Whether you are heading into a vocational ministry role as a children’s pastor or youth minister, or you are a layperson desiring advanced training in the context of parachurch ministry, Christian schools, or camping, Northwest Nazarene University’s fully online graduate programs in Christian Education can equip you for the ministry to which God is calling you.

NNU offers both Master of Divinity and Master of Arts tracks in Christian Education. MDIVCE students can earn a Master of Divinity degree in as little as 50 months, while MACE students can earn their Master of Arts degree in just two years. In either case, our programs are fully online, with no residential requirements. Our MDIVCE program has been validated as meeting the educational requirements for ordination as elders in the Church of the Nazarene*.

Many of our students are serving in full-time or part-time ministry assignments while others are serving presently in volunteer capacities. NNU’s online programs equip women and men to become vital leaders today with both theoretical and practical skills for ministry to children, youth, and families. Our graduates now serve in a variety of Christian Education contexts worldwide.

At NNU, MDIVCE students complete an online orientation, 42 credits in their pastoral ministry core, and 32 hours of emphasis in Christian Education. After completing an online orientation, MACE students focus their studies strictly around the same eight Christian Education courses in which MDIVCE students take as their emphasis, as shown in the comparison chart to the right.

If you are an adult learner who wants to leverage the power of the Internet to accomplish your goal of a graduate degree, then NNU’s fully online Master of Divinity or Master of Arts programs in Christian Education may be for you. Study in the context of a community of adult learners from some of the most respected faculty members in online education today. Complete your degree without having to relocate, or even travel for costly, occasional on-campus residential modules. Earn your degree from a leading institution in online theological education with associate membership in The Association of Theological Schools and over 80 years of continuous regional accreditation.