Pastoral Ministry BA
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Majors: Biblical Studies, Pastoral Ministry
Major Mission: The Pastoral Ministry major exists to train emerging shepherd-leaders to establish, sustain, and multiply churches worldwide.
Program Description:
The church is God’s strategy to accomplish his mission in the world (Ephesians 3:8-11). In light of the significant number of pastors leaving vocational ministry, the rapidly changing landscape of contemporary culture, and the pressing need for more healthy churches worldwide, the church needs to rediscover her missional identity for a globalized world. Moreover, as God has appointed a variety of leaders (Ephesians 4:11) whose pastoral calling is to equip the church toward this end, such leaders must locate their calling with this missionary task. As a program, the Pastoral Studies major sets the pastoral vocation within a local and global mission context as students cultivate godly character, develop ministry skills, inculcate biblical truth, expand interpersonal capacity, foster missional engagement, and raise ministry awareness. By retrieving biblical principles, exploring the wisdom within church history, and contextualizing God’s unchanging truth in contemporary settings this program trains emerging leaders so that they can best participate in God’s mission to establish, sustain, and multiply churches worldwide.
Major Outcomes - Students will:
- Character Formation: embody godly character as a foundation for life and ministry.
- Ministry Competence: develop the fundamental skills requisite for holistic shepherding care in all phases of the discipleship process.
- Biblical Content: appropriate biblical truth with theological reflection, contextual sensitivity, and ministry orientation.
- Christian Community: exhibit relational aptitude which embraces the interpersonal nature of pastoral ministry and values the primary importance of the local church.
- Missional Investment: engage God’s mission in the world appreciating the global and local nature of this task.
- Vocational Expectation: negotiate assumptions of pastoral work being sensitized to missional realities and resourced for sustainable ministry.
The curriculum sheet identifies the courses for this program. Pastoral Ministry (BA) Curriculum Sheet
For the course descriptions related to this program, see the courses section of the catalog.
4+1 Programs, Bachelor's + Master's
4+1 Program Option
In a 4+1 program, students work toward the completion of an undergraduate degree while also pursuing a Master’s degree. Graduate-level courses taken during undergraduate studies fulfill both undergraduate elective requirements and graduate program requirements. In the 4+1 program, students are dual-enrolled in LBC and Capital Seminary and Graduate School. For more information about the application process, please speak with your academic advisor. Available master’s programs include the Master of Arts in Ministry (MAM) and Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (MABS).
Admission Requirements
A student may opt for the Four-Plus-One track at any point up through the beginning of their junior year. Before a student is formally admitted to the track, however, an evaluation will be conducted by their academic advisor. The evaluation should consider the student’s previous academic performance, character and ability, and the recommendation of another LBC faculty member. Students may then either be admitted into the Four-Plus-One track, be given provisional admittance with requirements (e.g. raising GPA, etc.), or denied admittance and remain on the traditional four-year track.
4+1 Master of Arts in Ministry
The curriculum sheet identifies the courses for this program. Pastoral Ministry (BA/MAM) Curriculum Sheet
For the course descriptions related to this program, see the courses section of the catalog.
More information about the Master of Arts in Ministry program
4+1 Master of Arts in Biblical Studies
The curriculum sheet identifies the courses for this program. Pastoral Ministry (BA/MABS) Curriculum Sheet
For the course descriptions related to this program, see the courses section of the catalog.
More information about the Master of Arts in Biblical Studies program
Program Director:
Dr. Casey Barton, PhD, directs the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry Program as well as the Pastoral Ministry graduate concentration in the Master of Arts in Ministry and Master of Divinity Programs at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School.
Casey’s love for the church and for preaching led him to complete an MDiv and ThM in Homiletics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, an MTh in Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at New College, University of Edinburgh, and finally the PhD in Homiletics from the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto.
Casey has served in ministry for than 20 years in various capacities including Youth, College, Associate, and Lead Pastor roles. Casey and his wife Sarah live in Lancaster, PA with their two sons.
Faculty:
Dr. Casey Barton, PhD
Dr. Sam Harbin, DMin
Rev. Clyde Bomgardner, MDiv
Rev. Ryan Shenk, MA