The MA in Applied Theological Studies - Black Ministries and Leadership Pathway

The MA in Applied Theological Studies is validated by the University of Birmingham, a top ranked university nationally and internationally, and taught by staff of the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham.

Queen's is a thriving and expanding ecumenical foundation.  We welcome students from a wide range of Christian traditions and specialise in contextual, practical theologies for mission and ministry.  This year we are admitting more than 40 MA students to form challenging and diverse learning groups. Some will be ministers and leaders from churches around the world; some will be ministers and lay leaders from Anglican, Methodist and other 'historic' churches engaging in professional development; some will be ordained and lay pastors from Pentecostal, black led churches for leadership formation.  The breadth of perspective and the richness of experience in this group enriches the learning of everyone. 

Black Ministries and Leadership Pathway

Rev Lynnette Mullings

Pathway Leader

This pathway is designed for lay and ordained ministers and pastors from black majority churches and minority ethnic clergy serving in white majority churches. It shares many features of the Professional Development pathway, but focuses on innovative approaches to ministry, acquiring strategic leadership skills to develop and implement the vision of the church, and helping ministers and pastors to reflect theologically on their existing ministerial practices and work.   Post-Graduate Certificate and Diploma options are available as well.  The normal pathway modules will consist of three modules:

Experience, Liberation and Transformative Ministry which will enable you critically to examine ways to evaluate, develop, strengthen and integrate theological inquiry and understanding into congregational ministry that will engender transformation.

Leadership, Strategy and Vision will help you to develop new skills and insights for leadership and enable you to reflect deeply on your experience and practice of leadership.

Professional Development in Ministry is designed so you can choose an area of professional practice for exploration, reflection and study with peers and tutors.  The chosen professional practice will be in an area of either worship, or community projects, or public ministry. 

The Core Programme shared with other Pathways

The Core programme consists of 120 credits of core modules. Two 30 credit modules for the core taught components which are common to all the pathways.  These lay the foundations for applied theological studies.  A 60 credit dissertation module is required for the award of the MA and will normally be on a topic related to the pathway that is being followed.

Reading the Bible Contextually and Inter-culturally (30 credits).  This module addresses the nature of Contextual Theology, and how the doing of theology is related to and addresses the social and human contexts out of which it arises.

Tools for Theological Reflection and Research (30 credits).  This module focuses on the nature and methods of theological reflection appropriate to various kinds of contextual theology.  It aims to equip students to reflect theologically in and on their own particular contexts, and also in the preparation of a research study for their MA dissertation.  

These modules are taught on Wednesday evenings over ten weeks in the Autumn and Spring terms.  In the first part of a typical evening the whole group engages with specialist input; in the second part of the evening different pathway groups are facilitated by a tutor, enabling study and reflection on the material in the light of the experiences and interests of those in the particular pathway.

Dissertation (60 credits).  To gain the award of an MA you will write a 12,000 word dissertation on a topic of your choice which has been agreed with the dissertations panel.  The choice of topics is as wide as your imagination and you are encouraged to connect your area of study and research with the practice of mission, ministry and leadership.

For more information please contact Rosemary Maskell