ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Ministry in Family Ministry
D.Min. credential
Serve whole households rather than age groups in isolation, through a professional doctorate in family ministry.
Doctor of Ministry in Family Ministry: 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 family ministry is for leaders building formation around the household as it actually is. Family ministry is usually programmed around a household shape that many families in the congregation do not have. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University pathway covers the theology of the household, equipping parents with practices they can sustain, marriage ministry, intergenerational life, single-parent and blended homes, crisis response and safeguarding, and evaluation beyond attendance.
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 Family Ministry 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: Family Ministry - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Family Ministry
- 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
Treat the household as the ordinary site of discipleship
Equip parents with practices they can actually sustain
Serve households that congregational programming tends to exclude
Evaluate family ministry by formation rather than attendance
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Design a parent-equipping strategy with sustainable household practices
Audit congregational programming for assumptions about family structure
Build an intergenerational practice and evaluate its effect
Complete a doctoral project evidencing change in household discipleship
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Family ministry pastor
Marriage and family minister
Denominational family director
Family ministry author
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
Handling the household texts, which are contested and are most often quoted at people already in difficulty.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament's families in their actual dysfunction, and the narrator's refusal to comment on most of it.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament on marriage, singleness and household order, read without importing a later domestic ideal.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrine of covenant and the church as family, stated so it serves households that do not fit the assumed pattern.
Doctoral Seminar: Theology of the Christian Household
A theology of the Christian household, covering its place in the covenant community and its relation to the congregation.
Doctoral Seminar: Equipping Parents to Disciple
Equipping parents to disciple, covering the evidence that household practice outweighs programme attendance, and what parents can actually sustain.
Doctoral Seminar: Marriage Ministry in the Church
Marriage ministry in the church, covering preparation, enrichment, repair, and the point at which pastoral work must give way to referral.
Doctoral Seminar: Intergenerational Congregational Life
Intergenerational congregational life, covering the evidence on cross-generational relationship and the practices that produce it.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Serving Single-Parent and Blended Homes
Serving single-parent and blended households, covering their specific pressures and the assumptions congregational programming makes against them.
Doctoral Seminar: Family Crisis and Pastoral Response
Family crisis and pastoral response, covering separation, bereavement, illness, abuse disclosure, and safeguarding duties.
Doctoral Seminar: Evaluating Family Ministry Health
Evaluating family ministry health, covering indicators beyond attendance and the honest assessment of household practice.
Doctoral Seminar: Doctoral Family Ministry Project
The doctoral family ministry project, covering design, intervention, evaluation, and the written argument.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Formation at home, which the evidence says outweighs the programme, and which is usually the least resourced part of it.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A doctoral family ministry project evaluated for change in household practice rather than in attendance.
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 Family Ministry 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.