ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Ministry in Church Revitalization
D.Min. credential
Lead a long-established congregation back to health, through a professional doctorate in church revitalization.
Doctor of Ministry in Church Revitalization: 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 church revitalization is for pastors leading established congregations through slow change. Declining congregations usually know something is wrong and name the wrong cause. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University pathway covers honest diagnosis from evidence, a theology of renewal that includes institutional repentance, leading change without splitting the church, recovering word and sacrament, rebuilding trust, stewarding buildings that outsize the congregation, and measuring renewal honestly.
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 Church Revitalization 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: Church Revitalization - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Church Revitalization
- 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
Diagnose decline from evidence rather than from impression
Lead change at a pace that does not split the congregation
Address past harm directly as part of renewal
Report progress honestly, including reversal
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Produce a decline diagnosis distinguishing symptom from cause
Design a change sequence with stated departure risks and mitigations
Build a trust repair process addressing a congregation's conflict history
Complete a doctoral project evidencing revitalisation beyond the first year
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Revitalization pastor
Transitional or interim pastor
Denominational renewal officer
Church health consultant
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
Preaching to a congregation that has stopped expecting anything from the text, which is the first problem to solve.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament's cycle of decline, repentance and restoration, and what distinguishes renewal from nostalgia.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament letters to congregations in real trouble, read for what they actually prescribe.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrine of the church under decline: what may be changed, what may not, and how that judgement is defended.
Doctoral Seminar: Diagnosing Congregational Decline
Diagnosing decline honestly, covering attendance and giving data, community change, conflict history, and the distinction between symptom and cause.
Doctoral Seminar: Theology of Renewal and Repentance
A theology of renewal and repentance, covering what must be repented of institutionally and the difference between renewal and rebranding.
Doctoral Seminar: Leading Change Without Splitting
Leading change without splitting the congregation, covering pace, coalition, and the specific decisions that precipitate departures.
Doctoral Seminar: Recovering Word and Sacrament
Recovering word and sacrament as the centre, covering preaching, the table, and the liturgical repair that renewal depends on.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Rebuilding Trust and Membership
Rebuilding trust and membership, covering acknowledgement of past harm, membership expectations, and the slow restoration of confidence.
Doctoral Seminar: Stewarding Buildings and Legacy
Stewarding buildings and legacy, covering property that outsizes the congregation, heritage constraint, disposal, and the emotion attached to a building.
Doctoral Seminar: Measuring Revitalization Honestly
Measuring revitalisation honestly, covering indicators, the temptation to report early, and the reversals common in the third and fourth year.
Doctoral Seminar: Doctoral Revitalization Project
The doctoral revitalisation project, covering design, intervention in an established congregation, evaluation, and the written argument.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
The pastor's spiritual endurance in slow work with visible cost and invisible progress.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A doctoral revitalisation project with baseline, intervention, and evaluation that reports reversal as well as gain.
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 Church Revitalization 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.