Doctor of Ministry in the Renewal of the Church for Mission

Download DMin in Renewal of the Church for Mission Brochure

Palmer Seminary's pioneering Doctor of Ministry in the Renewal of the Church for Mission focuses on helping Christian leaders grow as responsive agents of God's transforming power. The program affirms a vital relationship with Jesus Christ as the source of renewal. It looks inward at the transformation of individuals and churches, and outward at the transformation of communities and the world. In short, it captures the essence of what it means to be the Church.

Dynamics of Transformational Leadership
We learn what it means to be a servant leader, to be a systems-transforming leader, to be a leader who knows how to come alongside, to deal with conflict, to analyze strengths and weaknesses within systems, to partner and to shepherd under the leadership of the Good Shepherd.

Global Mission
We look at the church in connection with global mission, appraising the new missionary situation in the world determined by the shift of Christianity to the southern hemisphere and migration movements toward the developed nations. We explore the biblical and theological foundations for the missionary nature of the local church through the use of practical tools for the promotion of global mission - as well as local mission -in the local congregation.

Congregational and Community Renewal
We look at congregational and community renewal - grappling with the nature and the
mission of the church at this juncture in time, learning when to abandon outgrown structures and how to re-engineer the church-based on changes in size, constituency and resources. We learn to assess our communities and to conceptualize and work towards neighborhood and community health.

The Doctoral Project
Theological-biblical understanding and reflection, systems-relational dynamics and cultural-social analysis are applied in a renewal project within each student's context of ministry. The student identifies a specific problem in his/her ministry, organizes and conducts a significant research project, evaluates the results and prepares a report.

The Renewal Support Group (RSG)
Every effort is made to counter the loneliness and isolation many doctoral candidates experience during their studies. The need to be in relationship with others who share the student's renewal vision and are available for interaction is essential. To that end, each student establishes an RSG (3-5 persons) to support and accompany him/her throughout
this program.

(The program is designed for pastors and others with the requisite M.Div. and 3-years subsequent ministry)

Contact us at semdmin@eastern.edu.