Multnomah's three-year Master of Divinity program is designed to provide professional training in pastoral and related fields for those seeking a lifetime of ministry with people. Through integrated ministry internships, practical classroom instruction, and unique experiences in spiritual formation, the program seeks to produce graduates who can successfully communicate the truth of God's Word through preaching, encouragement, teaching, directing, and modeling. The student may choose from one of the concentrations--Bible Exposition, Christian Thought, Evangelism and Church Planting, Exegetical Studies, Intercultural/Cross-Cultural Studies, Jerusalem Studies, Pastoral Leadership, Spiritual Formation, and General Studies--for a deeper and broader emphasis in a ministry vocation.
The Master of Divinity program sets Christ and the Bible as the two focal points of its educational philosophy. Commitment to Christ and to God's Word go hand in hand. Consequently, the program begins with a biblical and theological foundation. College and university graduates without prior formal Bible and theology training enroll in the standard track (Graduate Certificate) that provides this foundation.
Bible college graduates and Christian liberal arts graduates who have the equivalent biblical and theological base do not repeat this foundation, but build upon it in their education.
In addition, effective ministry training requires that ministers have the skills necessary to serve and lead people in a biblical and Christ-like fashion. The Master of Divinity program provides a balanced emphasis on skill development in the following areas: biblical languages and exegesis, communication and preaching, discipleship and mentoring, biblical counseling, leadership and management.
Integral to this program is a concurrent, sequenced, and closely supervised pastoral internship. Students apply insights from the classroom to real-life experience. They gain wisdom from and apply practical skills under the guidance of a pastoral mentor, bringing relevant ministry issues to the classroom for significant faculty-peer interaction.
Crucial to ministry preparation is the spiritual formation of the minister. Both individual spiritual disciplines and community centered experiences in spiritual interaction and renewal are critical to lifelong growth and ministry. Such attention to the means of spiritual growth is a significant part of our Master of Divinity program.
Outcomes
At the completion of the M.Div. program, graduates will be able to:
- Exhibit spiritual growth as wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ through engaging the recognized practices of Christian formation nourished by the Word of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and be able guide others in a similar personal relationship with Christ.
- Graduates will be able to articulate biblical spirituality, have a basic awareness of the history of Christian spirituality, and understand respectful engagement with spiritual traditions other than their own.
- Graduates will demonstrate godly character, exhibited by spiritual, emotional, and relational maturity, discernment, and a willingness to listen and to change.
- Graduates will be able to lead people to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and to encourage the spiritual growth of Christians.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the contents of the Bible and competence in biblical interpretation.
- Graduates will understand the basic dimensions of the biblical terrain, including the contents of the English Bible.
- Graduates will demonstrate grammatical acuity in reading and translating the Greek text of the New Testament, and an ability to exegete passages from the Greek text of the New Testament.
- Graduates will be able to communicate biblical research to a variety of audiences.
- Reflect theologically on life and ministry from biblical, historical and constructive theological perspectives in ways that are consistent with evangelical orthodoxy.
- Graduates will articulate a basic understanding of the central doctrines of historic orthodoxy and evangelical conviction.
- Graduates will develop a capacity for theological research in several areas of theology: biblical theology, historical theology, constructive theology and ethics, apologetics/philosophical theology.
- Graduates will demonstrate a capacity for constructive theological reflection and an ability to voice their own theological positions, culminating in a personal statement of faith.
- Understand and engage their cultural context.
- Graduates will demonstrate a basic understanding of culture, including religious expressions, and an ability to exegete the cultural settings of their ministries.
- Graduates will articulate a biblical theology of evangelism and missions.
- Graduates will develop an ability to communicate the gospel effectively in intercultural and/or cross-cultural settings.
- Graduates will exhibit a commitment to missions.
- Model competent and Christ-like ministry leadership in the Church and marketplace.
- Graduates will exhibit appropriate self-awareness of their leadership skills, abilities, and gifts.
- Graduates will be able to articulate and execute a biblical vision and philosophy of ministry.
- Graduates will be able to communicate the Word of God effectively to a variety of audiences.
- Graduates will demonstrate compassionate pastoral care of people.
- Graduates will utilize effective practices to inspire, teach, equip and mobilize for ministry those entrusted to their leadership.
For further details and information on admission and graduation requirements, please visit our catalog.
