Our Approach
A primary feature of this program is that students integrate knowledge of their faith with their own ministry. Students develop a solid ministerial proficiency by combining in-depth study of the Christian theological tradition of their first ministry context with an appreciative and critical understanding of the contexts in which they minister. These contexts include the sociocultural context of their ministry, the personal context of participants’ own faith development and spirituality, and the institutional context and organizational dynamics of the ministry sites in which they work and collaborate with others. Since the world and the Christian community are developing a growing awareness of ecology, the context of creation is also included. In addition, participants develop specific competencies in a ministry focus area of their choice.
Because Christianity is a communal faith, Loyola faculty believe that education to deepen understandings of the Christian faith and to learn how to engage in Christian ministry is best fostered within the rich experience of community. Participants in Loyola’s online classes form learning communities. Within this setting, students support, encourage, listen to, and challenge one another as they reflect upon their own life and ministerial experiences in light of course content and gospel values.
Benefits
Deepen your faith and spirituality
Develop professional competence and practical ministry skills
Explore key connections between the social sciences and Christian Life
Grow in the the context of online intentional learning communities
Enjoy a Flexible online format that allows you to study at home without traveling back and forth to class
Earn a fully accredited graduate degree from a Catholic Jesuit university.
Access to a fully state of the art library with services for distance education students
Direct interaction with Loyola’s excellent faculty who are pastoral scholars in their fields
Study in a program supports the goals of the United States’ Catholic Bishops, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry (2005).
An online program incorporates spiritual formation into the course matierals and group conversations.