Pre-Doctoral Program
Providing a Pathway for All Students
The Missio Pre-Doctoral Program provides a pathway for students who have achieved a master’s-level graduate degree in a non-theological area of study that will facilitate a Master of Divinity equivalency.
The program also provides a way for those who have not yet completed a graduate-level degree in theological study. Upon completion of the required courses a student may receive a Certificate in Ministerial Studies or achieve a Master of Arts degree depending on the prior level of study and the student’s particular circumstances.
Requirements of the Program
Students who apply to the Doctor of Ministry program must have an MDiv or its equivalent from an accredited institution and three years of ministry experience subsequent to the first theological degree.
Students who are interested in the DMin program and who have a graduate degree but not a Master of Divinity degree may qualify for the Doctor of Ministry degree by completing a pre-doctoral course of study. MDiv equivalency is defined as broad-based work in theology, biblical studies, and the arts of ministry that includes a Master’s degree and significant ministerial leadership.
Professors push us to be critical about our theological assumptions and to work at understanding the Bible. Other strengths: Missional thrust, Christotelic hermeneutics, holistic counseling program, vision for urban ministry, robust integration of spiritual formation, etc. Maybe the most important note: I’ve found that each of the professors I’ve had make a huge effort to be accessible, to actively admit their flaws, and to be missional themselves beyond their seminary duties. Christ is at work in this institution.
– Jeremy Chen DMin Candidate, 2016
Curriculum within the Pre-Doctoral Program
Students with no graduate theological training will be required to take the following courses.
Required Theology Courses – 18 Credits
Reading the Old Testament Missionally
Reading the New Testament Missionally
Authentic Biblical Interpretation
Theology 1
Theology 2
Formation and Mission -OR- Leadership Development
Additional Possible Requirements
Students who need to make up more credits to reach the 72 hour minimum for equivalency may take elective courses based on their areas of need or anticipated concentration in the DMin program. The Academic Office and Student Advancement Office may also recommend courses based on student transcripts.
Students have the option to receive a Pre-doctoral Certificate in Ministerial Studies once they complete their pre-doctoral course requirements (minimum of 18 credits required).
Possible Scenarios:
Below are the possible scenarios that students may encounter when trying to complete the pre-doctoral program.
Master’s Degree and 36 Graduate Credits
- Reading the OT Missionally
- Reading the NT Missionally
- Authentic Biblical Interpretation
- Theology 1 and 2
- Formation and Mission
- Leadership Development
- World Christian History 1, 2, and 3
- Pentateuch Book Study
- Gospels Book Study
Master’s Degree and 48 Graduate Credits
- Reading the OT Missionally
- Reading the NT Missionally
- Authentic Biblical Interpretation
- Theology 1 and 2
- Formation and Mission
- Leadership Development
Exegeting the City
Master’s Degree and 54+ Graduate Credits
- Reading the OT Missionally
- Reading the NT Missionally
- Authentic Biblical Interpretation
- Theology 1 and 2
- Formation and Mission -OR- Leadership Development
Ready to start your journey?
Whether you are looking for more information regarding a program, scheduling a visit, starting the application process, or just wanting to talk to someone about your dreams, our admissions department is always available to assist you and answer any question that you might have.
What are professors saying?
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
On April 3, 1968, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his final and what proved to be a hauntingly prophetic speech.
Journal of Urban Mission 5:1
Welcome to volume 5, issue 1 of the Journal of Urban Mission, which finds a new institutional home here at Missio Seminary.
In Defense of Missional Theology: A Response to Mark Galli
Mark Galli, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, has devoted a four-part series in Christianity Today to critiquing missional theology and evangelicalism’s embrace of the missional purpose of the church: see 1) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/unfortunate-pedigree-of-missional-church.html; 2) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/church-does-not-exist-for-sake-of-world.html; 3) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/purpose-of-world-to-become-church.html; 4) https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/june-web-only/churchs-sickness-unto-death.html. Christianity Today has a well-earned reputation as being the publication of centrist evangelicalism (founded, as it is, by evangelical pillars Billy Graham and Carl F. H. Henry); and Mark Galli, its current editor-in-chief, has a well-earned reputation for level-headed, irenic analysis.
New Perspective(s) On Paul
Hot off the press and well worth the read is this book that does a masterful job of laying out the topography of “perspectives” on Paul and illustrating (with sample sermonettes) the difference the various perspectives make in preaching (and applying) “the real point(s)” of Romans.
The Living Gospel
It is a powerful testimony to the watching world when Christians live out the Gospel amid tragedies such as in hurricane Katrina, the tsunami disaster, the Haitian earthquake or 9/11.
4 Things That Can Derail Missional Leaders
This post by Seth Richardson on the Missional Alliance web page caught my attention. It’s titled, “Addicted to Dysfunction: Healing from Missional Misery.”
The Blessing of Numbers
Don’t you feel bad for the book of Numbers? Seriously, the fourth book of the Bible gets no respect. I think the primary reason the book gets ignored is its name.
A Walk through African American History and Culture
Professor Todd Mangum and Dr. Larry Anderson Reflect on their walk through The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. A number of our Missio grads are serving in leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention in our region. One of the missional, Kingdom strategies being pursued – racial reconciliation. A set of pilot exercises and conversations are currently being conducted in southeast Pennsylvania that could end up impacting the whole convention, including deep into the south of the Mason Dixon line. Now, wouldn’t that be something?
Eugene Peterson: The Man Who Translated – and Lived – The Message
My wife called me Monday afternoon with the expected, but untimely news that my mentor and friend Eugene Peterson had passed away. “I’m sorry,” she said with a soft and warm tone, her voice trailing off into silence. I was preparing for this moment for the past few years – even more so the past week, as he was put on hospice – but the tears still flowed. Some out of sadness, most out of gratitude for his life. His son, Eric, wrote that for someone who practiced Sabbath, which he kept on Mondays, it’s only fitting Eugene experienced true rest for the first time on that particular day of the week.
Learning the How-To’s of Pastoral Ministry
Several years ago, when I graduated from Biblical Seminary, I was equipped with valuable theological, missiological and philosophical truth about God and His Mission. I learned what it meant to join God and His mission in the world by being incarnational. But looking back, I realized I had missed something: I didn’t really know how to do that specifically and practically in my day-to-day role as a pastor. I lacked the practical training for how to put into practice what I had learned.