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Group of students in class

In addition to helping you gain insight into family and congregational systems, this self-directed concentration will emphasize crucial aspects of pastoral care through transformational leadership, and addresses deeper issues surrounding pain and suffering. Students will explore the most common spiritual, mental health, and relational issues encountered in ministry, plan appropriate strategies for care and guidance, examine how their own spiritual, mental, emotional, theological, and cultural formation affects their ministries, and practice contextualization and theological reflection with issues of human need and pastoral care.

Online

Online with Intensives

You'll complete coursework online, with 1 week of on-campus intensives each year.

Location: St. Paul

Start Dates: Spring 2025, Summer 2025, and Fall 2025

Total credits

36

Finish in as few as

2 years (coursework) + 1 year (dissertation)

Academic plans and course catalog

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The Doctor of Ministry in Congregation and Family Care program is designed for pastors and ministry staff of churches as well as for those carrying specific responsibilities in the areas of pastoral care and counseling and spiritual formation. 

Build community with Sem Together.

If you would like to take courses with a consistent group of your peers, you can follow the Sem Together cohort track. Sem Together is available to every seminary student, regardless of delivery option or program of study. Contact your student success advisor or enrollment counselor, who will ensure that you register for the correlating courses.