ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Master of Arts in Church Governance
M.A. credential
Explore the decisions, stewardship, and responsibilities that help a church care for its people and stay faithful to its mission.
Master of Arts in Church Governance: Your Grant Price
Applications are free. Eligible applicants receive their admission and Grant decision before any one-time program fee is requested.
Published tuition
$14,900.00
$599.00 Registry & Assessment Fee
$99
Master's Degree
2026 Life in Christ Grant is active
Ministry Experience, Evaluated Against Academic Standards.
Documented prior learning may be considered when it aligns with program outcomes; every credit decision follows academic review.
Program Overview
About this program
The M.A. in Church Governance works on risk, property, data duties and organised generosity. Administration is where a congregation's stated values meet its actual decisions about money, employment, property and risk. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University program treats it as ministry: finance and reserves, governance and polity, employment law, facilities, safeguarding policy, data protection, and the teaching and organisation of generosity.
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Recognition of demonstrated learning in theology and ministry
Experienced ministry practitioners demonstrate competencies developed through years of service, theological study, and continuing learning. The assessment connects that learning with the published outcomes of the Master of Arts in Church Governance through biblical understanding, theological reflection, research, and ministry judgment.
70
Audited questions in this pathway bank
30
Questions drawn for each sitting
60 minutes
Time available for the knowledge component
24 hours
Interval before reassessment
Theological knowledge and degree outcomes
- Published bank title
- Church Governance - Master Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Master of Arts (M.A.) in Church Governance
- Question construction
- 14 pathway subject-bank sources contribute 5 questions each, producing the complete 70-question bank.
How completion is reported
- The knowledge component contributes 40% and assessed ministry experience contributes 60% to one weighted result.
- The reported result is no lower than 80%, matching the 80% degree pass mark.
- Reassessment draws a fresh question set and is included in program access, with no additional fee or limit on sittings.
- The integrated assessment covers the published degree plan; separate course assessments, a capstone paper, and a dissertation defense are not required.
Program Objectives
What you will achieve
Integrate advanced theological study, spiritual maturity, and ministry wisdom for Christian leadership
Treat administration as stewardship rather than as distraction from ministry
Maintain finances and records that would withstand external scrutiny
Meet employment, safeguarding, and data protection duties properly
Teach and organise generosity without manipulation
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize advanced biblical and theological evidence for clear teaching, leadership, and ministry judgment
Produce a church budget with reserves and restricted fund policies
Draft the mandatory policy set for a congregation and a plan to embed it
Conduct a risk assessment covering property, people, and finance
Design a giving programme with clear teaching and transparent reporting
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Church administrator
Executive pastor
Ministry operations director
Denominational finance officer
Major Subject Areas
The fourteen subjects you study, and the ones the ministry assessment draws on
Foundational and Major-Core Subjects
Four foundations every pathway shares, then four that belong to this field.
Advanced Biblical Interpretation
Teaching Scripture on money and possessions, which a congregation hears from whoever presents the budget as much as from the pulpit.
Advanced Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament's law on property, debt, gleaning and jubilee, and what a serious doctrine of stewardship inherits from it.
Advanced New Testament Theology
The New Testament's collection, its accounting, and Paul's evident care to be above suspicion in handling other people's money.
Advanced Christian Doctrine
The doctrine of stewardship and trusteeship, which makes administration a theological matter rather than an overhead.
Advanced Theology of Stewardship
Stewardship as a theological category, covering ownership, trusteeship, and the claim that administration is ministry rather than its overhead.
Advanced Church Finance and Budgeting
Church finance, covering budgeting, restricted funds, reserves, reporting, independent examination, and the specific requirements for charities.
Advanced Governance and Polity
Governance and polity, covering the main church polities, trustee and officer duties, constitutions, and the resolution of authority disputes.
Advanced Staff Management and Employment
Employment and staff management, covering contracts, recruitment, performance, grievance and disciplinary process, and the law's requirements.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Advanced Facilities and Property
Facilities and property, covering maintenance planning, listed building constraints, lettings, utilities, and capital projects.
Advanced Risk, Insurance, and Safeguarding Policy
Risk, insurance, and safeguarding policy, covering assessment, mandatory policies, training, and the difference between a policy and a practice.
Advanced Systems, Data, and Records
Systems, data, and records, covering membership databases, data protection duties, retention, and secure handling of pastoral information.
Advanced Generosity and Fundraising
Generosity and fundraising, covering teaching on giving, gift aid and equivalents, appeals, legacies, and the ethics of asking.
Advanced Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
The spiritual life of a role that is mostly invisible, and the integrity required when nobody is checking.
Advanced Integrative Theology and Ministry
A governance or finance project: policy, budget or risk framework, implemented and reviewed against external standards.
Admission Requirements
What you need to apply
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited or recognized institution
- Official transcripts showing preparation appropriate to graduate theological study
- Statement of theological, academic, and ministry goals
- Current resume or curriculum vitae
- Two ministry, professional, or academic recommendations
Degree Completion Requirements
Requirements for the Master of Arts
Graduation Requirements
- Complete at least 36 graduate semester credits in the approved degree plan
- Pass the Competency-Based Ministry Assessment for the degree
- Satisfy every graduate-core, specialization, elective, and comprehensive requirement group
- Integrate theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience under the published result-weighting policy
- Recognize demonstrated learning against every published degree-plan requirement
Culminating Experience
Demonstrate graduate theological understanding and ministry judgment through Competency-Based Ministry Assessment, recognizing advanced learning developed through prior study and service.
Credit Distribution
| Requirement Area | Credits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate Core | 21 | 7 courses. Required advanced theory, methods, and professional competencies of the discipline. |
| Graduate Specialization | 9 | 3 courses. Focused graduate study in an approved concentration or practice area. |
| Graduate Elective | 3 | 1 course. Any master-level major course from any school that is not already part of this degree plan. |
| Competency-Based Ministry Assessment | 3 | 1 course. Integrated graduate theological knowledge and assessed ministry experience, recognizing demonstrated learning across the published degree plan. |
| Total Degree Credits | 36 | All requirements must be completed within the approved degree plan. |
Program Details
Program Length
Self-Paced
Self-Paced Learning
Total Credits
36 credit hours
Up to 18 Transfer Credits
Published Degree Plan
12 courses
Across 4 required curriculum groups
Format
Flexible Study
Assessment Format
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Selected Degree
Master
School
School of Theology and Ministry
Institutional Status
ICAS Accredited
Ready to Begin Your Accredited Church Governance Degree?
Applying costs nothing, and the work you have already done may count. Have a look at what this pathway asks for before you decide.