Urban Ministry

Urban Ministry at Wesley centers around contextual education. In partnership with two historic churches, Wesley's urban ministry students learn to engage the poor and the powerful, to meet the needs of diverse cultures, and to answer their call to dynamic, applied ministry in the complex social systems of the inner-city. Wesley's urban ministry program provides supervised study, specialized coursework, and an urban ministry placement. Coursework includes Introduction to Urban Ministry I & II, Sociology of Religion, Pastoral Care and Counseling in Context, and 9 elective credits from the urban ministry curriculum.

Click here to read the Fall 2011 Urban Ministry Newsletter.

How do I apply? - Interested students are encouraged to apply to the Urban Fellows program as part of their admissions process to Wesley. Urban Fellows are required to be full-time Master of Divinity students taking a minimum of 9 hours each semester. Applicants must submit an essay addressing the following questions:

• How have you experienced a call to Urban Ministry?
• What qualifications or experiences support your Urban Ministry calling?
• In what type of ministry setting do you see yourself serving in the future?

Essays of no more than 1500 words must be received no later than February 1. Essays may be submitted by email to admissions@wesleyseminary.edu, by fax to attn: Admissions at (202) 885-8585 or by mail to Admissions Office, Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20016. Finalists for the Urban Fellows program will be invited to interview with members of the Urban Ministry Faculty Committee.

Urban Ministry Doctor of Ministry

Inspired by the vision of a Beloved Community as described by Scripture, Josiah Royce, and Martin Luther King, Jr., students in this doctor of ministry track will be further equipped to engage applied ministry in the complex social systems of the inner-city. As leaders and future leaders in urban ministry they will seek faithful solutions to the challenges of homelessness and gentrification, addiction, failed schools, inaccessible health care systems, unemployment, and illiteracy.

This DMin track will be based at Wesley's new downtown site at Mount Vernon Square, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, NW. The neighborhood is characterized by tourism, power, and poverty: expensive condominiums; low-income residential neighborhoods; the convention center; homeless shelters; and law firms. Capitol Hill, the White House, Smithsonian museums, and the vibrant Chinatown business district all lie in easy walking distance.

This track includes classes such as Leadership and Practice in the Beloved Community, Speaking to Power, Partners in Urban Transformation, and The Redeemed City in Scripture and Theology. 

Intensive I: Two weeks in January Term  
(1) Leadership and Practice in the Beloved Community
(2) Speaking to Power   

Intensive II: Two weeks in May Term
(1)  Preaching toward the Beloved Community in the Urban Context
(2)  Partners in Urban Transformation

Intensive III: Two weeks in January Term (second year)  
(1)  Criminal Justice Ministries        
(2)  The Redeemed City in Scripture and Theology   

Intensive IV: Two weeks in May Term (second year)
(1)  Project Seminar
(2)  Music in the Context of the Urban Migration 

Two Elective Courses

• Elective courses at Wesley or D.Min. courses at other ATS accredited institutions
• Seminars at the G. Douglass Lewis Center for Church Leadership
• Independent studies with Wesley Seminary faculty