The Best Online Master’s in Missions and Global Ministry Programs

Earning a master’s degree in missions is the first step toward the vocation of world evangelism. A degree in missionary studies can equip you with the biblical and theological knowledge you need to understand your faith, along with the skills to communicate across cultures. With your degree, you can take on roles in local churches, educational settings, or parachurch ministries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that social and community managers will see an 9% increase in jobs between 2022 and 2032. Missions majors can expect many potential openings in organizations committed to serving the kingdom, the church, and the world.

Learning how to become a missionary involves more than studying theology and biblical knowledge. It also means understanding cultures, geopolitics, languages, religions, communication tactics, and leadership skills. For many would-be missionaries, it requires building an appropriate academic background to become English teachers, entrepreneurs, or international development workers. Students can concentrate in areas like Muslim studies, teaching English as a Foreign Language, justice and development, global leadership, or linguistics, allowing future missionaries to tailor their academic programs to meet their goals.

Often, master’s degree in missions programs include core courses drawn from theology, biblical studies, and anthropology. Some degrees make ministry or divinity the core of the program and missions a concentration. An M.Div. with an emphasis in missions can take 90 credits to complete, while a seminary degree in missions may require 60 credits. A liberal arts college or Bible college often offers a mission degree for just 33 credits. A missions program usually requires an internship and a thesis. The internship takes place in an international or cross-cultural setting, and students in some schools can substitute a practical capstone for the thesis.

A degree in missionary studies includes courses in theology, biblical studies, anthropology, and ministry practice. Students can choose a degree focused on theology, one that equips them with a skill such as teaching English, or one that concentrates on a specific culture.

• Cultural Innovation and Change
  Missions, globalization, and development fundamentally change local cultures. How can missionaries work within a local culture to help smooth its adaptations to powerful forces of meta change?
• Comparative Cultural Leadership
  Contrasting and diverse cultures deploy distinct leadership styles. In this course, students learn how their cultures influence their understanding of leadership, and they explore multiple cultural views of leadership.
• Understanding Cultures and Worldviews
  This course is a sociological and religious study of the nature of culture and worldview. Students review biblical cultures and worldviews and consider Christianity in light of today’s cultures and worldviews.

• Biblical Theology of Mission
  Students examine biblical texts to uncover a theological framework that supports, defines, and empowers missions. Using scripture as a lens, learners consider historic and modern theories of missions.
• Leading a Missional Community
  Using a Trinitarian ecclesiology, this course focuses on the practice of leading a spiritually transformed and transformative group that embodies meaningful relationships and operates in the power of the Spirit.

Earning a master’s degree in missions can open up positions in government, missions agencies, schools, churches, and research institutions. Missiologists can even serve as intercultural or multicultural coordinators for multinational corporations. Some majors equip students with entrepreneurial skills to start their own business-as-mission enterprises, or to help established agencies innovate in culturally sensitive ways.

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