Master of Religious Education
ABTS offers two degree programs that accommodate ministry careers of all shapes and sizes. Take a look at the programs we offer to see what fit is best for you.
Master of Religious Education
Program Summary
31 Credit Hours
The Master of Religious Education at Asia Biblical Theological Seminary is designed to improve your effectiveness as a ministry leader on your own terms. Through various concentrations including pastoral and educational ministries, this program enhances your ministry competencies and broadens your biblical and theological foundation for effective leadership.
The M.R.E. at ABTS is designed to be a flexible program to help you achieve your ministry goals. Each concentration will uniquely prepare you for God’s calling for your life, and the rigorous education you will receive will expand your knowledge of biblically-rooted theology.
Encouraging Biblical Character
At ABTS, our M.R.E. program is an 11-course U.S. degree program accredited through Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Mich., U.S.A. All courses are offered in online or modular formats, allowing you to continue working while pursuing your degree. Our M.R.E. program requires 31 credit hours, including a core set of required courses and classes related to a specified area of ministry concentration.
The M.R.E. offers five concentrations in this program: pastoral ministries, educational ministries, intercultural ministries, marketplace ministries and counseling ministries. To encourage the development of your biblical character, knowledge and leadership, this program requires you to:
- Evidence of personal commitment to Christ as well as moral character and conduct.
- Completion of 31 credit hours of work with at least a 2.5 grade point average. Nineteen of these 31 hours must be taken in approved in-person or online classes. The remaining 12 hours may be taken as extension classes. A maximum of 12 applicable hours taken from an accredited institution within the last ten years may be transferred into the MRE degree.
- Submission of a student portfolio demonstrating growth in spiritual development, ministry skills, and understanding of Scripture as a result of the student’s experience in this degree program.
- Completion of all degree requirements within five years from date of admission.
Program Concentraions
The Master of Religious Education (MRE) Counseling Concentration is a 31-credit hour program designed to help ministry leaders enhance their interpersonal skills, biblical and theological foundations, and understanding of the human condition with the purpose of empowering others toward positive life-change.
The MRE Educational Concentration is a 31-credit hour program designed to help teachers and educational administrators enhance their ministry competencies and broaden their biblical and theological foundations for educational ministry.
The MRE Intercultural Concentration is a 31-credit hour program designed to help missionaries and cross-cultural professionals enhance their ministry competencies and broaden their biblical and theological foundations for intercultural ministry.
As Asian cities experience dynamic growth and global influence, the need has never been greater for Christian professionals to be salt and light in the workplace. The Master of Religious Education degree program with a concentration in marketplace ministries helps lay professionals integrate their faith with the workplace by providing biblical and theological foundations for a theology of work.
The MRE Pastoral Concentration is a 31-credit hour program designed to help both pastors and lay leaders enhance their ministry competencies and broaden their biblical and theological foundations for pastoral ministry.
Learning Outcomes
ABTS students will demonstrate knowledge of, and proficiency in, the terminology, theories, concepts, practices and skills specific to the field of ministry leadership.
ABTS students will exhibit competency in applying their knowledge to address real-life problems through both individual and group effort.
ABTS students will demonstrate their ability to integrate both traditional and non-traditional cognitive skills, including analytical inquiry, information literacy, quantitative fluency and communicative fluency.
ABTS students will demonstrate intercultural competence in addressing civic, social, environmental and economic issues. This will include issues related to understanding diversity and developing cultural awareness in ministry leadership.
ABTS students will be able to articulate a Christ-centered worldview and its personal, professional and communal embodiment through Christian virtues. In particular, students will demonstrate an understanding of the integration of Christian worldview and culture from a ministry leadership perspective.