M.A. Curriculum

Program Description

The Master of Arts in Ministry (M.A.) degree requires of 45 credit hours.  The course work includes equipping the student with tools for graduate study, advanced studies in the Bible, and training in practical ministry skills. Students focus their ministry courses in one of three areas: general ministry, family life ministry or youth ministry. The capstone event in the MA program is a comprehensive examination in which the student demonstrates his or her ability to integrate graduate level biblical studies and ministry skills.

Curriculum Overview

• Graduate Study Tools (12 hours)
• Biblical Studies (15 hours)
• Ministry Studies (15 hours)
• Field Work (3 hours)
• Comprehensive Exam

Curriculum

Graduate Study Tools (12 hours)

• Introduction to Graduate Study
• Introduction to the Bible
• Greek (6 hours)

Biblical Studies (15 hours)

• Introduction to the Old Testament
• Introduction to the New Testament
• Advanced Biblical Exegesis
• 6 hours of textual electives

Ministry Studies (15 hours)

[Students choose one of the following three tracks]
General Ministry Track (15 hours)

• Communicating and Teaching Scripture
• 12 hours of General Ministry electives chosen by the student

Family Life Ministry Track (15 hours)

• 6 core hours
• 9 hours of Family Life Ministry electives chosen by the student

Youth Ministry Track (15 hours)

• 9 core hours
• 6 hours of Youth Ministry electives chosen by the student

Field Work (3 hours)

Supervised field education experience

Comprehensive Examination (0 hours)

Faculty Facts

Professor of Bible Harold Shank's main goal at OC is to train effective ministers for God's work. He believes that "OC provides a tremendous opportunity to explore the integration of faith and learning." He is interested in researching social justice in the Old Testament, the treatment of orphans in Isaiah, and the Biblical theory of children. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and has written five books.

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