M.A. in Children’s and Family Ministry Program Reduces Credits, Time to Completion
March 13, 2018 | 4 p.m.
By Suzanne McInroy, director of communications
Starting this summer, the M.A. in Children’s and Family Ministry will take two years and 36 credits to complete, making a seminary education more affordable and accessible to children’s ministry leaders.
Bethel Seminary’s Master of Arts in Children’s and Family Ministry (MACFM) program has reduced the credits needed for completion, making the degree more affordable and accessible to children’s ministry leaders.
“In making these changes, we wanted to recognize the increasing demands on the lives of those who work in children’s and family ministry,” says Denise Muir Kjesbo, program director and lead faculty member. “We also want to ensure seminary education is accessible and affordable for such an important group of people—those who serve children and families in our churches.”
Effective June 2018, the M.A. in Children’s and Family Ministry program will be reduced from a 42-hour degree program to a 36-hour program. This means the degree will now take two years to complete rather than two and a half years, and it will mean one less on-campus intensive week. This translates to a time savings of about six months, a cost savings of approximately $3,000 in tuition, and cost savings for one trip to campus for an onsite intensive week.
In the last few years, Bethel Seminary has strived to listen to the needs and expectations of those who are considering a seminary education to make it more affordable and accessible for today’s seminarians. In fall 2017, four Bethel Seminary degrees moved entirely online: the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Ministry, Master of Arts (Theological Studies), and Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership. In fall 2015, four programs went through a credit and cost reduction: the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership, Master of Arts (Theological Studies), and Master of Arts in Christian Thought. The most recent change to the Master of Arts in Children’s and Family Ministry program is similar.
“I am grateful for the time and energy of our faculty and staff to help make this curriculum change happen,” says Kjesbo. “We worked hard to maintain the balance in the MACFM degree between degree-specific courses and core seminary courses. We also continue to incorporate the ‘Three Centers Approach’ to seminary education for which Bethel Seminary is known. My prayer is for these curriculum changes to open new doors to seminary education for children’s and family ministry leaders in the next chapter of the MACFM degree.”
Find out more about Bethel Seminary’s M.A. in Children’s and Family Ministry program and other seminary programs.