Master of Arts in Children’s Ministry

The Master of Arts Children’s Ministry is designed to equip children’s ministers to understand the needs of children, explore the principles of best strategies in teaching and reaching children, and implement ministry that impacts not only the child but the family. The program provides foundations in theological, educational, and practical programming for effective children’s ministry. It combines academic training and practical ministry application that focuses intentionally on the world children live in and the faith they need to follow Christ for the rest of their lives. The program consists of 18 hours of required core curriculum and 18 hours of children’s ministry curriculum, for a total of 36 hours.

In addition to previously stated admission requirements, the following program-specific requirements must be met:

• Evidence that the student is a Christian and is compatible with DBU's mission by proven conduct in accordance with Christian standards set forth in the Bible, announced intent, and by church involvement.

• Church Membership Requirement (for admission into the Master’s Ministry Degrees, Advanced Ministry Certificate Programs, EDD in Educational Leadership—all concentrations, and PHD in Leadership Studies’ Ministry Concentration): Within the last 12 months, the applicant must have been an active member of a Christian church that holds Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who holds solely the Old Testament and the New Testament as sacred Scripture.

Graduate School of Ministry Portfolio

Dallas Baptist University’s Ministry Degree Programs seek to provide an academic experience that enables all candidates to engage and impact Christian Ministries of the 21st century. The Portfolio is designed to be an individualized collection of documents that represent the candidate’s preparation for future ministry positions, demonstrating the candidate’s ongoing knowledge, skills, and ministry experiences.   

The Graduate School of Ministry provides candidates the opportunity for self-reflection through the compilation of documents in an electronic Portfolio. Documents in the Portfolio may include Signature Assignments, Resume, and Philosophy of Ministry among others.  

Throughout the program, the candidate will collect designated documents and upload them to the Portfolio within Blackboard. The Portfolio will be used to assess development as the candidate proceeds through their designated ministry program.  It is the candidate’s responsibility to meet with their GSOM Program Director to discuss the Portfolio required documents prior to graduation.

REQUISITES

• Old Testament Survey

• New Testament Survey

Requisites may be met with equivalent courses from another institution or from a passing grade on the GSOM Old Testament and New Testament equivalency exams and do not count toward degree completion.

COURSE	CREDIT HOURS
Core Courses	18
MINS 5302 - Ministry Research and Writing Across Media MINS 5303 - Foundations of Spiritual Life MINS 6305 - Ministry Mentorship (S-L) THEO 5313 - Applied Hermeneutics THEO 6305 - Christian History and Heritage THEO 6306 - Systematic Theology
Program Specific Courses
MACH 5312 - Ministry with Children MACH 6351 - Children and the Christian Faith*
Concentrations	12
General Concentration MACH 6352 - Advanced Childhood Ministry* (S-L) And select three of the following: ECHE 5360 – Foundations of Early Childhood Education  EDUC 5334 – Pedagogy of Fine Arts and Movement  MACH 6311 - Early Childhood Ministry  MACH 6315 - Ministry to Children with Special Needs MACH 6350 - Ministry in Church Weekday Education Ministries MACH 6354 - Research: Faith Formation in Childhood** (S-L) MAFM 6353 - Ministry to Families Special Needs Children’s Ministry Concentration MACH 6315 - Ministry to Children with Special Needs MACH 6316 - Advanced Ministry to Children with Special Needs (S-L) Select two of the following: ECHE 5360 – Foundations of Early Childhood Education  EDUC 5334 – Pedagogy of Fine Arts and Movement in the Elementary Classroom  EDUC 6304 - Improvement of Instruction EDUC 6308 - The School and Multicultural Society MACH 5313 - Disability and Suffering MACH 6311 - Early Childhood Ministry MAFM 6353 - Ministry to Families SPED 5310 - Introduction to Exceptional Learners SPED 5350 - Teaching Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities
Total Credit Hours Required	36

  *Requisites MACH 5312 and MACH 6311

**Requisites MACH 5312, MACH 6311, MACH 6351, MAFM 6353

(S-L)=Course(s) with field-based service-learning component.

Refer to individual course descriptions for course requisites.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Find course descriptions by category under the Graduate Course Descriptions section in the navigation panel.