Master of Arts - Pastoral Ministry
Equipping Ministers with Biblical and Practical Foundations for Effective Ministry

Program Objectives

By completing this program, students will be able to:

One

Know the content and backgrounds of the Bible

Two

Demonstrate an increased understanding and use of the spiritual gifts and the five-fold leadership giftings.

Three

Verbalize and operate in a biblical philosophy of pastoral ministry that embodies the love of Christ, the heart of Christ, and the methods of Christ.

Four

Gain a foundational knowledge of the historical and theological elements of church history and their impact on the church today.

Five

Be able to release the power of the Holy Spirit in situations requiring physical healing, emotional healing, and deliverance.

Degree Requirements

Introductory Requirements
Covering basic research methods and writing skills along with exploring how to make choices that promote success, students are taken on a journey that covers the ‘how to’s’ for research and writing as well as exploring ways to take responsibility, to think about personal goals, and to achieve them. This course is designed to help students complete their masters degrees while appreciating the journey and doing some growing along the way.
Biblical Theological Foundations

This course lays the foundation for Old Testament study by providing a window into the historical, cultural, and geographical background, the literary and theological content and the practical relevance of the Old Testament. Students will be equipped with the necessary information, perspectives, and skills for using the Old Testament in effective Christian ministry so they embrace the Old Testament as relevant material for today and be moved by its themes to love God and people.

This course provides a book survey and historical, cultural, literary, and theological overview of the New Testament for study and ministry. Special emphasis will be given to the supernatural and miraculous life of Jesus, the disciples, and the New Testament Church, through the breaking in of the Kingdom of God. The course will provide practical insights for ministry and personal spiritual life. Ultimately, the desire of this course is to stir the student in knowing and experiencing more of the kingdom of God.

Hermeneutics is the discipline of interpreting the Bible with the purpose of first, discovering, as far as possible, the intent of the original author and second, applying the lessons learned from the original author to one’s ministry context. Interpreting the Bible is meant to be an encounter with God through which we come to a deeper knowledge of who God is and His purposes revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. To do this well requires the involvement of both the head and the heart.

A survey of the overarching doctrines of the Bible in which the class examines the nature of authority and how it applies to scripture as well as looking at the major doctrines of God, Creation, Man, and Sin with an intentional focus upon the Trinitarian nature of God and the oft-neglected understanding of the Holy Spirit.

A continuation of Systematic Theology 1 focusing on the areas of Christology, pneumatology, eschatology, ecclesiology, and soteriology.

Revival History Courses (Choose 2)
This course enables the student to gain an overview of God’s activity within history beginning with the biblical era and concluding with the Late Medieval period just prior to the advent of the Protestant Reformation. Readings will reveal the challenges the early church faced as they dealt with persecution, heresies and controversies to defend and formulate Christian doctrines such as the character and nature of Christ and the relationship of the Godhead within the Trinity. The student will also study the great teachers of the church, the development of the church including the division of the Eastern and Western church, the corruption which gave rise to the need for reform. This class will also devote special attention to how the Holy Spirit actively moved through individuals and groups with spiritual gifts and experiences during this period.
A study of God’s activity within history beginning with the Reformation era and concluding with the Azusa Street Revival. Special attention will be given to the development and distinctive characteristics of the Reformation, and key revival movement that helped to shape the distinctiveness of Christianity in the American and British contexts.
Since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the turn of the 20th Century, the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement has become a major renewal movement experienced by more than 550 million people worldwide. This course will study the history and development of this major move of the Holy Spirit. The class is not a traditional course on church history, but instead will look at church history through a pneumatological lens. In other words, it is a study of how the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, moved powerfully and supernaturally throughout the past 100 years to bring new life and vitality (renewal) to the church.
Practical Ministry Foundations
Spiritual Formation is growing in our relationship with God, learning to hear His voice clearly, and continually renewing minds to His. Discipleship is following Him, adhering to His teachings and spreading the Gospel He preached: a Gospel accompanied with power. Students will be challenged to grow in both.
This course will provide an introduction to practical and effective Christian prayer for physical healing. It will encourage students to establish a discipleship lifestyle providing healing prayer ministry in their communities. It will help students to understand the training necessary for effective healing ministry, and it will also outline for students the biblical foundation for healing prayer. Finally, this course will guide students in how to teach others about healing prayer.
This course is designed to be an introduction into some of the concepts necessary for inner healing (sanctification). It addresses the topics of hearing God’s voice as well as the fundamentals of an inner healing session, forgiveness, inner vows and judgments, and an introduction into the orphan spirit.
This course will equip those who offer pastoral care to lead others to experience the freedom that is their inheritance in Jesus Christ and experience it themselves. The class will study some of the best tools available to the Christian leader as well as a look at some of the issues that every minister faces including dealing with manipulative people and avoiding debt.

