Asbury Theological Seminary
Doctor of Ministry
MISSIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CHURCH MULTIPLICATION
Starting September 2027
Are you ready to the next step in investing in your effectiveness as a missional-leader?
MISSIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CHURCH MULTIPLICATION
Develop as a practitioner-theologian and strategic leader
The Asbury Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a cohort-based doctoral programme for experienced ministry leaders, designed to deepen theological depth and sharpen leadership capacity while you continue in active ministry. Through rigorous academic study, structured field research and engagement with a diverse cohort of peers, you will grow as a practitioner-theologian — someone who brings scholarly depth to the practice of ministry and draws on the practice of ministry to enrich theological reflection. Rooted in the Wesleyan commitment to the integration of Scripture, reason, experience and tradition, the programme equips leaders not only for greater effectiveness in their current context but for wider strategic influence in mission and the church. This cohort is UK-based, for students from across the UK and Europe, delivered in English, and runs from 2027 to 2030.
Missional Entrepreneurship and Church Multiplication
Across the UK and Europe, the church faces an urgent need for leaders who can start new Christian communities, grow the movements that sustain them and shape the strategies that make multiplication possible.
This cohort is for practitioners who are planting churches or developing innovative forms of mission — and growing into roles in network leadership, wider leadership or strategic oversight. Drawing on entrepreneurial leadership, missiology and ecclesiology, it explores how leaders identify missional and church planting opportunities, develop strategy, cultivate other leaders and grow communities that reproduce. Taught from within a British and European context, it is ideal for those with potential for wider strategic leadership in the Church.
Seminar I: Church Planting in Context
The theology, history and practice of church planting. Drawing on biblical foundations, ecclesiology and contemporary research, this class covers why and how churches are planted, the diverse forms new churches take, and how context shapes both method and expression.
Seminar II: Missional Entrepreneurship
The entrepreneurial dimensions of mission and church planting. Drawing on entrepreneurship, missiology and practical theology, this class covers how practitioners identify opportunities, develop strategy, innovate in response to context and navigate risk.
Seminar III: Missional Leadership
Leadership for mission innovation and church planting. Drawing on leadership theory, pastoral theology and the lives of mission leaders past and present, this class covers how leaders build teams, cultivate culture, develop others and sustain themselves through the demands of pioneering ministry.
Seminar IV: Church Multiplication and Movements
The dynamics of church multiplication and movement. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, this class covers what enables new Christian communities to reproduce and how leaders cultivate the conditions for multiplicative growth.
Your cohort will tackle topics including:
the theology, history and practice of church planting, including why and how churches are planted and how context shapes method and expression;
the entrepreneurial dimensions of mission and church planting, including how practitioners identify opportunities, develop strategy and navigate risk;
leadership for mission innovation, including how leaders build teams, cultivate culture, develop others and sustain themselves through pioneering ministry;
the dynamics of church multiplication and movement, including what enables new communities to reproduce; and
the lives and practice of mission leaders past and present.
As you complete your degree, you will have:
developed advanced skills for theological study and empirical research;
deepened your understanding of missional entrepreneurship, church planting and multiplication;
engaged in structured and self-directed academic study and writing;
cultivated new relationships with peers across traditions and contexts for ongoing ministry collaboration; and
grown in your capacity for wider strategic leadership in mission and church planting.
Lead professors and tutors
Revd Canon Dr Christian Selvaratnam is an Anglican priest, Dean of Church Planting at St Hild College in the North of England and a Fellow of St John’s College at Durham University. Before this, he was the National Director of Alpha UK, a church planter and a free-church minister.
Dr Maria Boschker is the COO of Exponential Europe where she plays a key role in shaping strategy, vision and connections with churches across Europe. She is experienced in church planting and church consultancy; her previous background is in neuroscientific research.
Revd Dr Alex Harris is a Regional Minister focussed on pioneering and church planting in the Baptist Union of Great Britain. He is the Director of the Centre for Church Planting at St Hild College, where he oversees national planting initiatives including ‘Everyone Everywhere’, and he co-leads the Firestarter network of growing churches.
The teaching for this cohort will be delivered in England (two teaching blocks), Europe (one block) and online (three blocks). The core courses will be delivered by seminary faculty; the seminar courses will draw on leading theologians and practitioners from diverse traditions in the UK and Europe. This cohort is delivered by Asbury Theological Seminary in partnership with St Hild College.
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Applications for the 2027–2030 cohort will open in September 2027. Check back then for details of information webinars, or register your interest by emailing christian.selvaratnam@sthild.org.
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“In the context of a full life of ministry, the Asbury DMin has given me space and opportunity for development and growth, surrounded by a cohort of equally motivated church leaders. I have learned about church planting as part of God’s action in the world, a rich and wonderful subject which is taught here by experienced practitioners and theologians who inspire.”
Revd Hannah Patton, Vicar of St John's Goole. DMin Church Planting in Europe cohort (2021–24).