Graduate Children & Family Ministry
A New Degree for a Growing Field
Dr. Darren Daugherty
Parenting is like football. This is one of my favorite illustrations when speaking to parents and those who minister to families. In order for our children to successfully join the game of life as people who become productive Christ-followers, they must receive deliberate and diligent training. For children ages 0-4, their parents are primarily referees – laying down the rules and assessing the penalties. For children ages 5-12, parents are to be the trainers – explaining the game and preparing children to join it. For children ages 13-18, parents are to be coaches – sending their children out on the field as they grow, supporting them from the sidelines. By the time children reach 19, if properly trained in the previous years, they become productive Christians and teammates of their parents in the game of life. Yes, every child is different. Yes, this formula does not always guarantee success. The point is this – there is a deliberate process to meeting the need of growth. The majority of those reading this article are years beyond the early phases of the parenting football field, but many desire to keep growing in the field of ministry to children, parents, and families.
Training off the field
In the first few years of children’s pastoring, my desire for more formal training became a goal that I had to pursue. Like many children’s ministry professionals, my undergraduate degree did not include preparation for teaching, ministering, or speaking to children. I was fortunate to find a graduate degree that fit my desires and was close to home, but I recognized that many were not so fortunate. As a children’s pastor with a master’s degree, as I spoke at various children’s ministry events, colleagues asked me for suggestions for their pursuit of graduate education. Great variety did not exist, but the growing need was evident.
When I came to Southwestern a few years ago, I was excited about the possibility of creating a solution to meet the growing need of which I write. I was also excited about imparting one of the great passions of my heart – family ministry. I did not expect that these two desires would merge so quickly into the formation of a graduate program, but the reality has taken shape.
Surveying of the field
In examining the need, we surveyed over 300 children’s ministry professionals:
- A surprisingly large number indicated that their undergraduate degrees were not related to children’s ministry.
- Over 95% communicated interest in an online graduate program in their field, especially if it would include children and family ministries as opposed to just children’s ministry.
- Over 85% indicated that they want more training in ministering to families and discipling parents.
- Over 76% said that they desire advanced training in ministering to children.
- Over 60% expressed an interest in understanding learning strategies.
- Over 60% indicated a desire for graduate studies in Bible and theology.
Training for the field
Southwestern’s new M.A./M.S. in Children and Family Ministries was created with each of the previous findings in mind. It is designed for the growing number of professionals who minister to the needs of children and families, whether through churches, evangelistic efforts, Christian education settings, professional organizations, or cross-cultural efforts focused upon ministry to children and families. Available in both on- campus and online formats, a strength of the program is the connection between classroom learning, peer interaction, and practical application. The focus of this thirty-six hour program is ministry to children and families in a congregational context with special emphasis on spiritual formation in children, advocacy and care for the special needs of children, discipleship of parents, creation of intergenerational ministry, curriculum and program development, dynamics of staffing leadership, and current trends in children and family ministry. It is a degree that will:
- benefit both the formally-trained children’s pastor and the children’s pastor whose college experience was unrelated to children’s ministry.
- be available entirely online
- include key training emphases in family ministry, children’s ministry, learning strategies, and Bible and theology.
One of the most exciting features of this degree is the great flexibility which allows students to build a program tailored to their desired emphases.
Training on the field
Southwestern has the opportunity to offer a unique graduate course in Children and Family Ministries - Spring of 2008. In cooperation with the National Children’s Ministry Agency of the Assemblies of God, SAGU will offer a 3-credit course in advanced leadership of children and family ministries, which will be held at the National Children’s Ministries Leadership Conference in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The course will feature author and speaker Jim Wideman and be conducted simultaneously with the conference, April 1-4. Similar to previous “fly-in” courses conducted by SAGU, this course will require live attendance at a certain number of conference workshops as well as post-conference assignments which will be completed and submitted online during the summer months. Convenience is not the only incentive to begin this training endeavor. Southwestern will be offering this course with a 50% discount, which means that each student enrolled in the course will pay half of the normal tuition cost of a 3-credit course.
The Children and Family Ministries Program at Southwestern exists to help train people for effective ministry to children, parents, and families. We would like to partner with you as you seek on- and off-the-field training. Please let us know how we can serve you in this endeavor.