Pastoral Leadership
Overview
The B.A.Min. degree with a Pastoral Leadership major is an accelerated degree completion program offered to persons who wish to prepare for service as a pastor, evangelist, or missionary. The major is designed so that adults with sufficient prior college credit can complete the major in as little as two years.
Objectives
Completion of this program should enable students to:
- Grow and mature in wholeness and holiness as persons and pastors.
- Promote evangelism and outreach in culturally conditioned forms as the priority of pastoral ministry.
- Conduct culturally relevant worship as a celebration of God in His supreme worth.
- Communicate the gospel in contextually appropriate ways, resulting in the transformation of the hearer.
- Lead and administrate a local church to carry out its unique Christian mission.
- Practice pastoral care in a manner that ministers to human need in the congregation and the community.
- Develop an intentional vocational foundation for a financially sustainable ministry.
Program Requirements (AdVantage Structure)
Sixty hours of college credit through prior college work (2.0 GPA), CLEP or other recognized testing service, military training, and/or Prior Learning Assessment is required for entrance into the degree completion program. A student may enter the program conditionally with 45 semester hours but must complete the final 15 hours before a degree will be granted. This credit must fulfill the following requirements:
General Education Courses
| Course | Course Description | Hours |
|---|
| | | 45 hours |
| | Electives or Minor Courses | 15 hours |
| | English Language/Communication
ENG-1013 English Composition I, ENG-1023 English Composition II
SPE-1003 Principles of Public Speaking or equivalent courses | 9 |
| | Social Sciences | 6 |
| | Humanities | 3 |
| | Science/Math | 6 |
| | History | 3 |
| | General Education Electives | 18 |
Biblical Studies Courses
| Course | Course Description | Hours |
|---|
| | | 18 hours |
| BIB-1013 | Introduction to the Old Testament | 3 |
| BIB-1023 | Introduction to the New Testament | 3 |
| BIB-2003 | Biblical Interpretation | 3 |
| BIB-2013 | Pentateuch | 3 |
| BIB-2033 | New Testament Gospels | 3 |
| BIB-3053 | Pauline Epistles or BIB3063 Book of Acts | 3 |
Pastoral Studies Courses
| Course | Course Description | Hours |
|---|
| | | 35 hours |
| CEM-2133 | Leadership of Christian Educational Ministries | 3 |
| OTR-2013 | Global Evangelism | 3 |
| OTR-4013 | Developing a Missional Church | 3 |
| PAS-1013 | Introduction to Christian Service | 3 |
| PAS-1023 | Spiritual Formation (or THE-1023) | 3 |
| PAS-2013 | The Practice of Christian Ministry | 3 |
| PAS-2023 | History & Polity of the Church of the Nazarene | 3 |
| PAS-3023 | Pastoral Care and Counseling | 3 |
| PAS-3033 | Christian Preaching I | 3 |
| PAS-3043 | Christian Preaching II | 3 |
| PAS-4023 | Church Administration and Finance | 3 |
| PAS-4092 | Senior Ministry Integration | 2 |
Foundational Studies Courses
| Course | Course Description | Hours |
|---|
| | | 15 hours |
| HIS-1013 | Introduction to Church History | 3 |
| PHI-3013 | Philosophy and Christian Ethics | 3 |
| THE-2013 | Doctrine of Holiness | 3 |
| THE-3023 | Systematic Theology I | 3 |
| THE-3033 | Systematic Theology II | 3 |
128 hours total required for graduation
Completion of the Pastoral Ministries program requirements fulfills educational requirements for ordination as elder in the Church of the Nazarene.
Students should note that the individual districts in the Church of the Nazarene have autonomy in determining which courses fulfill the educational requirements for ordination. Students should consult with their respective district ministry board to determine what courses are required for ordination by that district.
“Completion of the Course of Study, and of the minimum required years of service, satisfies the conditions upon which the District Board of Ministry is authorized to consider whether the candidate has sufficiently progressed in his or her development as a minister to warrant ordination. To this end, the board shall personally and carefully examine the candidate on his or her fitness for ministry, spiritual and moral qualifications, doctrinal soundness, financial integrity, and mental capacity.” (555.5, Sourcebook on Ordination, USA/Canada, 2016.)