Degree Description

The Master of Worship Studies is specifically designed for worship teachers, music ministers, worship leaders and pastors.  It is the only master’s program in the world with its entire curriculum designed around worship studies.  Every course deals specifically with worship, yet integrates the theological disciplines as well.  Students who graduate from this course of study will be able to reflect on worship through the disciplines of Scripture, history, theology, communication theory and cultural analysis.  All studies are geared toward the mission of the church to give witness to God’s redeeming work in the world and to fulfill the mandate of the great commission.

The purpose of the master’s program is not only to educate, but to encourage spiritual formation so as to prepare the student to minister to both the minds and hearts of God’s people.  The Institute of Worship Studies will help you:

• Reevaluate your personal spirituality and ministry in light of the shift from modernity to post modernity.

• Develop the ability to think deeply about your ministry as it relates to the disciplines of theological thought and to the ministries of the church.

• Learn how to listen to the text of culture and to discern how biblical faith is communicated within the current post-Christian cultural setting.

• Consider your own ministry goals as they pertain to the material of each course.

Course Descriptions

MWS 501—A Biblical Theology of Worship

This course will explore the concept and practice of worship in the Old and New Testaments.  Students will be taught a biblical theology of worship that takes into account the variety of biblical materials related to worship.  This course serves as a foundation for present and future ministry.

MWS 502—History of Christian Worship

This course is an overview of the history of Christian worship, its theology and rituals from the early church to today.  Special attention is paid to understanding the influences of contextual historical events and cultures in which they are formed.

MWS 503—Spirituality in a Postmodern World

This course will focus on the shift from modernity, with its emphasis on reason and logic, to postmodernity and its attraction to the spiritual and symbolic.  Course material examines cultural trends in theology, philosophy and epistemology.  The centerpiece of the course is a close-up look at the emerging postmodern world through the lenses of thought, art, architecture and society.

MWS 504—Worship in a Transcultural World

This course explores the impact of globalization on Christian worship in the 21^st century.  Students will examine a wide variety of contemporary cultural expressions of worship, and seek to understand how these expressions reveal the triune God.  Students will also reflect on how understanding these expressions might enable deeper engagement with the triune God in the student’s own worship setting.

MWS 601—Ministry Internship

In this course students will work one-on-one with a supervisor to design, implement and evaluate a practical ministry internship.  The internship is done under the direction of a field supervisor approved by the Institute for Worship Studies and follows the normative standards expected in that field of work for master’s level students.

Click here to open the Academic Catalog (PDF) for a more comprehensive description of this program.