MA-CA
M.A. Church Administration
Department of Pastoral Ministry · 2 years · 16 courses · 100% online
About this programme
A growing church quickly becomes an institution: staff, money, property, regulators, records, a public presence. Many ministers find they are running one without ever having been taught how, and the cost of learning by mistake is paid by the congregation. This degree is for those who already carry administrative responsibility and want to carry it competently.
The starting point is theological, since governance is a church question before it is a management one. From there the study is genuinely administrative: financial control and nonprofit accounting, the legal framework religious organisations work under, the management of staff and volunteers, and planning that looks several years ahead. Technology and communication are treated as operational matters rather than decoration, and the thinking demanded throughout is the kind that can defend a decision to a room of trustees.
You will graduate able to read a set of accounts, keep an organisation lawful, manage staff and plan for years rather than weeks. Picture your church's affairs in good order because you put them there. Administrators, denominational officers and directors of faith-based organisations all study here, and there is room for you among them.
16 courses across 4 semesters, about 2 years of study.
Who it is for
Those already trained in theology who want to go deeper, and to be equipped to teach and lead others. It assumes you have studied the subject before.
What you will be able to do
Teach the subject, supervise others, write to a scholarly standard, and lead at a senior level in the church or in theological education.
How you will study
Every course here runs the same way, so you always know where you are.
- Six study modules a course, each with a handout you can read on screen or download.
- Video and audio of the same teaching, for studying while you travel or work.
- A short refresher quiz to open each course. It is not scored, and you may retake it.
- Two tests along the way, then a final examination. The pass mark is 50%.
- Results appear as soon as you submit.
Study is entirely online and at your own pace. Everything works on a phone, and handouts can be downloaded to read without data.
Entry requirements
A theological background is required. If you do not have one, begin with the Postgraduate Diploma, which is designed as the route in.
Fees
Your fees are set out in the admission letter issued to you.
What you will study
16 courses across 4 semesters, drawn from these areas.
- Department of Pastoral Ministry
The full course schedule is issued when you are admitted.