Deepen your faith, elevate your leadership, and add a new dimension to your ministry. Ministry Leadership (M.A.)

The M.A. in Ministry Leadership from the Wheaton College Graduate School is designed for those with a desire to deepen their faith and raise their level of leadership while collaborating with others. Our graduates are prepared to live out Christ’s mission by proclaiming and demonstrating the gospel and serving the Church in a changing world.

Credential Type

M.A.

Major Credits Required

Duration

3-5 years

Format

Hybrid or Residential

Schedule

Full- and part-time options

Practical Skills

Develop a biblical, reasonable, and useful faith for the contemporary world.

Flexible Format

Complete the program while continuing your current career or ministry.

Partnership Discounts

Team up with select organizations to qualify for a tuition discount of up to 25%.

Request Information

Or reach out to us anytime at graduate.admissions@wheaton.edu.

John Dickson teaching in classroom in BGH 5th Floor

Why Study Ministry Leadership at Wheaton? Engage the World for Christ

The M.A. in Ministry Leadership inspires and equips academically grounded, spiritually maturing, and practically skilled leaders for a life of service.

Program Overview

As cultural changes accelerate, we need ministry leaders skilled in theory and practice who are able to make disciples and pursue Jesus’ mission in the world. The M.A. in Ministry Leadership is built with three core competency areas to train culturally savvy leaders for a life of service:

Mission	Bible & Theology	Leadership
Become change agents for the Church and society and lead churches that grow through conversion.	Thoughtfully engage the world for Christ from a deepened biblical, theological, and evangelical, foundation.	Grow in ministry skills, leadership and influence—all for the purpose of transforming people and communities.

Cohorts & Concentrations

As a graduate student at Wheaton, you'll join a close-knit learning community of like-minded peers. As you learn from and alongside fellow leaders, you’ll build deep bonds with your classmates. Additionally, for our M.A. in Ministry Leadership program, Wheaton has partnered with various churches and organizations to form cohorts for their members. Cohort options include, but aren't limited to:

Executive Pastors Cohort
Large Church Pastors Cohort
Urban Cohort

Our Curriculum

As a student in the M.A. in Ministry Leadership program, you'll complete a set of core requirements in three areas: Mission, Bible & Theology, and Leadership.

View Curriculum

Sample Courses

Common core and elective options include:

Leadership & Spiritual Formation
Church: Movements & Models
Congregational Leadership
Christian Theology

Explore the Missional Church Certificate

Interested in exploring a few of our courses? Consider pursuing the Missional Church Certificate. Students who later apply for entry into the M.A. in Evangelism and Leadership or the M.A. in Ministry Leadership can use these three courses toward their M.A. requirements.

Learn About the Certificate

Our Faculty Compassionate and Intelligent Educators

Our educators are practitioners, church builders, and ministers who have worked in both small and large community church contexts. They have experience in pastoral ministry, church planting, intercultural studies, missiology, and many other related areas.

Rev. Dr. John Dickson, B.Th. (Hons 1), Ph.D.

Jean Kvamme Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Public Christianity

Eunice Hong, Ph.D.

Director of Research and Assistant Professor of Ministry

Michael Hakmin Lee, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Ministry Leadership Guest Instructor for Christian Formation and Ministry Director of M.A. in Evangelism & Leadership M.A. in Missional Church Movements M.A. in Ministry Leadership

Rick Richardson, M.Div., Ph.D.

Professor of Evangelism and Leadership, Director of WCBGC Research Institute, Director of the Church Evangelism Institute

Rochelle Scheuermann, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean of Ministry and Evangelism; Program Director of the Doctor of Ministry; Associate Professor of Evangelism and Leadership

Junias Venugopal, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean of Spiritual Formation and Leadership, Co-Director of M.A. in Leadership, and Associate Professor of Evangelism and Leadership

Student Voices

Equipped and Encouraged

"It provides a wide diversity of thought within orthodox Christianity. With the caliber of the things I’m learning, I talk to people in seminary and sometimes I’m like, ‘You didn’t learn that?’ The program does a great job trying to get a holistic exposure to ministry leadership."

Vicki Gray M.A. ‘25

Gray, a former registered dietician, and her husband, a former NFL player, converted to Christianity as adults. She found the faith through a coworker and he through a teammate. After growing spiritually in a local Charlotte church, her husband felt a call to pastoral ministry and went to seminary. During that time, Gray started getting involved in her church through the encouragement of others. Her church leaders saw a deep faithfulness to Christ in how Gray approached leadership opportunities. Keep reading to learn how Gray found the M.A. in Ministry Leadership at Wheaton.

Alumni Perspective

"My degree has changed trajectories in my ministry. Our church is seeing more people come to Christ than ever before. I attribute it to how God has used this program to help us think about evangelism differently."

- Darryl McAuley, Lead Pastor, McDiarmid Drive Alliance Church, Brandon, MB, Canada, M.A. Ministry Leadership

Wheaton College Graduate School Graduate Student at Commencement with His Mom

Investing in You

Financial Wellness

The Wheaton College Graduate School Student Financial Services team can help you understand how much your graduate studies will cost and what scholarships, loans, and aid may be available to you.

As a part of our mission to commit to the development of missional organizations, we have developed partnerships with various ministries and organizations to make graduate education more affordable. Students currently involved with any of these ministries may qualify for up to 25% off tuition for all courses.

Learn About Graduate Financial Aid

Next Steps

Interested in pursuing a master’s degree in ministry leadership at Wheaton College? Request more information or start your application today.

Graduate Admissions Request Information