Missions, Development, and Leadership in the Global Context - Doctor of Ministry Program
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Missions, Development, and Leadership in the Global Context

Informing spiritual passions by…
Forming mentored learning communities, thereby…
Transforming ministers and ministries for a lifetime.

Dates and Locations:
Year One: January 12-23, 2026  South Hamilton, MA, USA
Year Two: January 11-22, 2027  Cape Town, South Africa
Year Three: January 10-21, 2028  Chiang Mai, Thailand
Primary Faculty Mentors: Dr. Todd Johnson, Dr. Mary Ho

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Informing

Christian mission, development, and leadership today require a broader knowledge of global Christianity, particularly the impact of its epic shift to the Global South. Whether they are working a mission focused church, a non-governmental agency, a mission organization, or other Great Commission team, ministry leaders have a unique challenge in crossing cultures, dealing with different governments, and relating to Christians in various denominations and languages.

This track centers on the practical outworking of leading Great Commission organizations around the world. Integral to this theme are those basic components: missions and evangelism which initiate persons into the Kingdom of God and the reign of Christ; development which leads persons to flourish in the context of resources; and leadership which is understood as assisting others in achieving the mission of God in their lives. Fully aware that theory without personal application bears no fruit, this track will seek to help each person in the cohort work through the practical implications of leading Great Commission organizations, and to multiply such leaders in the church.

Forming

As a Doctor of Ministry student, you attend three two-week intensive residencies (seminars), one each year for three years. One of your residencies for this track will be held outside the United States.

You also complete projects following each of the three residencies, including a major thesis-project following the third residency. You read widely in books and periodicals, and your reading and research contribute to the residencies and to your current ministry.

Here is a sample reading list from the first residency:

  • Johnson, Todd M. and Kenneth R. Ross eds., Atlas of Global Christianity(Edinburgh University Press, 2009). Essays from 64 scholars, mainly from the Global South.
  • Winter, Ralph D. and Hawthorne, Steven, eds., Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, 4th edition (William Carey Library, 2009). Essays from 150 scholars and practitioners from around the world
  • Dzubinski, Leanne and Anneke H. Stasson, Women in the Mission of the Church: Their Opportunities and Obstacles Throughout Christian History (Baker Academic, 2021).
  • Hanciles, Jehu J., Migration and the Making of Global Christianity (Eerdmans, 2021).
  • Robert, Dana L., Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).
  • Yong, Amos, Mission After Pentecost: The Witness of the Spirit From Genesis to Revelation (Baker Academic, 2019).

To order these books through Christian Book Distributors, go to our online bookstore:

GCTS Bookstore

Transforming

Here is how your studies will transform you and your ministry by seeking to fulfill our core Doctor of Ministry goals in track specialized ways:

  1. To resource students through a biblically-grounded educational program taught by faculty who are committed to God’s Word and the application of principles of Scripture to the issues of contemporary culture.
    • Students will be able to look more fully at the world from a biblical and global perspective and see how they can faithfully live out their calling in world evangelization.
    • Students will be able to understand the general sweep of the history of missionary and social outreach from the early Church until today.
  2. To form in students a sound foundation of theological and biblical inquiry in Mission, Development and Leadership, which they ably integrate into the context of global Christianity.
    • Students will learn through global residencies, visiting a new global site each year for residency: first residency in Hamilton, second in Chiang Mai, and third in Cape Town.
    • Students will be able to discern the general principles that are normally at work in leadership and to formulate a biblical and theological understanding of leadership in a global context.
    • Students will be shaped into global leaders with skillsets and abilities in bringing people together across cultural barriers to offer global solutions to the world’s most pressing issues.
  3. To provide students with the skill sets and understandings in a specialized area of ministry to such an extent that they can impact their congregation or community more powerfully for God.
    • Students will be able to grow in awareness of the contemporary literature of missions, non-governmental organizations, and global realities.
    • Students will be able to develop competence in assessing the environment and needs of transnational mission for more effective global engagement.
  4. To create through the cohort model of the program a dimension of Christian community and spiritual nurturing so that students form strong friendships with one another and enter long-term relationships with the scholars who guide the learning experience.
    • Students will be able to recognize that Christian ministry flows out of the character of believers and through their shared experiences together will want to grow in the knowledge of our life in Christ and to learn more of the beauty of His holiness.
    • Students will be able to grow in their zeal for the glory of God as the motivation for missions through shared worship and community.
    • Students will be able to develop an appreciation of the responsibility of the minister to be a peer support for fellow ministers by becoming a contributor to fellow students’ formation for mission efforts.
  5. To develop in students a deeper understanding of Christ’s lordship in all areas of life for the common good of the contemporary world.
    • Students will be able to analyze the sociological, religious, and historical factors involved in missionary endeavors worldwide.
    • Students will be able to develop an historical perspective as a basis for evaluating contemporary missionary practices, including developing insights for evaluating the nature of contemporary “strategies” in the light of historical, biblical, and theological principles.
  6. To cultivate within students through critical reflection and careful research through the residencies and projects an enriched Christian witness in the places of society they are called to serve.
    • Students will be able to critique his/her ministry in light of biblical and theological perspectives on missions and development.
    • Students will be able to apply the principles of global leadership to his/her own ministry setting.
    • Students will be able to implement and evaluate specific global mission and development strategies within a local community.
  7. To instill in students a refreshed view of their ministry as it relates to the proclamation of the Gospel among all people.

    • Students will be able to discern principles of mission and development that have played a key role in the spread of the gospel around the world.
    • Students will be able to explore dynamics of cross-cultural witness through cross-cultural site visits.

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