Pastoral Theology and Care

Pastoral theology and care play a crucial role in addressing the spiritual, emotional, and practical needs of individuals within a faith community. Rooted in scripture, this specialization provides a framework for understanding the complexities of human experience through a theological lens, fostering deeper connections between faith and daily life. By equipping leaders with the skills to offer compassionate support and guidance, students in this specialization seek to nurture spiritual growth, promote healing, and build a sense of belonging, ultimately strengthening the overall health of the community. By emphasizing these aspects, pastoral theology and care play a vital role in nurturing both individual and community faith journeys.

This specialization is designed to provide educational opportunities for caregivers and clinical practitioners who seek advanced theological and theoretical reflection on the contemporary practices of pastoral care and counseling. Unique characteristics of the Pastoral Theology and Care Specialization include:

• Oriented toward the pastor, chaplain, minister of counseling or institutional spiritual coordinator
• Aims to sharpen and deepen skills for functioning as a strategic facilitator and collaborator in applied pastoral theology and pastoral care
• Focuses on enhancing one’s developmental capacities and sharpening professional identity within a specialized context of care giving ministry or community faith-based service
• Intentionally ensures that each student has a faculty advisor or a project mentor who posses advanced graduate level training and/or professional credential in the area of pastoral theology, care, or counseling
• The topic of their final doctoral project and professional paper will be designed to relate to congregational Pastoral Theology and Care, ministries of Chaplaincy, and ministries of Counseling (group or individual)