City Seminary’s Master of Arts degree in Ministry in the Global City is an ideal program of study for individuals already involved in ministry and leadership in New York City, and for all who are interested in a lifetime of ministry in the global city. It is a unique 39-credit graduate program that combines a learning community experience with fellow New Yorkers, an integrated curriculum emphasizing scripture, prayer, urban ministry practices, adaptive leadership, and creative and entrepreneurial ministry. With the city as the classroom, and the focus and background of every course, students will be prepared for the challenges of living and thinking theologically in a growing and changing, increasingly diverse world Christian church.  

Program outcomes include:

• A deepened sense of vocation to ministry in the city in all areas of life
• Tools and practices for adaptive ministry in the city
• Development of a pattern of spiritual formation grounded in Scripture, prayer, and community
• Engagement in the global mission of the church
• Belonging to a collaborative network of fellow urban church leaders

This work is supported and led by a faculty that combines real world experience with a commitment to scholarship that serves the global church. Students and faculty will work together to understand the city as emergent and in complex forms, explore new developments in the urban church within a global context, and grapple with Scripture for the love of God, neighbor, and the city. New projects and ministries will be explored, and new concepts and grounded practices will be developed. 

From the South Bronx to Wall Street, and Flushing to Harlem, at City Seminary of New York, the city is our classroom. New York’s diverse churches, neighborhoods, streets, restaurants, subway lines, networks, and history are our curriculum. City Seminary of New York is a community of learning focused on the practice of ministry in our urban world. Building on what God is doing in the city, the Ministry Fellows Program is an introductory urban ministry leadership course designed to encourage the work of hopeful and faithful ministry in the city, to provide leadership training in the practice of urban ministry, and to establish learning communities from diverse backgrounds for accountability and formation. Primarily for those active in ministry who may have limited access to prior urban ministry training, the program was launched in 2009 with generous support from the Lilly Endowment. Fellows come from all walks of life and boroughs across New York City.

The Ministry Fellows 2023 cohort will meet on alternating Thursday evenings via Zoom (6:30p-8:30p) and Saturdays (10a-3p) in person. Classes will run from February 18 to April 1, 2023. Tuition is $500, with scholarships available for financial need. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and booster are required to participate in the program. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the cohort is filled. Apply now or attend an online open house to learn more!

Completion of this program is a prerequisite to admission to the Master of Arts in "Ministry in the Global City."

Since 2009, students, faculty, alumni and neighbors have gathered in communities across the five boroughs of New York City to walk the streets, “ground-truth” or calibrate what has been written about a place with the sensory experience of being physically present, bear witness of God at work, pause with a stranger to pray together, and enjoy the local cuisine that is so much a part of the life of our diverse city. As Robert Linthicum reminds us, we cannot love our city unless we know it, and so we do this, one neighborhood at a time. 

WE LEAD NYC is an eight-month intensive program (October - following May) for high-school students, college freshman, and youth leaders who desire to be grounded in their Christian faith and connected with others in the city. The goal of WE LEAD NYC is to nurture youth communities in the city for lives of purpose and joy through leadership development, spiritual formation, and ministry practice. We cultivate active Listening as a practice, encourage vocational Exploration as a journey, equip Ambassadors to build bridges, and root Disciples in the Word. The next cohort will begin in fall 2023. Stay tuned for information on applying.

Generously supported by the Lilly Endowment, the goal of the Thriving in Ministry initiative is to walk alongside pastors in our city and nurture networks of mutual support, care, and well-being in a complex and ever-changing urban context. This will be implemented through collaborative inquiry groups, action learning conversations (praxis groups), spiritual direction retreats, and annual gatherings, providing a foundation for long-term impact and continuity in years to follow. Diverse ways of engagement (particularly, the use of the arts, games, and expressive ways of knowing) will be intentionally incorporated into the process, as a way to support adult learning and development with diverse participants. Following what has been successful in other peer learning experiences, it is our aim that our initiative leads to thriving across personal, family, and communal settings for the peace of the city.

For more information, please contact Geomon George at geomon@cityseminaryny.org.

Bible for Life is a non-credit, intensive course series that provides an overview of the Bible. Students come to understand their place in the unfolding story of God's relationship with creation, from Genesis through Revelation. The course is taught by a faculty team including Geomon George, Mark Gornik, and others.

Completion of this program is a prerequisite to admission to the Master of Arts in Ministry in the Global City.

Every January, women involved in leadership and ministry from across the city gather for a time of learning, sharing, reflection, and retreat from the everyday challenges and opportunities of "being" in the city. The symposium, which began in 2013, focuses on the annual seminary theme. Past symposia have addressed work-life balance and calling, spiritual direction, practicing hospitality, creativity and the arts, and healing for the peace of the city. An integral part of this gathering is intentional space for quiet and restoration of the body and spirit through the arts and reflection, as well as the engagement of the mind through panels and conversation.

We meet regularly for informal online networking lunches (via wonder.me and Zoom) on Fridays every few months. Dates for this year are May 6, July 15, September 23, and December 9, 2022 from 12-1p EST.