The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Program at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary participates in the seminary’s mission by connecting faith leaders with each other, with scholars recognized in their fields, and with distinguished practitioners of Christian ministry. Through carrying out its mission, the program equips the Church with leaders who can observe, analyze, implement and improve a focused practice of ministry.
We welcome students from a variety of ministry settings and from multiple church traditions and provide a contextually grounded pedagogy that supports all students in applying what they learn in the classroom in the practice of their ministry in their respective ministry sites.
Applications are now open for the Doctor of Ministry Cohorts starting August 2025 in Spiritual Direction and Strategic Leadership for Black Congregations. Apply by June 1, 2025.
August 2025 | Apply by June 1, 2025
August 2025 | Apply by June 1, 2025
Spending a couple of weeks on campus in intensive classes worked well for me to be able to then return to my church and immediately apply the things I was learning. The people in the church I was serving noticed the increase in my energy, confidence, and skill every time I learned and applied new information.
Rev. Dr. Becca Girrell (G-ETS 2021)
I plan to continue the legacy of the Black prophetic preaching tradition I have inherited, encouraging God’s people to take seriously the divine invitation for us to embody discipleship beyond the walls of our buildings.
Rev. Dr. Jon Robinson (G-ETS 2021)
One of the benefits of a doctor in ministry program is the opportunity to step back from the regularity of ministry responsibility, connect with other talented and courageous church leaders, and learn from the perspectives and contexts of others.
Rev. Dr. Curtis Daniel Brown (G-ETS 2018)
The most transformative experience while studying at Garrett-Evangelical has been community coexistence during the in-person courses. Sharing with pastors from different cultures and with diverse ministerial realities in a multicultural setting was an experience that I will cherish forever.
Rev. Dr. Edwin Cotto-Pérez (G-ETS 2021)
To meet your specific vocational goals and needs, Garrett offers the following tracks for DMin students:
This track equips faith leaders to understand social movements and religious movements as partners, building skills for mobilizing faith communities in their response to systemic injustices in specific situations and contexts
The DMin track in Liberative Preaching and Proclamation exists to serve and advance the mission of the Church and ultimately to transform the world to become fully the redeemed people of God. This is accomplished by equipping leaders charged with proclamation of the gospel to observe and analyze the contexts of their proclamation in order to mitigate the influences of colonialism, racism, white supremacy, and the elements of social and cultural discrimination that have influenced the church’s preaching to the detriment of individuals, cultures and the community as a whole.
This track is designed to provide today’s leaders with a variety of spiritual practice and an understanding of the history and theology of Christian spirituality and orientation to the diversity of the global landscape in which leaders serve.
This track engages Black Church leaders in exploring traditional and contemporary culture(s) of the Black Church as well as explore the pastoral and administrative leadership needed to foster a vital, vibrant, relevant and transformative congregation for the 21st century.
Dr. Esther Acolatse serves as Professor of Pastoral Theology and World Christianity in addition to serving as the Director of the Doctor of Ministry program.
DMin faculty, course instructors and members of advisory teams (both lay and ordained) join students in a collegial atmosphere of teaching and learning in which each has a particular role to play in enriching the program. Such mutuality and responsibility mark the character of every aspect of the program: the classroom, writing and evaluating assignments, advisory sessions, conferences and research.
In addition to academic development for ministry, the program recognizes the value of and the need for spiritual formation that encourages a sense of accountability as preparatory to the student earning the title Doctor of Ministry. Such a person should be both equipped academically to deal with the practice of ministry, and personally and spiritually mature enough to be an exemplar of what a practitioner of ministry should look like.
Our DMin program values and encourages peer learning by admitting students into a cohort of persons who are studying within the same track, and who will work through the same courses as a united group. Both the academic curriculum and the financial structure of the program are built with the expectation that students will remain with their cohort throughout the degree program.
Each DMin track has a unique group of faculty members whose strengths and gifts fit the needs of that particular track to provide the best educational experience and leadership preparation for its students. All of our scholar practitioners join students in a collegial atmosphere of teaching and learning in which each has a particular role to play in enriching the program.
Classes for DMin students are offered in a hybrid model of on-campus intensive courses and online courses to give you high quality theological education in a flexible format. Pending your needs and the rotation of the courses, other course options may be available.
To assist DMin students in affording their education, all admitted students are guaranteed a scholarship, a rare find among DMin programs. Garrett is also excited to offer increased scholarship opportunities for admitted Black and Latinx students thanks to our partnership with the Lilly Endowment’s Economic Challenges grant.
A DMin student’s program culminates with a final project or thesis that involves the application of a theology of ministry and data from research to a particular aspect of professional ministry. The project facilitates the demonstration of professional excellence in the ability of the student to contribute to the practice of ministry through research, design, implementation, analysis and evaluation of results.
