
EVAN 545 Culture: Emerging and Global (4 hours)
Bible and Theology Core
The Bible and Theology core is designed to ground ministry leaders with a strong biblical, evangelical foundation so they can thoughtfully engage the world for Christ.
BITH 533 Exploring the Old Testament (4 hours)
BITH 555 Exploring the New Testament (4 hours)
BITH 565 Christian Theology (4 hours)
BITH 566 Foundations for Biblical Interpretation (4 hours)
Leadership Core
The Leadership core is designed to help ministry leaders effectively lead organizations, themselves, and others, using their influence to transform the people and communities around them.
MIN 547 Preaching (2 hours)
MIN 559 Organizational and Change Leadership in Ministry (4 hours)
MIN 558 Personal Development and Leadership in Ministry (4 hours)
MIN 561 Congregational Leadership: Worship, Discipleship, and Care (4 hours)
MIN 692 Comprehensive Exam (0 hours)
Total 42 hours
Ask Wendy
Do you have any questions about the M.A. in Ministry Leadership program or the pastor cohort?
Feel free to reach out Wendy Larson, Manager of Academic Advising for students in the Ministry Leadership program.
You can reach her by e-mail.