Master of Divinity

Purpose

The three-year Master of Divinity curriculum prepares people for ministerial leadership of the congregation and church leadership more broadly. The goal of the MDiv program is to educate and form Christian men and women for pastoral and other ministries. The program is designed to develop spiritually mature, Spirit-led pastors to care for and guide the church. Concentrations with modified plans of study are available in pastoral care and counseling, mission and evangelism, youth ministry, and theological studies. The latter includes possible majors in Bible, theology and ethics, church history, and peace and justice studies.

Whether one serves God as a pastor or evangelist in a congregation, a chaplain, a pastoral counselor or social worker, a preacher or a teacher of the church, or a youth minister, a pastoral vocation involves careful listening to the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ in a specific time and place and accepting the responsibility to mediate God's reign through pastoral office and presence.

Education for a pastoral ministry, therefore, involves attention not only to a student's growth in theological discernment and competency in ministry, but also attention to the development of character, sense of call, pastoral identity, spiritual depth, and commitment to service in the name of Christ.

Further, preparation for pastoral service in the Believers Church tradition includes more than developing the ability to bring pastoral presence to individuals. It also seeks to enable students to provide insight and direction for worship life, group planning and decision-making, preaching and teaching, healing, and forgiving and peace-making work needed in congregations and church organizations. Such pastoral leadership assists the spiritual growth of groups of believers, building them together into a "dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22), and for service in the world.

The MDiv program seeks to nurture pastors who can inspire and lead the church as a priestly, prophetic, and missionary community. It fosters pastoral formation by encouraging:

  1. Richer understanding of the church and its calling, the development of a "pastoral heart."
  2. Commitment to the church as a missionary community, recognizing how evangelization, peace, and justice emerge from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  3. Disciplined ability to draw wisely on Scripture as the primary standard for faithful Christian life and thought.
  4. The need for a continuing sense of call to ministry, an understanding of the pastoral office and role, and confidence as a pastoral leader.
  5. Competency in the relational and practical arts and skills needed for the various ministries in pastoral leadership and community service.
  6. The expression of theological depth and discernment including the ability to draw thoughtfully from tradition in articulating the church's message in ways that nurture Christian life and faith.
  7. Discriminating appropriation of Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition and understanding and appreciation for the larger Christian church.
  8. Demonstration of moral integrity in both personal and public life.
  9. Awareness of how culture, class, and gender assumptions affect the practice of pastoral ministry.
  10. Recognition of the importance of equipping other believers for their ministries in the congregation and their vocations in society.

For more information, see the AMBS Catalog, pages 60 to 76.