Master of Divinity Tracks

Pastoral Ministry Track

(for traditional congregations and emerging Christian communities)

The Pastoral Ministry Track is recommended for students seeking a comprehensive preparation for Christian pastoral leadership in both established and emerging churches. Graduates of this track will demonstrate vision and competence for leading congregations toward purposeful community, prophetic practices and intentional mission.

Students are expected to choose their pastoral ministry electives from the complete range of theological disciplines which include biblical, theological, historical, contextual, formational and practical ministry studies.

In addition to the above MDiv core requirements, at least one course is recommended in:

  • Christian Ethics
  • Christian Worship
  • Conflict Transformation
  • Pastoral Care
  • Leadership and Administration
  • Preaching
  • Teaching
  • Spiritual Direction

A denominational polity course is required for this track, and Clinical Pastoral Education is strongly recommended.

Academic Ministry Track

The Academic Ministry Track is recommended for students who feel called to model for the church what it means to love God with the mind by artfully bringing their academic learnings into the life of the church through their teaching, writing and on-going scholarship.

In addition to the above MDiv core requirements, students are expected to choose many of their 30 SH of track electives from these suggested courses:

  • Anabaptist Theology
  • Anabaptism Today: Yoder & Hauerwas
  • Believers Church
  • Biblical Foundations for Peacemaking
  • Biblical Theology
  • Bonhoeffer
  • Christian Ethics
  • Contemporary Theology
  • Craft of Teaching for Faith
  • Foundations for Christian Preaching
  • Mennonite History
  • Preaching Workshop
  • Systematic Theology
  • Education for the Whole Body of Christ
  • Teaching Practicum
  • Women/Men in Scripture & Church

Cross Cultural & Community Mission Track

The Cross Cultural & Community Mission Track is recommended for students who feel called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in diverse contexts, providing leadership for new communities of faith and neighborhood ministries that embody evangelical spirit, social conscience and public witness, whether locally or cross-culturally.

In addition to the above MDiv core requirements, students are expected to choose many of their 30 SH of track electives from these suggested courses:

  • Christian Faith & Inter-Religious Encounters
  • Church in Mission/Cultural Context
  • Churches & Social Transformation
  • Experimental Congregations
  • Jesus and Nonviolence: Sermon on the Mount
  • Evangelicalism & Fundamentalism
  • Managing Congregational Conflict
  • Media in the Congregation
  • Introduction to Public Worship
  • Urban Mission
  • Peacebuilding in Anabaptist Perspective
  • Song of the Christian Church
  • Religious Imagination in Contemporary Culture
  • Seminar in Youth Ministry
  • Turn Around Strategies: Church
  • Spiritual Formation in Congregational Discernment

Specialized Ministry Track

(Chaplain, Pastoral Counselor, Spiritual Director)

The Specialized Ministry Track is recommended for students who feel called to serve as Chaplains, Pastoral Counselors, or Spiritual Directors who establish redemptive relationships with persons, practicing the skills of presence, listening, discernment, and empathy while offering appropriate, caring responses.

In addition to the above MDiv core requirements, students are expected to choose many of their 30 SH of track electives from these suggested courses:

  • Pastoral Care
  • Pastoral Counseling I
  • Pastoral Counseling II
  • Marriage&Family Counseling
  • Pastoral Assessment
  • Christian Ministry of Healing & Deliverance
  • Human Sexuality in Theological Perspective
  • Clinical Pastoral Education—Basic Level
  • Clinical Pastoral Education—Advanced Level
  • Introduction to Spiritual Guidance
  • Spiritual Direction Seminar & Practicum I
  • Spiritual Direction Seminar & Practicum II
  • Psychology of Religious Experience
  • Prayer in the Christian Tradition
  • Readings in Spiritual Classics
  • Ministry in Times of Trauma
  • Evangelism as Initial Spiritual Guidance
  • Advanced Spiritual Direction