Course of Study
| M.Div. – Standard Track |
|
Spiritual Formation
|
5 |
| SF 505 Foundations |
2 |
| SF 512 Principles of Spiritual Formation |
3 |
| Bible/Biblical Languages/Biblical Theology |
33 |
| Bib 501 Genesis-Song of Solomon |
4 |
| Bib 502 Isaiah-Malachi |
3 |
| Bib 503 Acts, Pauline Epistles |
4 |
| Bib 504 Gospels, Hebrews-Revelation |
4 |
| Bib 509 Biblical Interpretation |
3 |
| GRK 602 NT Greek I |
3 |
| GRK 603 NT Greek II |
3 |
| GRK 701 NT Greek Reading: Mark |
3 |
| GRK 710 NT Exegesis: Galatians |
3 |
| BTh 633 Methods of Biblical Theology |
3 |
| Theology/Church History/Historical Theology/Ethics |
20 |
| Th 507 Christian Theology I |
4 |
| Th 508 Christian Theology II |
4 |
| Th 717 Contemporary Theology and Ethics |
3 |
| Th 742 Colloquium in Theology |
3 |
| CH 614 Church History to the Modern Era and |
3 |
|
HTh 703 Patristic-Medieval Theology or
HTh 704 Reformation-Post-Ref. Theology
|
3 |
| Cultural Engagement |
5 |
| IS 701 World Religions and |
3 |
IS 722 Theology of Cultural Engagement or
IS 612 Biblical Theology of Missions (2) |
2 |
| Pastoral Ministry |
25 |
| PR 611 Foundations of Homiletics |
2 |
| PR 716 Preaching Epistolary Literature |
2 |
| PR 735 Preaching Narrative Literature |
2 |
| CN 721/723 Found in Biblical Counseling + Lab |
3 |
| CN 724 Marital and Premarital Counseling |
2 |
| PM 605 Biblical Leadership |
2 |
| PM 711 Theology of Community and Ministry |
2 |
PM 707 Dynamics of Ministry Mobilization or
PM 608 Ministry Management and Development (3) or
PM 645 Biblical Evangelism for the 21st Century (2) or
missions course |
2 |
| *PM 750/760/770/780 Internship (2 units each) |
8 |
| Electives |
6 |
Total Required
|
94 |
*Students who are full-time in ministry may waive up to 4 units.
† For additional advanced-study electives, see the Guided Studies in Theology in the Course Description section
| M.Div. – Advanced Track |
|
| Spiritual Formation |
5 |
| SF 505 Foundations |
2 |
| SF 512 Principles of Spiritual Formation |
3 |
| Bible/Biblical Languages/Biblical Theology |
21 |
| GRK 602 NT Greek I |
3 |
| GRK 603 NT Greek II |
3 |
| GRK 701 NT Greek Reading: Mark* |
3 |
| GRK 710 NT Exegesis: Galatians* |
3 |
| HEB 621 Hebrew Grammar I |
3 |
| HEB 622 Hebrew Grammar II |
3 |
| BTh 633 Methods of Biblical Theology |
3 |
| Theology/Church History/Historical Theology |
12 |
| HTh 703 Patristic and Medieval Theology |
3 |
| HTh 704 Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology |
3 |
| Th 717 Contemporary Theology and Ethics |
3 |
| Th 742 Colloquium in Theology |
3 |
| Cultural Engagement |
5 |
| IS 701 World Religions and |
3 |
and IS 642 Theology of Cultural Engagement or
or IS 612 Biblical Theology of Missions (2) |
2 |
| Pastoral Ministry |
25 |
| PR 611 Foundations of Homiletics |
2 |
| PR 716 Preaching Epistolary Literature |
2 |
| PR 735 Preaching Narrative Literature |
2 |
(or instead of PR 716 and PR 735:
PR 706/708 Comm Skills for Ministry + Lab) |
4 |
| CN 721/723 Foundations in Biblical Counseling + Lab |
3 |
| CN 724 Marital Counseling |
2 |
| PM 605 Biblical Leadership |
2 |
| PM 711 Theology of Community and Ministry |
2 |
PM 707 Dynamics of Ministry Mobilization or
or PM 608 Ministry Management and Development (3) or
or PM 645 Biblical Evangelism for the 21st Century (2) or
or missions course |
2 |
| *PM 750/760/770/780 Internship (2 units each) |
8 |
| Electives |
26 |
Total Required
|
94 |
*Students who are full-time in ministry may waive up to 4 units.