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GLOBAL CITY IS FOCUS OF NEW D.MIN. For Antonia Jones, it's a chance to study internationally. For Andrew Park, it's an opportunity to concentrate on leadership and preaching in urban settings. A partnership between ABSW and Bakke Graduate University of Ministry (BGU) in Seattle, the three-year program starts with two-week intensive sessions called "overtures": the first will be held in January in Seattle; the second overture meets in the summer in an international location — Asia, India, Africa or the Philippines. Urban immersions in U.S. cities are also part of the program. This January, a weeklong course will focus on San Francisco and Oakland. "I am excited about the nature of the program," says the Rev. Dr. Sangyil "Sam" Park, program director and associate professor of preaching at ABSW. "As part of their program the students will have eye-opening experiences of urban ministries through their trips to some of the major cities in the United States and overseas." The program will balance theory and praxis in advanced theological training while highlighting new local and global perspectives in urban ministries that are needed in a global society, Park says. The courses will include extensive readings, reflections, and engagement with peers and faculty. After the first year of overtures, the second year focuses on preaching and leadership rooted in a prophetic, change-oriented mission for the church. Students will complete elective courses at ABSW, which will also provide advising for the dissertation or doctoral project. The program will award the D.Min. degree from BGU in partnership with ABSW. "This program is not about updating skills. This is about developing new skills for ministry for a new century," says ABSW President Keith Russell. "I don't know of any other D.Min. program with a global emphasis." The international travel was the hook for Jones. "That just grabbed me right there," she says. Jones earned her M.Div. at ABSW in 2003. Pastor of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Richmond, Calif., she says learning never ends. "We need to know as much as we can in order to reach people." BGU, formerly Northwest Graduate School of Ministry (NWGS), was founded in 1990 by a Seattle church for continuing education of pastors. In 2001, ownership of the school passed from the church to an independent board organized through the cooperation of Serve Seattle, Northwest Leadership Foundation and International Urban Associates. Dr. Ray Bakke, a well-known expert in ministry and the global city, was asked to serve as the chancellor. Today, BGU is a cutting-edge leader in theological education that combines the best of traditional seminary training with inventive methods of delivery and relevant content. BGU's mission is to strengthen leaders "who steward resources with and for vulnerable people and places, by means of contextual, Christian-based education innovatively delivered throughout the urban world." A passion for the city certainly describes Andrew Park, who grew up in East Oakland and is associate pastor of New Church Berkeley. Park says the D.Min. program's emphasis on leadership and preaching fits with his own gifts. He is excited about the peer learning the program will offer as U.S. and international students study together. And he's thrilled by the combined experience of ABSW and BGU. "You can't really beat Keith Russell and Ray Bakke in terms of urban city ministry," Park says. To learn more about the D.Min. program, contact Dr. Sam Park at 510-841-1905. The admission deadline for the June cohort is Feb. 15, 2007. Visit Bakke Graduate University to learn more. |
Beginning in January, Jones and Park plus 23 classmates will begin American Baptist Seminary of the West's new doctor of ministry program, a unique course of study focused on ministry in the global city.
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