Senior Adult Ministry (D.Min.)

Program Overview

The Doctor of Ministry in Senior Adult Ministry addresses the largest and fastest-growing group in most congregations, and the one most often served by accident. Older adults are frequently treated as a pastoral care caseload rather than as disciples with decades of wisdom, capacity for service, and their own spiritual work still ahead of them. Meanwhile the genuinely hard questions — dementia, caregiving, dying well, isolation, the loss of role and competence — receive less theological attention than they deserve. The program holds both realities together. Students study a theology of the whole lifespan: honour, longevity, weakness as a site of grace, the communion of saints, and Christian hope in the face of decline and death. Gerontological literacy follows — normal ageing, frailty, sensory loss, the dementias, depression in later life, caregiving burden, and the systems of long-term care. Ministry practice covers worship and preaching that include the old, discipleship and vocation for retired adults, spiritual care in memory loss, family caregiver support, visitation and homebound communion, advance care planning and end-of-life conversations, funerals, and the intergenerational congregation that refuses to segregate by decade. The applied project builds real capacity: a senior adult ministry redesign, a dementia-friendly worship service, a caregiver support system, a volunteer visitation network, a training curriculum for lay pastoral care. Graduates serve as pastors, senior adult ministry directors, chaplains in long-term care, and denominational advisers on ageing.

Core Courses

• GER 801 — Theology of Ageing and Christian Hope (6 credits)
• GER 812 — Gerontology for Ministry (6 credits)
• GER 824 — Worship, Preaching, and Discipleship with Older Adults (6 credits)
• GER 836 — Spiritual Care in Memory Loss (6 credits)
• GER 848 — Caregiving, Dying, and the Family System (5 credits)
• GER 860 — Applied Research Design for Senior Adult Ministry (4 credits)
• GER 899 — Doctoral Ministry Project in Senior Adult Ministry (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree in divinity, ministry, theology, or a closely related field
• Three or more years of pastoral, chaplaincy, or ministry leadership experience
• Statement of purpose describing the ministry setting and the problem you intend to address
• Endorsement from a church, denomination, or ministry organization
• Current resume or ministry profile
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available