Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2011

[Click Here to View & Print the Brochure & Application Form]

We are privileged and excited to offer a unique Graduate level program that offers the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies. Cognizant of our current twenty-first century realities that present diverse needs of persons seeking pastoral care and counseling, this program integrates theology and psychology buttressed by strong clinical training. The vocation of pastoral counseling is to interpret the wisdom of the Christian Tradition in the process of addressing human suffering through the formation of healing relationships. Our model draws upon the distinctiveness of pastoral counseling that is rooted in the healing ministries of Jesus Christ. We avoid exclusive focus on the individual autonomy that characterizes much of contemporary psychologies and psychotherapies and defer to our best knowledge that people develop, live and grow in families, communities and systems. We affirm that the healing envisioned by Jesus transforms individuals and society.

The Master in Pastoral Studies (MPS) prepares students for professional practice in Ministries of care, counseling, relational wholeness, psychosocial well-being, and health promotion in multiple contexts. Tracks are designed with special emphasis on praxis within the Black Church and African American communities, and serving persons in:

• Churches
• Parishes
• Para-church organizations
• Counseling Centers
• Private Practice
• Community-based agencies
• Hospitals and Hospices
• Domestic Violence Shelters
• Behavioral Health Facilities
• Correctional Facilities

American Baptist College bears both a historic and contemporary mantle of training leaders committed to the movement for justice and liberation. The Master of Pastoral Studies will continue in the same tradition to educate a generation of professional care givers.

Applications are available online [click here] or by contacting F. Keith Slaughter, Faculty Chair for the Master's Program at fkeithslaughter@abcnash.edu or by calling (615) 687-6894.