Educational Objectives: Successful graduates of thiscourse will have expanded their knowledge and understanding of current theory and practice in the field of ministry. They will have demonstrated awareness of attitudes, skills, knowledge and ethics that are appropriate for a variety of ministry settings, and they will have developed their abilities to reflect theologically on the practice of ministry and to shape their own ministry practice from a solid theological base.
Other outcomes will include increased awareness and appreciation of ministry-oriented research, and further enhancement of the skills that underpin scholarship and discourse in theology and ministry, including the ability to access, organise, analyse, and synthesise information related to ministry praxis, and the ability to write and argue effectively in accordance with the conventions and genres of theological and ministerial scholarship.
Students will also have been assisted to develop a Christian ethic of ministry and mission, a personal awareness of their own ministry presence, effective listening and communication skills, and the ability to work constructively as part of a ministry team. They will also have made significant progress towards achieving the postgraduate outcomes identified in the rationale for the Graduate Diploma in Ministry. In the process, they will have laid a solid foundation for more advanced studies within the Master of Theology program.
Occupational Objectives: The attitudes, skills, and knowledge acquired through the successful completion of the Graduate Diploma in Ministry are qualities required for employment or engagement in the ministry and mission of the Christian church in parishes and church welfare agencies, as well as in a variety of chaplaincy and pastoral care contexts including hospitals, schools and prisons. Graduates of the program will also have met some of the requirements for the ordination/formation programs of the constituent churches.