Office of Christian Leadership and Vocation

• Office of Christian Leadership and Vocation

• About the Office
• Growing for Purposeful Service (GPS @ APU)
• Partners in Programming
• • Career Services
  • Department of Practical Theology
  • Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education
  • Institute of Faith Integration
• Student Resources
• Faculty and Staff Resources
• Contact Information

Department of Practical Theology

The partnership with the Department of Practical Theology is a vital component of GPS @ APU: Growing for Purposeful Service. The department will help you develop as an effective Christian leader who grasps the importance of sound theology and values its application in church and parachurch settings. GPS @ APU collaborates with the department in two strategic initiatives.

Students who declare a ministry major in the Department of Practical Theology commit to participate in a community narrative that begins with the signing of a Community Covenant based on the biblical model of faithfulness and mercy. The covenant includes a commitment to integrity, appropriate conduct, local church ministry, academic and university requirements, a submission of references, and participation in required department activities. GPS @ APU has supported the annual retreat for this Covenant Community since spring 2008.

"Assessing Vocational and Personal Development Among Senior Ministry Majors" enters its seventh year of operation in fall 2009. This interdisciplinary process group experience specifically targets senior ministry majors enrolled in the internship sequence (CMIN 401/402). Lead faculty members from the Departments of Practical Theology and Graduate Psychology provide psychological assessments and weekly small group feedback in order to support the development of religiously committed church leaders. The goal is to discover what happens early in ministry with an eye to preventing later failures.

Student reactions to the classroom experience have been very positive. Here’s a sampling of feedback from previous years:

• "[This experience] reconfigured my understanding ... huge change of what I thought about myself."
• "I have developed a greater self-awareness of who I am."
• "I have a better understanding of the focus of my future ministry."
• "I have greater clarity and focus of who I am and what I am being called to."

Lead Instructors are David Brokaw, Ph.D. (dbrokaw@apu.edu) and Dick Pritchard, D.Min. (dpritchard@apu.edu).