Master of Arts - Missions

1. Academic requirements
   1. To qualify for admission as a candidate for the M.A. in Missions degree program, an applicant must possess an A.B. degree or its equivalent from an accredited college and have a grade-point average of 2.67 (B-) or higher.
   2. The applicant’s pre-seminary education must include two semester courses each in History, Social Science, and Natural Science and one semester course each in English, Literature, Philosophy, and Speech. In addition, applicants should have one course in Cultural Anthropology.
   3. An applicant whose academic history does not show sufficient breadth in the liberal arts may be requested to do additional work as a condition of admission.  

To provide a holistic preparation for ministry, the Master of Arts in Missions has three major components: Courses requirements to provide intellectual development and development in ministry abilities; Field Education to provide practical experiences in a supervised format; and Readiness for Ministry to provide a small group setting in which students explore a wide variety of questions and develop close friendships and prayer partners.

These requirements are subject to adjustment for individual applicants according to their background of undergraduate or graduate courses, their personal interests and vocational aims, their past work or volunteer experiences, and equivalencies that may be offered.

1. Course requirements

   Division

   Course

   Quarter Hours

   Biblical	110	Narrative Law and History	4
   	120	Poetry and Prophets	4
   	210	The New Testament Letters for Christian Life and Ministry	4
   	220	The Gospels for Christian Life and Ministry	4
   	230	Interpreting the Bible for Christian Life and Ministry	3
   Theological	310	Church History Survey	4
   	403	Introduction to Christian Doctrine	3
   		One of the following two (prerequisite: 403):	3
   		477 Ecumenical Creeds and Confessions
   		491 The Heidelberg Catechism (Students not seeking to serve a congregation in the CRCNA may substitute one of the following three core courses in systematic theology for one of the previous two courses on creeds and confessions.)
   		One of the following three (prerequisite: 403):	3
   		415 The Doctine of God and Creation
   		425 The Doctrine of Christ/Salvation
   		435 The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Church and Kingdom (Students may substitute a systematic theology departmental elective for one of the above three courses with special permission from the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the course instructor.)
   	521	Fundamental Apologetics	3
   	531	Basic Christian Ethics	3
   Ministry	600	Foundations in Ministry I	3
   	601	Foundations in Ministry II	3
   		Divisional core
   		Two of the following:	6
   		A course in pastoral care
   		A course in worship leadership
   		A course in educational ministry
   		Departmental core
   		One of the following two:	3
   	805	Cross-Cultural Evangelism and Lifestyle - Domestic
   	820	Personal and Congregational Evangelism - International
   	895	Introduction to M.A. Research Project in Missions	3
   	896	M.A. Research Project	3
   		Three of the following:	9
   		812 The Revitalization of the Local Church
   		813 New Church Development in North America
   		814 ??
   		829 Cults, New Religions, and the New Age Movement
   		840 ??
   		842 ??
   		848 ??
   		and:
   		One Missions Elective	3
   		Interdisciplinary Courses
   	901	Theological Education as Formation for Ministry (a)	2
   	902	Theological Education as Formation for Ministry (b)	1
   General		Two electives from any department	6
   		Total (quarter) hours	89

2. Formation for Ministry (FFM) Group - 6 credits

   Students receive one FFM credit per quarter of FFM group involvement for six quarters, for a total of six credits.

   The FFM group is facilitated by a faculty member, pastor or staff minister and composed of 6 to 8 students that meet regularly over the student's entire seminary career (or first two years, if one's program extends longer than two years). These groups are designed to be communities of trust and reflection in which spiritual formation, theological integration, and ministry skill development take place. During the fall, winter, and spring quarters FFM groups focus upon certain areas of personal development or ministry practice. Integral to the success of the FFM group is the student's involvement with a vocational mentor and regular involvement in a local church.

   Activities related to the FFM group are expected to take approximately 40 hours per quarter. Each quarter the student should spend approximately 6 hours with their vocational mentor, 14 hours with their FFM group and related activities, and 20 hours doing required ministry practices, completing documentation for their Formation for Ministry Folio (FFMF), practicing their Rule of Life first developed in Course 901, and participating in the life of the church. This 20 hour figure includes a wide variety of activities but is intended to especially highlight the student's Rule of Life and regular involvement in the life of a local church as an integral part of the formation process.

   List of Grand Rapids CRC Churches

3. Internships - 2 credits

   All students will ordinarily complete a summer internship as part of their MA: M. program.

   The internship is generally five to six weeks in length with a minimum of 200 hours of ministry involvement, including significant leadership responsibility. As much as possible this will be an immersion experience that provides a horizon expanding ministry experience. On-site mentoring, a written reflection and peer evaluation are possible ways of guiding/documenting this internship. In this internship, students will be encouraged to complete various ministry practices requirements/documentation for their FFMF. Also, students will be expected to maintain contact with and meet (via e-mail, and/or phone) with their vocational mentor. Sites for these summer internships involve collaboration with ministries such as:

   • Facing Your Future (FYF) ministry settings
   • Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM)
   • Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
   • Christian Reformed Home Missions (CRHM)
   • Border-Plex Ministries (El Paso, Texas)
   • Christian Ministry in the National Parks
   • Urban ministry settings in Grand Rapids
   • Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education (SCUPE)
   • Prison Fellowship Jail Ministries

   The student will earn 2 credits for this internship. This internship experience will be processed with the student's FFM leader/group during the subsequent fall quarter.

4. Formation for Ministry Folio (FFMF) is the collection of the documents that are generated in the Formation for Ministry program as listed below:

   1. Local Church and Vocational Mentor Commitment Form
   2. One Self-Assessment Form for Ministry Practices
   3. Two student-written Progress Reports
   4. Three FFM group leader Response Paragraphs
   5. Two Vocational Mentor Assessments
   6. Internship Assessment
   7. One Integrative Paper Establishing Proficiency for each Ministry Practice Area
      • Evangelism, Discipleship, Teaching (Area #1)
      • Service, Social Justice, Cultural Engagement (Area #2)
      • Worship, Preaching (Area #3)
      • Community Life, Fellowship (Area #4)
      • Pastoral Care, Counseling (Area #5)
      • Administration, Leadership (Area #6)
   8. One Integrative Paper that Establishes Competency in the Area of Specialization
   9. One Final Assessment by FFM group leader
5. Comprehensive examinations

   In addition to taking regular quarter examinations, candidates for the M.A. in Missions degree are required to sustain two comprehensive examinations: a written examination on Bible content and a one-hour oral examination by representative members of the faculty. Specific rules are found in the Student Handbook.