Master of Arts in Worship Studies (MAWS)

1. Today's local church needs music ministers and worship leaders to take charge of a multi-faceted ministry. These ministries include worship teaching, worship training, team management and discipleship, worship evangelism, principles of marketing and technology, drama, and music.
2. Pastors seek to meet the challenge of ministry to increasingly more diverse congregations with theological integrity practical to a broad range of needs. They are looking for worship leaders who will capture their vision for ministry and seize the opportunity to minister worship with excellence and creativity.
3. Ministers of music and worship leaders already serving the local church often look for opportunity to retool and refresh their skills. Frequently they discover there is a gap between their undergraduate music education, performance, or church music degree preparation and the actual skills developed for worship leading. Thus, professionals committed to leading worship and music in today's postmodern world need to add to their music training biblical and theological foundations, historical development, Christian ethics, practical understanding of worship and music to the local church, and cultural analysis.
4. Finally, the number of students seeking to further their training in worship continues to grow. Undergraduate students completing degrees in worship studies seek graduate education that will further their training as musicians in the local church arena and broaden their base in the discipline for worship leadership.

Overview of Degree:

The Master of Arts in Worship Studies is designed to provide graduate education in: 

1. Biblical and Theological Foundations of Worship
2. Principles of Leadership for Worship
3. General Worship Studies
4. Practical Theology of Worship
5. Research in Worship Ministries

Requirements:

Assumptions or Requirements for admittance of students in this degree program include one of the following: 

1. The student is training for or seeking continuing education as a professional worship leader/ minister of music or associate worship leader/ minister of music in an evangelical church.
2. The student is already serving as a worship leader/ minister of music or associate worship leader/ minister of music in an evangelical church.
3. The student is preparing for or serving as a contemporary music artist or program director for a concert ministry in an organization or related field of service in the evangelical community.
4. The student is seeking continuing education that will prepare one for acceptance into a post-graduate, non-terminal degree such as a doctor of ministry degree or doctor of worship studies.

Competencies for the degree:

Bachelors degree in music, music and worship (or the equivalent) with at least 15 hours in Bible, theology, and/or religion-type courses or baccalaureate degree in a similar discipline (Youth Ministry, Pastoral Ministry, etc.) and demonstration of skill, giftedness, life experience, and knowledge of worship and music ministry.