Earn Your Master’s in Christian Ministry with Restorative Arts
Whether you are a lay leader, staff pastor, bi-vocational minister, or serving in a nonprofit or parachurch organization, if you are a servant leader interested in graduate theological training and desire to do restorative ministry in contexts such as prison that are susceptible to violence, this degree is for you. The master of arts in Christian ministry (MACM) with Restorative Arts will help you think critically about your faith and practice within the deep reality of the brokenness of this world. The MACM is designed to enhance ministry in a variety of vocations (or work activities) and acknowledges that students from non-traditional ministry contexts and varied educational backgrounds desire specialized ministry formation. You’ll deepen your biblical and theological foundation and develop your own model for ministries of restoration through an integrated classroom experience at Stateville Correctional Center, a maximum security prison.
Vocational Development
From the moment you enter Seminary, you will be immersed in a community that places vocational development front and center alongside academic preparation. You will be enriched through identity and spiritual formation coursework, psychological testing, and opportunities to explore ministry and self-care habits.
Course Areas
This 54-hour degree includes courses in Old and New Testament, history, theology, spiritual formation, ministry, and Christian education and formation. The shape of the program is largely completed in four 12-hr certificates that take one year per certificate: Foundational Courses, Restorative Arts, Transformative Justice, and Pastoral Arts.
Community Life
At North Park Theological Seminary, our community extends beyond the classroom to support you and provide formational learning opportunities on campus and across Chicago. Our on-campus housing options, community events, and worship services will help you connect with your faculty, peers, and neighborhood.
Program Details
It is a flexible degree option offering courses in core disciplines and opportunities for reflection on ministry experience and one’s vocational direction. Graduates will demonstrate an understanding of ministry. Participants are expected to be practicing ministry skills at the time of application and throughout the program. Ministry includes activities such as active listening, being with those who are grieving, presence to persons who are ill or dying, encouraging peers, forming relationships with persons outside one’s own ethnic or social group, promoting positive race relations and cultural differences, modeling healthy relationships with staff, de-escalating conflict, non-violent communication, deepening of one’s faith, and servant leadership.
Stateville Correctional Center
Stateville Correctional Center is a maximum security prison just outside of Chicago that houses 3000 men. North Park has been offering classes at Stateville since 2015. This program takes place at Statesville in an integrated classroom of both free and incarcerated persons studying together as a cohort. Due to the nature of the prison, all outside students are required to pass a background check to participate in this program.