Commencing summer 2026
March 2026 – Drew Theological School has announced a newly redesigned Courageous Leadership cohort within the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program, providing a forward-looking approach to theological education designed to meet the urgent demands of ministry today.
The reimagined cohort invites religious leaders to deepen their vocational practice through a flexible, hybrid format that combines on-campus intensives in Madison, New Jersey, with weekly online engagement. The first Courageous Leadership cohort will begin in summer 2026, with applications now open.
Rooted in Drew’s longstanding commitment to justice-oriented theological education, the program emphasizes responsive leadership, moral audacity, and gospel-centered engagement with the most pressing ethical and social challenges of our time. Students will explore how theology, scripture, and visions of the beloved community can inform bold, transformative leadership in congregations and the public square.
“At Drew Theological School, we are committed to equipping religious leaders in a way that is theologically rigorous, contextual, and deeply responsive to the challenges of our time,” said Drew Theological School Dean Edwin David Aponte. “Our redesigned Doctor of Ministry embodies our shared values, empowering students to lead with moral clarity, intellectual rigor, and a courageous commitment to a faith that contributes to the common good.”
All courses are taught by a core faculty leadership team, which includes Gladson Jathanna, Associate Professor of the History of Christianities; Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre, Henry Anson Buttz Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity; Laurel Kearns, John Fletcher Hurst Professor of Ecology, Religion and Society; and Francisco Pelaez-Diaz, Assistant Teaching Professor in Latinx Studies and Ministries; whose expertise reflects the program’s integrative and justice-centered vision.
“Drew’s renewed Courageous Leadership DMin cohort is intentionally structured for leaders who are already deeply engaged in ministry,” said Director of Doctoral Studies Meredith Hoxie Schol. “With a clear rhythm of on-campus intensives and online learning, allowing students to balance their professional and educational commitments. In addition, they will move through the experience as a cohort, working closely with Drew’s core faculty and building a community of learning that strengthens both their scholarship and their leadership.”
The 30-credit program is structured to support working professionals, with 18 credits of coursework followed by 12 credits of guided, contextually grounded research. Students begin with summer intensives—scheduled for July 20-24 and July 27-31, 2026—before continuing into a sequence of courses addressing topics such as dismantling racism and advancing racial justice, interfaith and ecumenical solidarity, ecological theology and environmental justice, and sexual and gender justice in ministry.
Following the first year of coursework, students enter a two-year research phase, working closely with faculty mentors to develop and complete a theologically reflective, contextually responsive ministry project. The process culminates in a substantial written project and presentation, with graduation anticipated in the third year.
By combining academic rigor with practical application, the Courageous Leadership DMin cohort aims to equip leaders to not only navigate change, but to shape it.
For more information or to apply, visit Drew’s Doctor of Ministry webpage.
