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Doctor of Ministry

Program Description

The Doctor of Ministry is an advanced, professionally-oriented degree that prepares people more deeply for religious leadership in congregations, para-churches, non-profits, denominations, and other settings, including appropriate teaching roles. The focus of the program is on integrating critical thinking and theological reflection, effective leadership skills, and personal development in order to create contextualized applications of the student’s research in service of the church and the world. 

Program Components

Winebrenner Theological Seminary’s Doctor of Ministry is a 31-credit program intended to be completed in 3 years with optional writing continuation in years 4-6. The program is primarily online with week-long intensive requirements in the summer trimesters.  The doctoral project is written in the second half of the program upon successful completion of research and writing methods requirements.

Program Contact Info

Doctor of Ministry

950 North Main Street, 2nd Floor
Findlay, OH 45840

Dr. Kathryn L. Helleman
kathryn.helleman@winebrenner.edu

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Program Elements

  • Research and Writing Methods courses provide practical and theoretical frameworks for the doctoral writing project. 
  • Contextualized Learning Experiences provide exposure to diverse contexts and increased contextual competency.
  • Learning Threads aid in theological integration, leadership skills, and personal development. 
  • Monthly cohort video-conference meetings are hosted by the Program Director.

The Doctoral Project

Each student will identify a research question, design, conduct, and report on their research, and complete a written project and presentation based on the research conducted. The Written Project requires each student to complete a written project of 100-130 pages in length plus unlimited front and back matter. This written project will be subject to a juried review by the Project Chair, Program Director, and Second Reader to determine successful completion.

An area of research should be chosen to reflect the student’s passion, but with awareness of the need to have access to a research population and research setting in order to execute the practical application of the research designed. The following reflect potential areas of research but should not be considered as an exhaustive list:

  • Congregational Life and Ministry (e.g., pastoral care, pastoral counseling, spiritual renewal, youth work, church growth, evangelism, missions, preaching, teaching, worship, administration, leadership, stewardship)
  • Church and Society (e.g., discipleship, education, spiritual formation, the effective use of technology in ministry, distance learning, public theology, social ethics, questions of race, gender, economics, apologetics, worldview) 
  • Christian Thought (e.g. biography of an historic figure, study of a denominationally critical time period, study of a contemporary belief or behavior, denominational theology, theology of a specific cultural group)
  • Biblical Studies (e.g. exposition of the thought of a biblical author or text of scripture and its applicability to ministry, delineate a biblical theme across a biblical corpus and describe its contribution to contemporary ministry)
  • Student-Initiated (Projects that are not with the scope of the options above will be consider with permission from the Program Director)

 

Newsletters

2020 Newsletter
2019 Newsletter
2018 Newsletter
2017 Fall Newsletter
2017 Spring Newsletter

Dissertations

Published Projects

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