ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics
D.Min. credential
Answer the objections your community actually raises, through a professional doctorate in pastoral and public apologetics.
Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics: Your Grant Price
Applications are free. Eligible applicants receive their admission and Grant decision before any one-time program fee is requested.
Published tuition
$24,900.00
$649.00 Registry & Assessment Fee
$149
Doctoral 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 Doctor of Ministry in apologetics is for practitioners answering the objections a congregation actually meets. Congregational apologetics is pastoral work: the objections arrive from a colleague, a lecturer or an algorithm, and the person asking is usually not neutral about the answer. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University pathway covers method for pastors, science and history objections, evil as encountered rather than argued, other religions, doubt inside the church, public debate, and training members.
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 Doctor of Ministry in Apologetics 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
- Doctor of Ministry: Apologetics - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Apologetics
- 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 inquiry and ministry judgment in service to the church and its mission
Choose an apologetic method suited to a congregation rather than a seminar
Distinguish an intellectual objection from a pastoral wound
Make doubt safe to voice within a congregation
Train members to answer the objections they actually meet
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Produce an apologetic response to a live objection at congregational level
Design a congregational culture and practice that makes doubt safe to voice
Build and deliver a member training programme in apologetics
Complete a doctoral project evidencing improved congregational confidence
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Teaching pastor
Public apologist
Campus ministry leader
Apologetics instructor
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.
Doctoral Seminar: Biblical Interpretation
Reading Scripture with a doubting member, which is different work from reading it with a debating opponent.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament passages that actually cost people their faith — conquest, sacrifice, imprecation — handled without evasion.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament's historical claims assessed by historians' standards, and an honest account of what they establish.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrines being defended, stated precisely, since much apologetic effort defends positions the church never held.
Doctoral Seminar: Apologetic Method for Pastors
Apologetic method for pastors, covering the main approaches and the choice of method appropriate to a congregational rather than academic setting.
Doctoral Seminar: Objections From Science and History
Objections from science and history, covering cosmology, evolutionary biology, and historical criticism as they are actually encountered.
Doctoral Seminar: The Problem of Evil in Ministry
The problem of evil in ministry, covering the difference between answering an argument and accompanying a sufferer.
Doctoral Seminar: Apologetics and Other Religions
Apologetics and other religions, covering accurate description, genuine points of contact, and the ethics of comparison.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Doubt Within the Congregation
Doubt within the congregation, covering its causes, its developmental normality, and the congregational conditions that make it safe to voice.
Doctoral Seminar: Public Debate and Media
Public debate and media, covering format, burden of proof, and the difference between winning an exchange and making a case.
Doctoral Seminar: Training Members to Answer
Training members to answer, covering curriculum, practice, and the realistic expectation of what members will retain and use.
Doctoral Seminar: Doctoral Apologetics Project
The doctoral apologetics project, covering design, intervention, evaluation, and the written argument.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
The apologist's own faith, which argument does not sustain, and the hazard of defending belief better than holding it.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A doctoral apologetics project making doubt safe to voice in a congregation, with training and evaluated outcomes.
Admission Requirements
What you need to apply
- Master's degree in theology, ministry, or a relevant field from an accredited or recognized institution
- Official graduate transcripts demonstrating advanced academic preparation
- Research statement identifying a proposed area of theological or ministry inquiry
- Scholarly or ministry-focused writing sample
- Current curriculum vitae documenting relevant research, church, or ministry leadership experience
- Three ministry or academic recommendations and a faculty interview
Degree Completion Requirements
Requirements for the Doctor of Ministry
Graduation Requirements
- Complete at least 60 doctoral semester credits in the approved degree plan
- Pass the Competency-Based Ministry Assessment for the degree
- Satisfy every doctoral-core, research-methods, specialization, elective, and Competency-Based Ministry Assessment 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 doctoral-level theological synthesis, research judgment, and ministry leadership through Competency-Based Ministry Assessment, combining theological knowledge with assessed ministry experience.
Credit Distribution
| Requirement Area | Credits | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Doctoral Core | 24 | 8 courses. Doctoral theory, disciplinary foundations, and scholarly leadership. |
| Research Design and Methods | 12 | 4 courses. University-wide doctoral preparation in quantitative, qualitative, measurement, and research-ethics competencies. |
| Area of Specialization | 15 | 5 courses. Focused doctoral inquiry supporting the learner's research agenda. |
| Doctoral Elective | 6 | 2 courses. Any doctoral-level major course from any school that is not already part of this degree plan. |
| Competency-Based Ministry Assessment | 3 | 1 course. Integrated doctoral theological knowledge and assessed ministry experience, recognizing demonstrated learning across the published degree plan. |
| Total Degree Credits | 60 | All requirements must be completed within the approved degree plan. |
Program Details
Program Length
Self-Paced
Self-Paced Learning
Total Credits
60 credit hours
Up to 30 Transfer Credits
Published Degree Plan
20 courses
Across 5 required curriculum groups
Format
Flexible Study
Assessment Format
Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
Selected Degree
Doctorate
School
School of Theology and Ministry
Institutional Status
ICAS Accredited
Ready to Begin Your Accredited Apologetics 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.