Students will understand basic principles of Christian leadership, think critically and biblically about leadership practices in the context of the Word of God, discover their unique contributions and styles as leaders, and develop a personal philosophy of Christian leadership to be tailored to any context in life or the student’s unique ministry context

Practical Ministry Elective Courses (Choose 2)
The Apostle Paul said to ‘earnestly desire Spiritual Gifts,’ [1 Cor 14:1] so they are something we are to understand, pursue and release through us for the building up of the church and for evangelism. It is our obligation to learn and grow in Spiritual gifts. The purposes of this course are to enable the student to accelerate growth in his/her relationship with God; to identify Spiritual Gifts and describe their function; to learn how to use Spiritual Gifts in the context of the local church; and to learn how to use Spiritual Gifts for evangelism.
Christian Ethics is the discipline of making moral choices that reflect the teachings of Scripture and are consistent with the character and purposes of Jesus Christ. In making choices that keep us on the side of God, we stay in that place of spiritual and moral integrity and we display the nature of the Kingdom of God. This practice will require humility and love, careful and penetrating reflection, and a desire to live a life that is pleasing in God’s sight.
This course will equip those who offer pastoral care to lead others to experience the freedom that is their inheritance in Jesus Christ and experience it themselves. The class will study some of the best tools available to the Christian leader as well as a look at some of the issues that every minister faces including dealing with manipulative people and avoiding debt.
Students will understand basic principles of Christian leadership, think critically and biblically about leadership practices in the context of the Word of God, discover their unique contributions and styles as leaders, and develop a personal philosophy of Christian leadership to be tailored to any context in life or the student’s unique ministry context.
Students will gain a biblical perspective of worship as well as learn to seek the heart of God for renewal and growth in the church today.
Students will examine several models of church planting in order to be equipped to lay a solid foundation for church planting ministries.
This course is designed to develop principles necessary for effective evangelism in a 21st century context. It addresses the topics of Kingdom foundations, basis for evangelism, core values of evangelism, overcoming rejection and fear in evangelism, how to use the power gifts (healing, words of knowledge, prophecy etc.) as aids in evangelism, and how to lead someone to Christ.
This course is designed to develop principles for effective discipleship in a 21st century context through an examination of Jesus’ approach to discipleship and how to replicate His model. It also explores effective models of discipleship and discusses approaches to small group discipleship that could be used in a ministry or local church context.
Christians employ apologetics in order to counter the arguments of those who challenge the truthfulness of our faith claims and to win over those who find the Christian faith illogical, fanciful, or irrelevant. This is a course on how we follow Peter’s instruction to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Peter 3:15-16).
The purpose of this class is to equip students with a Biblical theology for the prophetic. It will give a biblical basis for hearing the voice of God as well as practical application of hearing God’s voice in our lives.
An in-depth Biblical study of the life of intercession, based on the Bible and on a study of how the Holy Spirit revealed and lived out the life of The Christ through Rees Howells.
Students will explore aspects of Christian character that promote healthy life-long spiritual formation, including an examination of biblical accounts as well as case studies of some of God’s modern-day generals. Spiritual transformation, becoming like Jesus, necessitates more than mere spiritual disciplines. This class purposes to stimulate us to be encouraged and excited by the pursuit of virtue in its specifically Christian form, and to have our character shaped, together and individually, to become the human beings God means us to be.
A study of the call to ministry leadership with regard to women. The course will include: a broad survey of the relevant biblical texts and theological issues on the subject, the significant contribution women have made in the history of the church’s ministry, and the practical aspects for flourishing male/female partnerships in leadership. The student will form and articulate in writing a personal theology and/or ministry philosophy regarding the subject.
This course is currently not offered online. A student may receive credit for this course if he/she has completed Physical Healing 3 and Physical Healing 4 through the Global Awakening CHCP program.
This course is currently not offered online. A student may receive credit for this course if he/she has completed Inner Healing 3 and Inner Healing 4 through the Global Awakening CHCP program.
To do the work of the Kingdom of God, the saint will not only heal the sick but will also cast out demons. This course seeks to introduce the topic of deliverance and to give a functional process for ministering freedom to those in bondage. Students will gain a biblical foundation from various authors and teachers in order to gain a basic theology relating to setting captives free
This course is currently not offered online. A student may receive credit for this course if he/she has completed two CHCP courses: Deliverance 3 and Deliverance 4.
Practicum/Internship (Choose 1)
Students will be involved in a guided ministry of their choice. The practicum experience involves supervision, journaling, goal setting, reflection, evaluation, and learning through the ministry experience. A Practicum is normally a 16-week experience. Practicum proposals must be approved by the Assistant Dean before registration.
An extension of PRAC 5003 for students who are involved in a second area of ministry or who will create a Ministry Training Manual regarding a particular area of ministry. A Practicum is normally a 16-week experience. Practicumn proposals must be approved by the Assistant Dean before registration.
The student completes a significant research project on a topic of his/her choosing. Research proposals must be approved by the Assistant Dean before registration.
Students participate in an approved missions experience, document their involvement with journals and interviews, and create a thorough review and usable reflection that will guide future endeavors in missions. A Practicum is normally a 16-week experience. Practicum proposals must be approved by the Assistant Dean before registration.
Degree Summary
Academic Success
3 Credit Hours
Bible/Theol. Foundations
15 Credit Hours
Revival History
6 Hours
Ministry Requirements
15 Hours
Ministry Electives
6 Hours
Practicum/Thesis
3 Hours
Total
48 Credit Hours

Master of Arts - Pastoral Ministry
Degree Summary

Courses Hours
Academic Success 3 Hours
Bible/Theol. Foundations 15 Hours
Revival History 6 Hours
Ministry Requirements 15 Hours
Ministry Electives 6 Hours
Practicum/Thesis 3 Hours
Total 48 Hours

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