Information for Church and Ministry Boards about the D.Min.
As a ministry board, you know better than anyone the rigors of the ministry in today’s society. It’s no longer enough just to preach well. Your leader must excel as a visionary, communicator, implementer, financier, mediator, psychologist, and project manager. Those kinds of expectations heighten the need for their intellectual and spiritual development.
Going back to school is not an easy decision for Christian leaders who want to maintain the vitality and consistency of their ministry, but it’s an investment that pays huge spiritual dividends both for the leaders and the ministry.
It’s been our experience at Dallas Seminary that the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) is the ideal tool for a ministry that wants its leader to move to a higher level of Christian leadership and service.
Your leaders have already expressed an interest in this area. As you support your leader to improve the quality of their ministry, consider the D.Min.
Our leader already graduated from seminary. Why another degree?
With the demands of today’s work, leaders can’t afford to be at the end of the education pipeline. It’s not enough to send your church leaders to a conference or a seminar and hope they “pick up” something useful. If Christian leaders are to have a high-impact ministry for the new century and millennium, it’s imperative that they invest in themselves intellectually and spiritually.
Why a D.Min. Degree?
More than any other graduate-level program, a D.Min. is designed specifically for the working Christian leader. This degree is not about basics, but depth and breadth; nor is it well-suited for educators or researchers. Instead, it is widely recognized as the highest professional degree program for ministry.
D.Min. studies focus on the practical dimensions of ministry. Ideally, such a program is a challenge to vocational ministers. The stimulation of comparing notes with other Christian leaders, discussing new ideas for strategies, and studying under a forward-focused curriculum is a practical lift to any ministry.
Why a D.Min. From Dallas Seminary?
Dallas Seminary has a long-standing heritage of equipping students with the tools and skills they need for effective ministry. We have a distinguished faculty whose credentials reflect their understating of the issues that affect ministry.
Moreover, our interests are closely aligned with yours. We place the highest priority on helping your leaders gain an increased satisfaction with their personal ministry. In fact, D.Min. graduates are quick to inform us of how they developed new programs and strategies that resulted in both numerical and spiritual growth for their ministries.
How is the D.Min. structured?
A “tailoring model” serves as a foundation for the entire D.Min. program at Dallas Seminary. Only two courses are required. The first allows students to evaluate their personal walk with God and ministry skills. The second course prepares them to an applied research project and dissertation—the culminating experience of D.Min. studies.
Between those courses, students choose seven others. They may focus on one area such as church administration or select from a variety such as preaching, Christian education, nurture, Bible, theology, communication, or leadership.
By tailoring courses to fit personal and ministry needs, leaders become better sever-leaders and their ministries benefit from the research, applied knowledge, and outside experience.
D.Min. Program Overview
The Doctor of Ministry program offers two tracks of study, a track in Ministry Leadership and a track in Christian Education. Students may select different emphases within each of the two tracks. While the D.Min. program generally follows a standard model in which students, in consultation with their adviser, design and customize their degree plan around individual ministry needs and goals, some emphases follow a cohort model. In the cohort model, students proceed through the courses necessary for their emphasis with a small group of ministry colleagues. This group moves through the designated part of the program together. The cohort model has the advantage of providing a community experience with fellow learners and faculty mentors.
Typically, a D.Min. graduate grows toward three essential goals: spiritual, educational, and ministry.
Spiritual
- Manifest a maturing and Spirit-filled character
- Receive personalized molding through trained mentors
Educational
- Evaluate personal, spiritual, and professional development
- Chart a course for lifelong learning and improvement
- Assess and construct ministries from a biblical theology, applied in a variety of contemporary contexts
- Conduct applied research in a chosen field of study of professional, doctoral-level breadth and depth
- Articulate and defend evangelical theology in the practice of ministry
Ministry
- Enhance identified ministerial skills such as preaching, counseling, leadership, administration, vision-casting, educational programming, communication, etc.
- Communicate God’s Word effectively through preaching, teaching, writing or other media
- Competently lead and manage a church or ministry organization
- Work successfully and ethically with people in a variety of ministry situations
- Provide the framework to develop a biblical ministry for a world of cultural and ethnic diversity
- Demonstrate excellence in character and ministry that receives acceptance from those with whom and to whom they minister.
Is it possible to add school to a full-time ministry?
D.Min. students remain in their current ministries while enrolled in the doctoral program. They usually spend five to ten hours per week in their studies and much of that time related directly to matters in their current ministry.
Does a D.Min. repeat other seminary courses?
D.Min. courses build on the foundation your leader earned with an M.Div. or Th.M. degree with little if any repetition. Even students who have completed other degrees at Dallas Seminary find that D.Min. studies differ significantly. First, it’s a different educational approach. Students are highly involved in the learning process and class size is intentionally controlled to facilitate interaction. The courses are graduate-level, life-situational, and ministry-relevant. Second, top practitioners in many fields of ministry join Dallas Seminary’s acclaimed faculty to participate in D.Min. instruction. As a result, the student is surrounded with the best-in-class faculty and curriculum.
Prior to gathering for a one- or two-week course residency, students complete practical assignments related to their own ministries. Though grounded in biblical theology and ministry theory, D.Min. studies always focus on practical outcomes. The D.Min. is a “put-the-product-on-the-street” degree.
The program culminates with an applied research project which focuses on implementing and evaluating ministry as it pertains to the students. They learn a process of recreating and assessing ministries that they will use throughout their lifetime.
What are the financial considerations?
Most of Dallas Seminary’s D.Min. students receive financial support in their studies from their churches or ministry agencies. Many students have found it helpful to draft an agreement with the church or board specifying an amount or percentage of the tuition that the ministry will pay.
Often organizations include a “continuing education” allowance in compensation which they can designate for D.Min. tuition. As part of the agreement, the D.Min. student may commit to remain in the present ministry for a specified length of time or agree to accept additional responsibilities upon completion of the degree. In addition, tuition loans are available
A Final Word
Ministers, church leaders, and congregations should view D.Min. studies as a long-term, across-the-board investment in their entire ministry. In fact, not to invest in your leader is a self-limiting strategy.
As you help your leader choose among the various D.Min. options, remember that the D.Min. curriculum is not composed of activities, but results—results that produce a sustainable advantage ministry-wide. It’s a tremendous opportunity for leaders and their ministries to grow in size and spirit, become more responsive to community needs, and to model more perfectly Christ’s vision for the local church. It’s a tailor-made situation for everyone.
