Urban Ministry

2019 Cohort - Courses and Schedule

The Urban Context
Concentration Goals
Learning Modalities
The Cohort Experience
Module Descriptions
Contact the Coordinator

Submit an Application

The next cohort for the Urban Ministry concentration is planned to begin in the spring semester of 2023.

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.

The Urban Context as a Learning Environment

The cities of Chicago and Toronto provide the backdrop for some intensives in this concentration. A short distance from the Andrews campus, these thriving, dynamic and complex cities offer 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 opportunity to participate in the bi-annual conference of the Chicago-based Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education will provide enrichment to the intensive experience.

Concentration Goals

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 Cohort Experience

The program is delivered in the cohort model, wherein participants proceed through the sequence of courses together. Study and learning are year-round, with pre-intensive, during-intensive, and post-intensive activities and experiences. Pre-intensive assignment preparation can begin as early as six months prior to an intensive. There are four annual teaching sessions presented by ministry professionals. During the program you will participate in regional work groups, follow a ministry development plan, read and reflect on the best literature in your concentration area, and develop and evaluate a professional project within the context of your own congregational or other leadership responsibilities.

Cohorts are identified by the year in which they formed. For example, if you are a member of a cohort that formed in 2015, during the five-six years you expect to be in the program, the title of your group will be "the 2015 Urban Ministry Cohort."

Module Descriptions

1. CHMN774 - The Church in the City
   Credits: 4
   This module is an in-depth study of key biblical, theological, and contemporary insights into the church in the city. A compassionate vision for the city is fostered. Issues in urban life and corresponding systems are explored. It includes an emphasis on strategic planning that leads to economic and community development.
    
2. GSEM790 - DMin Project Seminar
   Credits: 4
   Participants receive assistance in forming their DMin project proposal, and orientation to issues in successful completion of the project. Areas of focus include a literature review, theological reflection, critical thinking, experiential learning, reflective observation, research design and techniques, reading and evaluating research, academic writing, development of an effective work plan for completion of the project, and other project-related topics.
    
3. GSEM706 - Spiritual and Theological Foundations for Ministry
   Credits: 8
   This module looks at theological and spiritual foundations as a basis for engagement in ministry. Ministry is based on being as well as doing. This module builds the spiritual and theological foundation from which the practice of mission and ministry grows and seeks to lead the participant into a self-reflection and examination of life and belief. 
    
4. CHMN778 - Urban Church Growth and Discipleship
   Credits: 5
   This module provides reflection and practice in wholistic church growth in the urban context. The module will emphasize appreciation for diversity, the centrality of discipleship, the local church in civic life, creating a culture of year round evangelism, strategies for urban mission,  and contemporary trends in urban church ministry.
    
5. CHMN776 - Urban Church Leadership and Management
   Credits: 5
   This module investigates principles, challenges, and practices of Christian leadership in the urban context. It includes a theology of leadership, leading and managing specific ministries, how to engage in community organizing, working with the systems effecting life in the city, empowering people, managing change, and managing conflict effectively.
    
6. GSEM796 - DMin Professional Dissertation/Portfolio
   Credits: 6
   The DMin professional dissertation/portfolio integrates theological reflection, scholarly research, and practical ministry. The professional dissertation/portfolio contributes to the enhancement of ministry and to the growth and development of the ministry professional. Students taking the Chaplaincy ACPE Certified Educator option must successfully complete the competency-based professional portfolio according to the guidelines outlined in the ACPE Certification Manual. 

Contact

Dr. Skip Bell serves as concentration coordinator for the 2011 cohort. He can be reached at 1-269-208-9848, sjbell@andrews.edu.

Schedule

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:

2019 Urban Ministry Cohort Course requirements and schedule for the cohort that begins in 2019: Online registration must be completed before course start date. The course registration number (CRN--in parentheses) is the number that registers the course. Follow the linked course names to obtain the course syllabi.
Course #	Course Name	Instructor	Course Start	Intensive Dates	Course End	Intensive Locations
CHMN774	The Church in the City (4 cr)  Daily schedule for intensive Schedule for April 3 field trip	Skip Bell	Feb 1, 2019	April 2-10, 2019	Jan 31, 2020	Chicago, IL
GSEM790	DMin Project Seminar (4 cr)  Daily schedule for intensive	David Penno	Feb 11, 2019	April 11-18, 2019	Feb 10, 2020	Chicago, IL
GSEM706	Spiritual and Theological Foundations for Ministry (8 cr)  Reading List (syllabus to be provided later)  Daily schedule for GSEM706 intensive  (includes Field Research Symposium April 6-7)  Daily schedule for Field Research Symposium	Allan Walshe		March 23-April 7, 2020		Andrews University
	Implementation Symposium	David Penno		December 10, 2020  1:00-5:00 pm EST		virtual meeting via Zoom
CHMN778	Church Growth and Discipleship in the Urban Church (5 cr)  Daily schedule for intensive	Skip Bell		April 19-29, 2021		Toronto, ON
GSEM796	DMin Project (3 cr)			Spring semester 2021
CHMN776	Urban Church Leadership and Management (5 cr)	Skip Bell		April 19-28, 2022		London, England UK
GSEM796	DMin Project (3 cr)			Spring semester 2022

The Doctor of Ministry reduced residency (for intensive venues other than the Andrews University campus) is offered as an approved exception to Association of Theological Schools Degree Program Standard B, section E.3.1.1.

Ordering books

For dates and locations of courses planned for cohorts in other concentrations, see the DMin master schedule: DMin Program Planner.

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2/5/2020