Doctor of Ministry

The Doctor of Ministry is an advanced professional program for those already successfully engaged in Christian ministry. The program is designed to enhance professional competence in the practice of ministry to provide opportunity for the renewal of the minister’s personal and spiritual life and to stimulate growth in ministry.

As an in-service professional ministry development program, the minister is able to remain in full-time ministry while engaged in this learning process. The Doctor of Ministry is not a research program, but it does require demonstration of critical thought and the highest academic standards.

 

The culmination of the Doctor of Ministry program is the Doctor of Ministry Capstone Project through which the student makes an important and needed contribution to Christian ministry in the Church.

DOWNLOAD A DOCTOR OF MINISTRY PROGRAM PDF

Meet the Director

Dr. Dan Call
I love seeing people grow deeper in their faith and more confident in their relationship with Christ. I have been married to my wife Marlene for over four decades and constantly learning new and exciting things about her. We had two children: Elizabeth and Andrew. We lost our amazing daughter Lizzy to cancer in 2015. Our son-in-law Chris and beautiful granddaughter Sophie live here in Dallas. Our son Andy (pastor), our daughter-in-law Abby and two terrific grandsons Tripp and Ezra live in Chula Vista, California.

Concentrations

Spiritual Formation and Direction

This concentration is geared toward ministers who are looking for new engaging ways to disciple people who are inside and outside of their congregations. Each residency includes an overnight spiritual retreat, and your final residency will be a 10-day pilgrimage to Scotland, Italy, or Rome. Watch the video below to hear from Dr. Dan Call about this unique opportunity.

Next cohort launching fall 2024!

Messianic Jewish Studies

Whether you desire to lead in the Messianic community or feel called to be a bridge between the Church and the Jewish people, this concentration is designed for you. This program is truly one of a kind. It is accredited, Spirit-filled, and approved by the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations (UMJC) for training rabbis and teachers.

Next cohort launching fall 2024!

Executive Leadership

This concentration is geared toward leaders who are looking for transformation. Connect with who God made you to be a leader. This concentration will show you how to walk in a spirit of empowerment that will change your church, ministry, organization and the people who partner with you. Your final residency will be a 10-day pilgrimage to Israel.

Next cohort launching fall 2024!

Pastoral Theology in Practice

This concentration is geared toward leaders who have the responsibility in the church to speak to the compelling questions encountered in daily life. This concentration will challenge students to build their own theological foundations for their practice of ministry.

Next cohort launching fall 2024!

Women in Ministry Leadership

This concentration is geared toward empowering & preparing women to serve in any ministry. TKU’s emphasis on women in ministry leadership has deep roots. “Since its founding through Pastor Jack Hayford in 1997, TKU has been a place where women are released into ministry all over the world,” Each residency includes an overnight spiritual retreat, and there will be an overseas residency to Oxford University. 

Program Format:

  • Cohort-based (12-15 participants per cohort).
  • Three residencies* per year: February/March, June/July, and September/October.

*International students can find more information on attending the residencies on the International Students page.

Why The King's
  • Spirit-formed leaders training Spirit-formed leaders. Given that many of our credentialed faculty are actively involved in ministry, their teaching comes from a perspective of applied knowledge.
  • Whole-person formation. For us, it’s not just about what you learn, it’s about who you become. We believe your transformation for ministry should include deepening your walk with Jesus.
  • Culture of worship and prayer. It could be the prayer room, weekly chapel, a classroom, or just a hallway – wherever it occurs, we live a life of prayer and worship.
  • Community of care. Whether you take classes online or on-ground, soul care from faculty, staff, and peers extends from the classroom into your daily life.
  • Growth in difference. When you get into a classroom with different generations, ethnicities, experiences, and faith journeys, you grow both personally and spiritually. You maintain your difference, but you grow in unity.
Program Objectives

The Doctor of Ministry degree seeks to:

