Children’s Ministry Leadership Certificates
Do you light up helping kids come to know Jesus?
Compose, communicate, and contextualize the Gospel in biblically sound teaching to children, and explain the spiritual and practical requirements of administering children’s ministry while applying best practices to ministry context. Ascent College offers two short-term online children’s ministry programs designed to deploy effective Christian leadership for kids’ ministry in the local church.
Begin with our foundational Children’s Ministry Leadership certificate to underscore Biblical studies for children’s ministry programming for children’s pastors, lay leaders, and church volunteers. Continue developing as an effective kids’ ministry leader by strategically layering our Children’s Ministry Pastoral Leadership certificate to fuel faith-based camp programs, pastoral care, children’s worship, and multi-generational community.
Here’s a word of encouragement and invitation from Dr. Jesse Joyner, our Dean of Children and Family Ministries:
Certificate Details
Academic Dean
Listen to Dr. Joyner’s podcast exploring people in diverse crafts and trades.
Duration
Part 1: 1 Year
Part 2: 1 Year
Type
Certificate
Children’s Ministry Leadership Certificate (12 credits)
Part 1 of 2 Certificate Programs
Courses Needed
About the Certificate
The Children’s Ministry Leadership certificate program is a twelve-credit series of four courses to provide children’s ministry leaders with foundational learning and leadership relationships.
MIN250 Intro to Children’s Ministry (3 credits)
This course covers the fundamentals of leading ministry with children in the local church context.
MIN356 Teaching and Learning in Children’s Ministry (3 credits)
This course focuses on pedagogy: how children learn and how to effectively teach the Bible and theology to young people.
MIN340 Children and Worship (3 credits)
This course focuses on leading children and children’s leaders into a deeper understanding of worship, including music, the creative arts, prayer, worship response stations, and leading children in the ways of Pentecostal/charismatic worship styles.
MIN459 Leadership Development in Children’s Ministry (3 credits)
This course focuses on developing teams, volunteers, and children in leadership and developing the self as a leader in children’s ministry.
Children’s Ministry Pastoral Leadership Certificate (12 credits)
Part 2 of 2 Certificate Programs
Courses Needed
About the Certificate
The Children’s Ministry Pastoral Leadership certificate program is designed to equip ministry leaders with specialized skills to minister to children and families in the church as well as in outreach to one’s larger community. These unique skills include ministry in camp and retreat settings, thinking intergenerationally in ministry contexts, serving children in pastoral care settings (such as hospital visits and prayer counseling), and fostering an environment of care and inclusivity for children with disabilities. This certificate differs from the Children’s Ministry Leadership certificate program, which is more foundational and general in its scope. This Children’s Ministry Pastoral Leadership certificate program is designed as a “Part Two” to the Children’s Ministry Leadership certificate program and should be taken after the first is completed.
PSY351 Developmental Theory for Children (3 credits)
This course focuses on sociological, psychological, and spiritual developmental theories that help inform ministering to children and youth.
MIN380 Camp Ministry (2 credits)
This course will explore the fundamentals of Christian camp and retreat ministry. Students will learn the foundational principles that undergird Christian camp ministry best practices. This includes the themes of relationship-building, unplugging, faith-focused formational experiences, learning through outdoor activities, and topics around physical, social, and spiritual safety.
MIN440 Formation of the Children’s Worship Leader (2 credits)
This course builds on the foundations of the Children and Worship course (MIN340). Students will learn to develop in their own personal growth and spiritual formation as worship leaders. Students will learn about leading teams in children’s worship and how to steward the stage well, strengthening them as communicators and shaping their hearts to shepherd those they are leading in worship.
MIN450 Intergenerational Ministry (2 credits)
This course will explore the emerging topic of intergenerational ministry. Students will learn what it means for a congregation to think and act in ways that bring various age groups together in worship, learning, and outreach. This includes themes of reciprocity in community, understanding generational differences and similarities, and creativity in thinking and living intergenerationally in the life of the congregation.
MIN465 Accessibility and Inclusivity for Children with Disabilities (2 credits)
This course will explore how ministry leaders can best serve children and youth with disabilities. Students will learn about the various experiences of young people with physical, neurological, and other disabilities and how to design children’s church environments that provide inclusivity, accessibility, and growth for young people with disabilities.
MIN481 Pastoral Care of Children (1 credit)
This course will explore the basic skills of ministering to children in pastoral care contexts. This includes prayer counseling, hospital visits, baptism preparation, funerals, and other specialized pastoral care needs.
*All Ascent College students pursuing the Children’s Ministry Leadership or Children’s Ministry Pastoral Leadership certificate program are required to complete GEN102 Orientation and Library Resources (0 credits).
Skills Acquired
Articulate methods and theories of effective children’s ministry.
Demonstrate effective skills for children’s ministry.
Demonstrate a commitment to cultivating intergenerational communities of faith that emerge from your own spiritual formation.
Tuition
Ascent College delivers accredited academic instruction for $350 per credit hour. Participants of the Children’s Ministry Leadership and Children’s Ministry Pastoral Leadership certificate programs receive an exclusive 25% scholarship off their tuition.
Featured Faculty
Yancy
Want to go further in your exploration of children’s ministry and how to make children light up for Jesus? Check out our Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Leadership (BAML) degree program, concentration in Children’s Ministry here.
Compelled to elevate your skills as a children’s ministry leader but not sure you can handle college-level work right now? We get it. Auditors welcome! You can audit this program at our special auditor’s rate of $50 per credit hour (not eligible for scholarship) and engage with all course materials without the pressure of submitting assignments, receiving graded evaluations, or taking tests. Learn more about how auditing a course works here.
Join us in preparing ministry leaders to make a lasting impact for God.
Learn how you can become a part of the Ascent College community, where we equip passionate individuals to grow spiritually, lead effectively, and make a lasting impact for Christ. Join us in our mission to prepare leaders who transform their world.
