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Doctor of Ministry

Focus your effort.

Focus your effort. The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at Lincoln Christian Seminary helps you build your ministry in two ways. First, it strengthens your mind and soul for ministry through core courses in Bible, theology, and leadership studies. Secondly, it provides five different specialization options for focusing your skills:

  • Church and Parachurch Leadership: Equip yourself with Biblically-critiqued leadership theory and exposure to current best practices necessary to lead well.
  • Pastor Care: This unique program in pastoral counseling targeted specifically toward pastors facing difficult issues in their personal and professional lives, is designed to provide theoretical and clinical skills for those who minister to the ministers.
  • Preaching: Learn from preaching faculty who share current theory, decades of experience, and challenging assignments to help you lead and engage your audience with God’s Word.
  • Spiritual Formation: Ranging from individual spiritual direction to leading an entire congregation in spiritual formation, both old paths and new insights help you disciple those in your ministry.
  • Congregational Ministry: If your ministry requires a broad range of skills, this specialization combines the most congregationally-focused courses from the Leadership, Preaching, and Spiritual Formation tracks.

Your experience is capped-off with a major project that brings classroom learning to bear on your unique ministry context — which serves as your classroom and laboratory, as course assignments require you to apply what you’re learning to your ministry in real time. The program is not something you do along with ministry. It is something you do in ministry. Our program respects the busy schedule of your professional and family life by offering three courses a year. Each course requires four months of study, but only one week on campus.

Plan, implement, and evaluate ministry solutions for your context by linking classroom learning with the people you serve. Engage with your peers — both professors and classmates — in deep theological reflection, theoretical construction, and practice-based evaluation of ministry.

Grow in your abilities as a servant leader, loving God with all your mind and seeking to serve the Kingdom in all you do—in your church, your workplace and the world.

Course List

DMIN 1000
Orientation to Doctor of Ministry Studies
An online-onsite hybrid orientation to the program, introducing access to resources, family and ministry context issues, social science research methods for ministry, and other skills needed for doctoral level ministry study.
DMIN 1002
Developing a Devotionally Shaped Ministry
An advanced study of the biblical foundations, historic interpretations, and practical applications of Christian spirituality.
DMIN 1003
Developing a Biblically Grounded Ministry
An exegetical, theological, and practical analysis of key texts and topics related to leadership ministry.
DMIN 1004
Developing a Culturally Sensitive Ministry
An approach to intentionally analyzing current cultural dynamics and trends in order to help students more effectively assess, critique, reflect upon, and effectively impact their ministry context.
DMIN 1005
Developing an Effective Ministry Research Project
An intensive orientation that teaches students how to design, implement, write, and present an effective final ministry research project.
DMIN 1090
DMin Project
A major ministry integration project, conducted under faculty guidance, which serves as the capstone assignment for the Doctor of Ministry degree. Students produce a substantial written document that includes a biblical, theological, and practical rationale for the project, a description of the project design and implementation, an evaluation of the project’s effectiveness, and implications for further study by the student or others. An oral presentation to the student’s faculty advisors follows the completion of the written assignment.
Specialization Areas
Church/Parachurch Leadership Courses
Pastor Care Courses
Preaching Courses
Spiritual Formation Courses
Congregational Ministry Courses

Student Testimonials

Hear from students who've earned a Doctor of Ministry
  • This is way more practical than any other DMin school.
    — Michael Frazier
  • "Practical and personally enriching! There was always a solid connection between the courses and the realities of ministry. I found faculty and staff members valued my participation in the program and looked for ways to help me succeed.
    — Joe Harvey
  • This was an enriching experience. For someone who felt stale and unsettled, it was a time of growth and transformation—letting myself open up and letting God work in me. The intensive week plan allowed me to prepare ahead, come to class for a week, then complete the follow-up project. The professors were supportive and responsive during and after classes.
    — Lana Bourn
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