Dr. Steven C. Horine, Director

Purpose of the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry

The Master of Arts Christian Ministry (M.A.C.M.) degree is designed for persons desiring graduate theological education for a variety of church-related ministries and personal goals, but who do not anticipate the senior pastorate. The degree provides a foundation in the theological disciplines for further graduate study, personal theological pursuit, and instruction in specialized ministries. By offering a variety of elective courses in selected areas of study along with a core of required courses, the M.A.C.M. can be tailored to each student’s particular interests and goals.

The M.A.C.M. is especially appropriate for the following:

1. Persons who desire to become more competent in their biblical understanding in order to minister more effectively in their church
2. Christian school teachers who have been trained in educational specialties but not adequately in biblical studies and theology
3. Persons planning to teach biblical studies or theology in other than a college or graduate setting;
4. Missionaries who desire to increase their understanding of the Bible
5. Youth workers who seek to enlarge their understanding and competently counsel and minister to young people.

The M.A.C.M. exposes the student to studies in a broad array of important ministry issues including: (1) the human development cycle throughout a person’s lifetime and the implications for educational and counseling ministries in and through the church; (2) organizational and administrative skills needed to facilitate a church’s discipleship ministry; (3) the teaching-learning process and the skills necessary for planning, implementing, and evaluating teaching strategies for various age levels in a variety of settings; (4) principles of curriculum construction and of long-range program planning, including a survey of curricula and other resources for use in Christian education ministries; (5) the integration of other theological disciplines into the discipleship ministries of the church; (6) how to provide basic biblical counseling that is sensitive to the diverse age, gender, racial/ethnic and social worlds of a congregation’s many members; (7) the place of a Christian educator or counselor in a ministry team context.

The M.A.C.M. includes counseling philosophy and theory, and counseling techniques. The degree offers the opportunity to gain insights and abilities for ministry in situations requiring relational, interpersonal, and caring skills. The M.A.C.M. does not prepare persons to be professional counselors, but it does lay a solid theological and counseling theory foundation for both peer counseling and further education.

Students who complete the M.A.C.M. will demonstrate the following:

1. An increased knowledge of the Bible and theology
2. An understanding of the historical development of Christian fundamentalism;
3. An understanding of dispensational, premillennial theology
4. An understanding of Baptist distinctives and congregational polity
5. An understanding of the teaching-learning process
6. An understanding of the planning, implementation, and evaluation of teaching strategies at various age levels in a variety of settings
7. The ability to provide biblical counseling necessary for the diverse age, gender, racial/ethnic and social makeup of a contemporary congregation
8. The ability to effectively implement a discipleship ministry in a church.

Admission requirements for the Master of Arts In Christian Ministry

1. A baccalaureate degree issued by a recognized postsecondary school in the United States of America authorized by that school’s state to grant the baccalaureate degree; or
   
   
2. The educational equivalent of the baccalaureate degree. Degree equivalency is based on similarity to a North American degree in kind, quality, and stringency of academic work; foreign students may have completed the equivalency of a baccalaureate degree, even though the degree title may not specifically follow American nomenclature.

Degree requirements for the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry

For graduation with a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry degree, a student must complete 36 credit hours within six years. A minimum grade-point average of 2.0 must be maintained. One year (a minimum of 18 semester hours) must be completed in residence at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary.

Christian service requirements. M.A.C.M. students report on two semesters of Christian service. Each report must reflect effort on the part of the student to integrate his or her classroom experience into service for others’ benefit through preaching, teaching, discipleship, or other means. Generally speaking, such work must push the student to accomplish a task he or she has not previously achieved (e.g., attempting a new style of evangelism, teaching, preaching, or counseling).

Capstone project. Students in the M.A.C.M. program must complete a capstone project and a project report of approximately ten pages in length. M.A.C.M. capstone projects are practical in focus and utilize the major subject areas in which the student has studied in his or her M.A.C.M. program. Capstone projects topics are approved in writing by the M.A.C.M. program director before work commences and upon completion of 28 credits of coursework.

The seminary confers the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry degree upon students who complete the prescribed course of study. However, graduation is not automatic when academic requirements have been met. Since the seminary aims to graduate those who qualify as Christian leaders, the faculty and administration will evaluate a student's qualifications in terms of spiritual, doctrinal, and professional standards as well as academics. All financial obligations to the seminary must be paid prior to commencement and students are encouraged to be present at the commencement exercises.

Course requirements for the Master of Arts in Christian Ministry

Suggested Two-Year Master of Arts Program