Urban Ministry

2011 cohort schedule and syllabi

Mission

Prompted by the promise of Christ's soon return, the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at Andrews University is designed to develop spiritually mature and responsible professionals in ministry for worldwide church leadership. The DMin Urban Ministry concentration prepares participants for the specific challenges of mission and ministry in the urban context.

Outcomes

The outcomes of the urban ministry concentration include: 1) a knowledge base, 2) a transformational emphasis on being, and 3) doing, evidenced in skill training for ministry leadership.

Knowing: The knowledge base has the following components:

1. A faithful theology of urban ministry
2. A current understanding of issues in urban society
3. An understanding of how systems shape life and mission in the context of the city
4. An understanding of how to promote healthy cities

Being: In the process of the urban ministry concentration, participants will experience transformational development in the following essentials:

1. A compassionate vision for people
2. A vision for mission in the city
3. Appreciation of diversity
4. Commitment to empowering people
5. Courage to challenge the status quo

Doing: Participants in the urban ministry concentration form skills for effective ministry in the context of the city. Those include:

1. Fostering vision for mission within the city context
2. Identifying needs of people and neighborhoods
3. Facilitating effective planning within the systems affecting life in the city
4. Leading and managing specific ministries appropriate to the urban context
5. Leading evangelistic ministries in the context of the city
6. Community organizing, including networking and cooperating with churches and other agencies
7. Managing change well
8. Managing conflict effectively
9. Fostering appreciation for diversity and multiculturalism

Learning Modalities

The following nine learning modalities will be included in the concentration's andragogy:

1. A ministry development plan
2. A context support group
3. Learning groups including collective assignments, consultations, and accountability
4. Classroom consultation: including didactic and experiential learning and networking with top educators and experts in the field of urban ministry
5. Journaling
6. Research: including perusal of the current literature, assigned readings, and case studies
7. Praxis: including implementation of ministry in the context of the city
8. Mentoring
9. A project including theological reflection, field research, and intervention involving a specific challenge in urban ministry

The Urban Context as a Learning Environment

(specific to the 2011 cohort)
The city of Chicago provides the backdrop for the intensives in this concentration. A short distance from the Andrews campus, this thriving, dynamic and complex city offers the resources for the intended transformational learning experience. Participants will reside at a central location in the city during the intensives. Significant churches in the heart of the city will provide the context for the three required case studies. Students will engage in an immersion in the life of the city including interaction with city administration, transportations system, hospitals, schools and universities, neighborhood restaurants, housing, shelters, and entertainment options. The bi-annual conference of the Chicago-based Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education will provide enrichment to the intensive experience in 2011 and 2013.

Contact

Dr. Jesse Wilson serves as coordinator for the 2008 cohort. He can be reached at 1-951-415-637, jwilson@oakwood.edu.

Dr. Skip Bell serves as concentration coordinator for the 2011 cohort. He can be reached at 1-269-471-3306, sjbell@andrews.edu.

Travel and lodging information is provided in the links under the "Intensive Location" column. 

Cohorts are identified by the year in which they formed. Cohort participants will take these courses and modules:

Ordering books

For dates and locations of courses planned for cohorts in other concentrations, see the four-year DMin Program Planner.

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12/7/2012