For students like John Park and Janet Rice, the Doctor of Ministry concentrations Reframing the Church in Context and Non-Profit Organizational Leadership are opportunities to reflect on current ministry obligations and look toward the future “surrounded by the right resources, peers, and teachers.” They are also catalysts for personal spiritual growth.
Reframing the Church in Context, returning in September of 2026, allows students with diverse contextual realities to engage with the church, considering its current standing, history, mission, and practices. The program strategically prioritizes hospitality and service as theological concepts at the forefront of Christianity.
“We recognize that Canada is in a transitional time. This challenges us to imagine what type of leader is needed for new approaches to church. The student is invited to respond to the creative leading of God’s Spirit as we explore these possibilities together,” says Dr. James Watson, Internship Program Coordinator and Lecturer in Practical Theology.
"Students will learn how to embody hospitality as they experiment with different ways of living out the good news of Jesus."
John Park, a previous student in the program, says he “deeply enjoyed the opportunity to think theologically about the church.”
“As pastors, we often run ministries busily from Sunday to Sunday and rarely have time to reflect on what it truly means to lead a congregational ministry. The program provided me with relevant and theologically sound resources that directly apply to my ministry context. The rich ministry experiences shared by peers and instructors were invaluable. After the second year, I told my wife, ‘I believe I now have a firm theological foundation on which to run my ministry.’ I have a clear picture of what I believe God calls His church to be and do—and, more importantly, I can articulate it to others.”
Non-Profit Organizational Leadership, which returned in 2025, has been just as impactful for Janet Rice, a student in the program who “wanted to find a program to help build on strengths in administration and non-profit leadership, as well as strengthen understanding of practices working in a multicultural community.”
The 3-year cohort model program lived up to its billings. This concentration is built to explore organizational leadership specifically for non-profit Christian organizations from multiple sectors (international development, missions, denominational, para-church, etc.). It combines theory with practice, theology with ministry, and collaborative learning with individual projects.
“Faculty (such as myself) have both experience in non-profit organizations (15 years as a consultant in the Territorial Headquarters for The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda) and areas of research expertise including social analysis and biblical/theological interpretation,” notes Dr. Watson.
“I find the course material and professors to be excellent,” says Janet. “They have provided relevant resources and materials to support personal spiritual growth, better engagement with my Board of Directors, managing operations strategically, and how to measure organizational effectiveness to facilitate long-term sustainability.”
For Janet, Non-Profit Organizational Leadership has helped solidify God’s calling on her life. “I am stronger in leadership, non-profit management, and spiritually because of my experience at Tyndale.”
Reframing the Church in Context and Non-Profit Organizational Leadership are for leaders who want to develop skills in contextual hospitality and organizational leadership, which can be applied as soon as they start the program into the future post-graduation.
For more information, take a look at the Reframing the Church in Context and Non-Profit Organizational Leadership program overviews.