Ministry (DMin)

Credential:  Doctor of Ministry

Location:  Online

Locations for Residencies: Lancaster, PA

Program Director:  Dr. Kevin Gushiken

Introduction:  The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree is a terminal professional doctorate that provides the opportunity for a post-Master of Divinity (MDiv) education to pastors, missionaries, para-church ministry leaders, teachers, and other Christian leaders to heightened professional development. The DMin at Capital Seminary and Graduate School provides academic coursework in leadership studies with the integration of research and application. The delivery of the program does not require full-time residency for students. Ministry professionals can pursue intensive advanced study through blended learning while remaining employed full-time in their vocational settings. The degree serves people who have earned the MDiv degree (or its equivalent), and currently serve as associate or senior pastors or executives of church-related or other Christian service organizations.

Program Purpose:  The DMin promotes empirical research, creative reflection, and entrepreneurial application to the practice of ministry through interdisciplinary studies in Bible, theology, and ministry practice. The degree's purpose is to enhance the critical thinking, research, and leadership skills of persons engaged in the leadership of congregations or faith-based organizations.

Program Philosophy:The Doctor of Mi  nistry is a cohort-based program. Students will enter with a group of 10-14 other students. The cohort will follow a prescribed sequence of courses together. Because cohort learning involves students who start and finish their degrees together, students will experience several educational advantages. Cohort learning offers one of the most effective learning opportunities available to doctoral students. Genuine, rich, and deep relationships will be developed through the course of the program as students support and serve each other in the quest for knowledge. As part of a cohort group, doctoral-level students will be expected to exhibit a posture of collaboration, not competition. 

Program Core Competencies

Three core competencies are developed in the Doctor of Ministry program. These include specialized skills in contextualized leadership studies, theological/biblical reflection, and applied research focusing on program evaluation.

Advanced Ministry Concentration - The student will gain the ability to think and execute skillfully in the field of Strategic Leadership.

Theological/Biblical Analysis– In each of the course's students will have the opportunity to reflect on the relationship between the course's general content and its biblical/theological foundations. By doing so, students will be able to integrate their understanding of leadership concepts to the study of Scripture and practical theology.

Applied Research Skills - The student will gain research skills in program evaluation to assess ministry effectiveness. To this end DMIN students will gain the essential quantitative and qualitative methods skills needed to develop and implement a Ministry Research Project in a local context. Lifelong research skills will be developed. These skills are transferable to ministry after the completion of the degree program.

DMin Curricular Structure/Degree Requirements

Core Values

At the heart of the program students will encounter the following core values. These core values frame how the program is delivered:

Emphasis on collaborative, cohort-based learning. – The best learning is done in the community, so we are intentional about creating environments and experiences that promote collaboration. 

Emphasis on academic and personal mentorship that supports students' development of self-awareness, spiritual formation, and recognition of capacities.

Emphasis on global and contextualized instruction that considers the understanding and application of knowledge to diverse environments.

Emphasis on academic rigor and excellent scholarship that promotes meaningful contributions to the knowledge and practice of Christian Ministry.

Emphasis on the integration of theory and practice to support diverse vocational callings.

Course Sequencing

Students will be required to take six core seminars in the program and two courses on the dissertation. Among the six seminar courses the students will take, 4 of them will be in their concentration area of strategic leadership (i.e., MIN 811, MIN 842, MIN 843 & MIN 844), and two seminars will be on research and writing (i.e., MIN 850 & MIN 851). After completing the six-seminar sequence, students will work specifically on their dissertation (i.e., MIN 890 & MIN 891). As part of the sequence, students will take two courses per semester in the fall and spring semesters. In the summer semester, students will do independent work researching the literature and clarifying research questions for their dissertation before their last semester. What follows is a description of this format.

Year #1

Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semester
MIN 850 Contextual Ministry Praxis (Research 1)	MIN 811 Marriage and Family Issues	No Classes – Dissertation Literature Review
MIN 844 Formational Leadership in the Digital Age	MIN 842 Innovation and Change

 

Year # 2

Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semester
MIN 851 Applied Research Seminar (Research 2)	MIN 890 Mentored Research Design – Prospectus (Dissertation Chapters 1-3)	No Classes – Program Delivery and Assessment
MIN 843 Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

 

Year #3

Fall Semester	Spring Semester	Summer Semester
MIN 891 Applied Research Dissertation (Dissertation Chapters 4-5)	MIN 891 Applied Research Dissertation (Continuation) - (Dissertation Chapters 4-5)

ORI 800	Orientation	0
MIN 811	Marriage and Family Issues	4
MIN 842	Innovation and Change	4
MIN 843	Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships	4
MIN 844	Formational Leadership in the Digital Age	4
MIN 850	Contextual Ministry Praxis Seminar	4
MIN 851	Applied Research Seminar	4
MIN 890	Mentored Research Design	4
MIN 891	Applied Research Dissertation	6

 

Strategic Leadership Concentration

As a result of this concentration, the student will do the following:

1. Describe strategic leadership as portrayed in the Bible.
2. Develop personal leadership knowledge and skills for the current ministry context.
3. Generate a set of strategies for leading the current ministry context.
4. Formulate an action plan for change within the current ministry context.
5. Select a set of initiatives to increase the effectiveness of the leader within a current ministry context.
6. Support conclusions identifying truth and discerning deception using critical thinking.
7. Compose documents that express logical conclusions with support from scholarly literature gathered through research.
8. Develop qualitative and quantitative research skills for the design and analysis of effective program evaluation. 

MIN 811	Marriage and Family Issues	4
MIN 842	Innovation and Change	4
MIN 843	Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships	4
MIN 844	Formational Leadership in the Digital Age	4
MIN 850	Contextual Ministry Praxis Seminar	4
MIN 851	Applied Research Seminar	4
MIN 890	Mentored Research Design	4
MIN 891	Applied Research Dissertation	6

 

Program Director:  Kevin Gushiken, PhD 

Faculty 

Debra Johnson-Cortesi, PhD

Kevin Gushiken, PhD