ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Ministry in Worship
D.Min. credential
Shape the gathered worship of a congregation with theological depth, through a professional doctorate in Christian worship.
Doctor of Ministry in Worship: 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 worship is for practitioners planning services in which every element says the same thing. A service makes theological claims through its order whether or not anyone chose them. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University pathway covers the theology and history of Christian worship, the relation of word, prayer and sacrament, planning a whole service as one coherent act, congregational song, worship across cultures and generations, and evaluation by criteria other than preference.
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 Worship 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: Worship - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Worship
- 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
Build services from a stated theology of worship
Order word, prayer, and sacrament with theological intent
Choose repertoire a congregation can genuinely sing
Evaluate worship by criteria beyond preference
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Produce a service whose every element serves one theological claim
Audit a congregation's repertoire for singability and theological range
Design an evaluation of worship using defensible criteria
Complete a doctoral project evidencing formational change through worship
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Pastor of worship
Worship ministry director
Liturgical consultant
Worship studies 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
Scripture in the liturgy — read, sung, prayed and preached — and the recovery of a service largely composed of the text.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
Temple, psalm and festival as the Old Testament's worship material, and the continuities the church claimed or abandoned.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament's assembly and table, and how little it actually prescribes about the order of what happens.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
The doctrine a service enacts through its shape, examined so the claims being made are claims you would defend.
Doctoral Seminar: Theology of Christian Worship
A theology of Christian worship, covering what the church claims happens when it gathers and the implications for how a service is built.
Doctoral Seminar: History of the Christian Liturgy
The history of Christian liturgy, covering early forms, medieval development, Reformation revision, and the modern liturgical movement.
Doctoral Seminar: Word, Prayer, and Sacrament
Word, prayer, and sacrament, covering their relation in the service and the theological consequences of ordering them one way or another.
Doctoral Seminar: Planning the Whole Service
Planning a whole service, covering shape, coherence, and the discipline of making every element say the same thing.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Song and Congregational Voice
Song and congregational voice, covering repertoire, singability, theological range, and the recovery of a congregation that has stopped singing.
Doctoral Seminar: Worship Across Cultures and Ages
Worship across cultures and ages, covering the range of practice, borrowing, and the formation of one gathering out of different expectations.
Doctoral Seminar: Evaluating Worship Faithfully
Evaluating worship faithfully, covering criteria beyond preference and attendance, and the honest assessment of what a service forms.
Doctoral Seminar: Doctoral Worship Project
The doctoral worship project, covering design, intervention, evaluation, and the written argument.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
The worship leader's own prayer, which professionalising worship reliably erodes.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A doctoral worship project: a service or season designed, led, and evaluated against stated theological criteria.
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 Worship 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.