Reconciliation and Peacemaking Ministry (D.Min.)

Program Overview

The Doctor of Ministry in Reconciliation and Peacemaking Ministry prepares leaders for the work Scripture assigns the church and the church most often avoids. Congregations split over furniture and doctrine; communities carry grievances across generations; denominations fracture along lines nobody chose. Peacemaking is not the absence of conflict or the management of appearances. It is the costly labour of telling the truth, naming harm, and building something that can hold former enemies. The program grounds practice in the theology of reconciliation: the cross as the ground of peace, lament as a public act, repentance and forgiveness as distinct moves, and justice as the condition rather than the enemy of reconciliation. Students then work through the craft: conflict analysis, mediation and facilitated dialogue, restorative practice, trauma-aware engagement, truth-telling processes, intergroup contact, and the design of processes that do not re-injure the people they are meant to serve. Cases are drawn from congregational splits, clergy misconduct aftermath, racial and ethnic division, post-conflict societies, and interfaith settings. The applied project intervenes in an actual conflict or builds durable capacity: a congregational reconciliation process, a denominational mediation service, a community dialogue initiative, a training curriculum. Graduates serve as mediators, denominational peace and justice officers, reconciliation directors, chaplains in divided settings, and teachers of peacemaking.

Core Courses

• PCB 801 — Theology of Reconciliation (6 credits)
• PCB 812 — Conflict Analysis and Congregational Systems (6 credits)
• PCB 824 — Mediation and Facilitated Dialogue (6 credits)
• PCB 836 — Justice, Truth-Telling, and Lament (6 credits)
• PCB 848 — Trauma-Aware Peacemaking (5 credits)
• PCB 860 — Applied Research Design for Peacemaking (4 credits)
• PCB 899 — Doctoral Ministry Project in Reconciliation (24 credits)
• PCB 870 — Peace Process Design and Evaluation (3 credits)

Credit requirements

• Core courses: 60 credits
• Required elective credits: 9 credits

Total required: 69 credits

Elective Courses

Complete 9 credits from the options below (18 credits offered).

• PCB 910 — Racial and Ethnic Reconciliation (3 credits)
• PCB 920 — Aftermath of Clergy Misconduct (3 credits)
• PCB 930 — Restorative Practice in Church Discipline (3 credits)
• PCB 940 — Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Societies (3 credits)
• PCB 950 — Memory, Memorials, and Public Reconciliation (3 credits)
• PCB 951 — Digital Conflict and Congregational Communication (3 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree in divinity, ministry, theology, or a closely related field
• Three or more years of pastoral, chaplaincy, or ministry leadership experience
• Statement of purpose describing the ministry setting and the problem you intend to address
• Endorsement from a church, denomination, or ministry organization
• Current resume or ministry profile
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available