Master of Ministry in Spanish

The Program and its Objectives

The Master of Ministry online program is designed to provide serving ministers with the resources necessary for effective leadership in congregations with a missional perspective, equipping them and developing theological competencies and practices marked by a missional focus. The program seeks to integrate the best available learning resources, specialists, and contemporary models and practices of ministry.

The Master of Ministry online program presently offers only one concentration of study - the pastoral concentration. In the future, it is possible that other emphases will be offered. The program requires students to complete ten courses (nine instructional courses and a final project).

This concentration includes three basic courses and six professional courses, which permits students to focus on aspects of the ministry that are of particular interest to them. Students follow a degree plan where the learning objectives are oriented toward the strengthening of significant ministries in the context of local congregations. Students will be permitted to transfer up to 12 credit hours from this program into Olivet's Master of Arts in Religion program.

This program is held primarily online. Two courses, one each summer, are offered on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL. The on-campus courses are offered as intensive weeklong modules that begin at 1:00 p.m. on Monday and last until noon on Friday. Each course will have assignments to be completed prior to and after attending the on-campus sessions. Post-course assignments should be.completed and sent to the instructor for review and grading no later than 30 days after the end of the on-campus sessions. In extraordinary and justifiable circumstances, at the instructor's discretion, the student may receive an extension of no more than four weeks. The student must complete the program of study within six years after beginning the first course.

Students will be permitted to transfer up to six credit hours completed at other institutions. Up to 18 hours may be transferred from another Master of Ministry program at Olivet Nazarene University.

Certificate of Ministerial Development

Students who do not wish to take courses for academic credit leading to a graduate or professional degree may take courses for denominational continuing education credit and may obtain a Certificate of Ministerial Development. This certificate can be obtained by completing at least five courses offered as part of the Master of Ministry online program. Those opting for the Certificate of Ministerial Development will pay a reduced cost.

Costs & Fees

Applicants to the program pay a $25 application fee. Tuition for each course is $100 per credit hour, for a total cost of $300 for each three-hour course. The final project will be charged at a flat rate of $100. For on-campus courses, in addition to the tuition costs, students should also consider the costs of books, as well as food and lodging during the week of the module. The university will offer both food and lodging at a reduced rate.

Students who pursue the Certificate of Ministerial Development will be charged a rate of $100 per course.

Scholarships are available for Nazarene ministers serving in the Olivet educational region. Applications for these scholarships should be submitted directly to the district superintendent in your respective district. Las solicitudes para estas ayudas becarias deberán tramitarse directamente a través de las oficinas de los superintendentes de distrito respectivos. We also encourage local congregations to consider providing ministers with financial support for continuing education.

Admission Requirements

Applicants should:

1. Submit a fully completed application, including official transcripts and respective reommendations, and two color passport-size photographs. The application is available in both English and Spanish.
2. Submit a $25 application fee.
   
3. Submit three references or recommendations: a pastoral recommendation from an immediate ecclesiastical supervisor, an academic recommendation from a professor who has observed the applicant's previous studies, and a personal recommendation from someone who knows the applicant well.
   
4. Possess a bachelor's degree, obtained at a regionally accredited college or university ("títulos" obtained at a recognized theological seminary will be considered), with a GPA of at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale).
5. Have completed a minimum of 16 credit hours in theological studies at the undergraduate level, or have equivalent theological preparation.
6. Be currently serving in a ministry recognized by the Church.
7. Have a moral character consistent with the standards of Olivet Nazarene University.

Those holding a theological "título" should also hold a Bachelor of Arts in religion or ministry (from a recognized college or university); a university-level bachelor's degree or "licenciatura" in theology from a seminary or theological institute, with a GPA of at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale); or its equivalent.

Graduation Requirements

To graduate from this program, students must:

1. Satisfactorily complete the nine courses of the program and present their final project, for a total of 30 credit hours.
2. Achieve a GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
3. Complete all general graduation requirements of Olivet Nazarene University's School of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Required Courses

MMSP 600 Biblical Studies
The purpose of this course is to analyze and develop a specific biblical book or theme that is important for biblical research or biblical theology. Each time this course is offered, its specific content will be identified by the subtitle it carries.

MMSP 610 Life Management & Personal Renewal
This course will explore the significance of spiritual development and personal renewal in the life of the leader, giving special attention to the practice and implementation of strategies for modeling and teaching healthy patterns of life as leaders.

MMSP 611 Christian Ministry in a Multicultural Socitety
Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 This course will analyze contemporary urban society, especially its multicultural nature and its implications for the ministry of the Hispanic-Latino church. It will provide the historical, sociological, theological, and ethical fundamentals for ministry in the context of a diverse society. It will study certain relevant models, oriented to the development of ministry with a multicultural approach.

MMSP 612 Contemporary Approaches to Preaching
This course will examine the challenges that face the ministry of preaching in the contemporary Christian church, as well as the most relevant proposals in this context (narrative preaching, inductive preaching, etc.) and their implications in the local pastoral preaching ministry.

MMSP 613 Equipping the Laity in the Hispanic-Latino Context
The purpose of this course is to develop ministers who a) embody a lifestyle of discipleship, and b) are able to plan and implement strategies to develop disciples. The model is Jesus, whose objective was to make disciples and, in the same way, his discples continued focusing on this objective. The core of this life and work is the Christian community, living and ministering as the body of Christ and where each individual has an important role to fulfill. This course will focus on the role of the pastor or pastoral team as equippers and facilitators of the community or church that is called to fulfill, as a body, the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4).

MMSP 614 Hispanic-Latino Leadership
This course examines the role of the culture in the emergence, selection, and exercise of leadership. Special attention will be given to theories and models that explain the dynamic of Hispanic-Latino leadership operating in multicultural contexts, as in the United States and Canada, and its implications in the life of the Church.

MMSP 620 The Hispanic-Latino Church in the USA and Canada:: Key Moments in its History
This course will focus on some key historic moments with respect to the establishment, consolidation, and development of the Hispanic-Latino church in the United States and Canada, with the goal of understanding its character, styles of organization and ministry, and methods of expansion, as well as its implications for the future ministry of the church.

MMSP 630 Theology of Ministry/Theology of Servant Leadership
The purpose of this course is to comprehend the relevance of theologically based standards of pastoral leadership and ministry, as well as to develop styles of ministry that reflect biblical teaching concerning what determines the character of genuinely Christian leadership - service. Special attention will be given to matters of ecclesiology as it relates to theological leadership.

MMSP 631 Hispanic-Latino Theology & Social Ethic
This course provides a fundamental introduction to the Hispanic-Latino presence in the United States and Canada, including historical, cultural, economic, and political aspects, focusing on some key themes and methods of the most recent theological ideas that have come out of religious experience, as well as the difficulties faced by the Hispanic-Latino population in this context. The students will be introduced to the development of practical responses concerning various ministry situations that present themselves when trying to reach Hispanic-Latinos.

MMSP 690 Final Project
This project, which culminates the program, will be designed by the student, in consultation with the supervisor of the project. The student will seek to integrate the learning experiences from the program of study in a significant application to ministry.