ICAS-Accredited Degree Program
Doctor of Christian Education in Next Generation Ministry
D.C.E. credential
Explore how to encourage young people, share Scripture in meaningful ways, and help the next generation make faith their own.
Doctor of Christian Education in Next Generation 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
Doctoral study in Next Generation Ministry is for those directing youth work and researching retention. Young people leave at eighteen for reasons the retention research has actually identified, and most youth ministry is designed as though it had not. This ICAS-accredited Kingdom of Life University program covers adolescent development, teaching doctrine to teenagers who can handle more than they are given, safeguarding as a culture, parents, and building the transition rather than hoping for it.
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 Christian Education in Next Generation 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
- Next Generation Ministry - Doctoral Competency-Based Ministry Assessment
- Credential
- Doctor of Christian Education (D.C.E.) in Next Generation 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 young people as present members of the church rather than future ones
Teach and pastor in the light of adolescent development
Make safeguarding a culture rather than a policy document
Plan for transition into adult faith rather than for retention alone
Learning Outcomes
Skills and competencies you will develop
Synthesize doctoral-level theological evidence, research judgment, and ministry wisdom for faithful leadership
Design a youth teaching programme that takes doubt seriously
Recruit, train, and supervise volunteer leaders under a safeguarding framework
Build a parent and whole-church strategy alongside the youth programme
Plan a transition pathway for young people leaving the youth group
Career Opportunities
Where this degree can take you
Youth pastor
Student ministry director
Campus ministry leader
Youth ministry trainer
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
Teaching Scripture to teenagers with full intellectual seriousness, including the texts they raise as objections.
Doctoral Seminar: Old Testament Theology
The Old Testament's difficult material, which adolescents ask about directly and which evasive answers permanently discredit.
Doctoral Seminar: New Testament Theology
The New Testament taught to people forming an identity, and the difference between a faith adopted and a faith inherited.
Doctoral Seminar: Christian Doctrine
Doctrine for adolescents, since a thin theological diet at sixteen is among the better documented predictors of leaving at twenty.
Doctoral Seminar: Theology of Youth Ministry
What youth ministry is for theologically, covering the young person as a full member of the church rather than as a future one.
Doctoral Seminar: Adolescent Development
Adolescent development in body, cognition, identity, and relationship, and the implications for teaching, expectation, and pastoral response.
Doctoral Seminar: Teaching Teenagers the Bible
Teaching Scripture to teenagers, covering engagement without trivialising, handling doubt, and the assumption of intellectual seriousness.
Doctoral Seminar: Youth Culture and Media
The media and cultural environment young people actually inhabit, covering platforms, algorithmic influence, and the effects on attention and comparison.
Specialization Subjects
Six more that take the field into the places it actually gets used.
Doctoral Seminar: Mentoring and Small Groups
Mentoring and small group work, covering leader recruitment, training, safeguarding, group dynamics, and realistic leader retention.
Doctoral Seminar: Parents and the Whole Church
Working with parents and the whole congregation, given the evidence that parental faith and intergenerational relationship matter more than youth programmes.
Doctoral Seminar: Safeguarding and Duty of Care
Safeguarding as a primary responsibility, covering policy, recruitment, supervision, recognition, reporting, and the culture that makes policy real.
Doctoral Seminar: Transition Into Adult Faith
Transition out of youth ministry, covering the departure point at eighteen, the evidence on disengagement, and the practices that support continuing faith.
Doctoral Seminar: Spiritual Formation and Christian Vocation
Formation for young people and for the leaders who burn out, and the practices that survive leaving the youth group.
Doctoral Seminar: Integrative Theology and Ministry
A youth ministry project addressing transition or retention, with evidence, intervention and evaluation.
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 Christian Education
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 Next Generation 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.