Doctor of Ministry Leadership

As the participant advances through the program, several individuals will assist the student.

Please take a moment to meet Dean Dr. David Currie.

Dean

Our Dean of the Doctor of Ministry Program is a faculty member with a rank appropriate to acquired training and experience. It is expected that the Dean will offer courses in appropriate academic areas at the Master’s and/or D.Min. levels.

Doctor of Ministry Responsibilities

1. To supervise the D.Min. program, maintaining size and structure in accordance with Seminary policy.
2. To consult with admissions concerning the application and admission process in keeping with enrollment policies set by the Seminary.
3. To maintain up-to-date records on each participant and to be available to all participants in the program.
4. To oversee the development and quality control of each given specialist concentration.
5. To support and encourage Mentors in the ongoing work with their own D.Min. participants.
6. To recommend to the faculty, on behalf of the D.Min. Committee, the granting of the D.Min. degree as participants complete the program.
7. To supervise the D.Min. office staff.
8. To seek continually to improve the program through curriculum design, qualified personnel, and the promotion of interaction among the participants with the Seminary community.

Track Mentor

The track mentor (under the administrative direction of the D.Min. Director) oversees and approves every aspect of the participant’s work in his/her program, including:

1. The participant’s Personal Learning Covenant,
2. Residency instruction,
3. The Qualifying Exam and admission to Candidacy Status,
4. Thesis design, implementation, and final written report, and
5. Serves as chairperson of the participant’s thesis defense.

The mentor is both professor and a professional colleague who models the scholar-practitioner ideal of the program that he/she supervises. The mentor fosters not only individual learning but also group collegiality and shared learning.

Project Mentor

The project mentor oversees and approves every aspect of the participant’s work in his/her project, including project design, implementation, and final written report. The project mentor is often the track mentor, but some situations require an alternate project mentor.

Guest Instructors

At various points during the residencies, guest instructors will participate by supplementing the instruction of the residency courses as resources for valuable information. They are generally not involved in overseeing and evaluating the participant’s work in the program.

On-Site Evaluator

The participant will select an on-site evaluator for each of the major projects, subject to the approval of the participant’s Mentor. The participant will choose on-site evaluators who can best assist in attaining the goals of particular projects. To qualify, a project evaluator must be involved in the participant’s church or ministry setting. Opportunity should be given for a variety of people from the congregation or locale of ministry to assist the participant in his/her work. The evaluator must also know the situation well and have an understanding of the church or group.
The relationship between the on-site evaluator and the participant must be one that fosters mutual candor, evaluation, and support. The on-site evaluator will work with the participant in the following ways:

1. He/she will be a member of the group involved in the implementation of the project,
2. He/she will give written and oral feedback to the participant at various stages during the execution of the project (see forms), which will become a part of the final project report.

Thesis Committee

Each participant has a thesis committee comprised of the participant’s mentor and a reader who is appointed by the mentor in consultation with the D.Min. director. The mentor gives principal guidance, and the reader provides ongoing critique and approval of every aspect of the participant’s work, from the initial thesis proposal through the final thesis defense (generally comprised of 5, 20-40 page chapters, or 100-200 pp). In the event that the mentor and reader cannot arrive at a consensus regarding the outcome of the participant’s thesis defense, a third reader will be appointed from the D.Min. Committee by the director.

To request information, please click here.