  • Prepare candidates for advanced roles of leadership within their own particular communities of faith and cultures;
  • Help candidates renew their calling, purpose, and approach to ministry;
  • Resource candidates with advanced research skills that foster critical thought and the ability to make informed decisions impacting their lives, ministries, and organizations;
  • Provide opportunities to build relationships with peers, faculty, and expert practitioners who can help expand their ministry network and cultivate life-long professional relationships;
  • Offer a flexible approach to completing post-graduate education that utilizes innovative educational strategies.
Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the Doctor of Ministry program, the student will be able to:

  • Engage in Spirit-focused theological reflection and application of scriptural truth to ministry;
  • Develop and practice Spirit-empowered approaches to spiritual formation and leadership development;
  • Demonstrate the ability to foster Spirit-guided communities worldwide and to engage culture and contemporary worldviews;
  • Assess ministry effectiveness by utilizing research methodologies and skills;
  • Evaluate organizational culture in order to bring health and alignment for the accomplishment of mission.
Curriculum

CORE COURSES 16 HOURS

BIBM 8301 Renewing the Spirit-Formed Leader 3
BIBM 8311 Theology Design and Practical Ministry 3
BIBM 8303 Christ and Culture: Understanding the Times 3
BIBM 8321 Leadership Development 3
BIBM 8111 Research Fundamentals 1
BIBM 8112 Quantitative Research 1
BIBM 8113 Qualitative Research 1
BIBM 8114 Prospectus Design 1

ELECTIVE COURSES 12 HOURS

Choose from the following: 12
Executive Leadership
Messianic Jewish Studies
Pastoral Theology in Practice
Spiritual Formation and Direction
Women in Ministry Leadership
*See “Program Options” tab for concentrations
Students must take at least three courses from a concentration to satisfy the concentration requirement.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 8 HOURS

BIBM 8115 DMin Project Foundations 1
BIBM 8116 Biblical and Theological Reviews 1
BIBM 8117 Literature Reviews 1
BIBM 8118 DMin Project Methodologies 1
BIBM 8411 Project 4

 

Program Options
CONCENTRATIONS

Students must take at least three courses from a concentration to satisfy the concentration requirement.

Executive Leadership
  • LEAD 8301 Managing for Missional Effectiveness – 3
  • LEAD 8302 Leading and Managing People – 3
  • LEAD 8303 Strategy for Missional Growth – 3
  • LEAD 8304 Leading the Responsive Organization – 3
Messianic Jewish Studies
  • BIBL 8301 Jewish Identity and Continuity – 3
  • BIBL 8303 Messianic Jewish History, Theology, and Practice – 3
  •  BIBM 8305 Messianic Jewish Communal Boundaries – 3
  • BIBM 8306 Messianic Jewish Preaching and Teaching – 3
Pastoral Theology in Practice
  • BIBM 8332 The Pastor Theologian – 3
  • BIBM 8333 The Pastor Theologian and Church – 3
  • BIBM 8334 The Pastor, Theologian, Culture, and the Academy – 3
  • BIBM 8335 – The Pastor Theologian and Calling – 3
Spiritual Formation and Direction
  • BIBM 8312 Spiritual Formation I: The History, Theology, and Practice of Spiritual Formation – 3
  • BIBM 8313 Spiritual Formation II: Historical Models of Spiritual Formation – 3
  • BIBM 8314 Spiritual Direction I: The History, Theology, and Practice of Soul Care – 3
  • BIBM 8315 Spiritual Direction II: The Development of Core Skills of Soul Care – 3
  • BIBM 8014 Spiritual Formation and Direction Retreat – 7
  • BIBM 8015 Spiritual Formation and Direction Pilgrimage (last semester)
Women in Ministry Leadership
  • BIBH 8302 Advanced History of Women in Ministry Leadership – 3
  • BIBL 8304 Women and Ministry of Jesus: A Theological Immersion – 3
  • BIBM 8316 Strengthening the Soul of the Female Leader – 3
  • BIBM 8317 Female Leadership in Global Perspective – 3
  • BIBM 5001 Spiritual Retreat: WIML – 0

“There’s something different about TKU and you do not fully understand that until you get here. It changes you. He changes you! No place I’d rather be.”

– KRISTEY SIMMONS, Alumna