During the second and third years of the program, candidates work with their faculty advisors to develop a project proposal, design and execute an approved project, and have it independently evaluated. Then they write up the results, learnings, and contributions to ministry as a doctoral thesis or professional paper. The degree requires at least six semesters for completion. Congregational And Community Development Drew's historic standard program is currently offered in New Jersey, North Carolina, Minnesota, and Florida. Unit One promotes critical reflection on ministerial leadership in the congregation.
Students work in pairs, visiting each other's churches.
A study of the local congregation, its history and program of ministries, is carried out and understood against the backdrop of the particular denomination. The unit culminates in the writing of a theological portrait of the congregation describing the corporate self-understanding of the local congregation, and how its history, spiritual ethos, and ministry reflect the larger denominational tradition. Students reflect critically on pastoral leadership and give attention to spiritual formation as a basis for parish ministry. Unit Two explores the challenge to leadership by unhealthy triangles found in pastoral relationships and congregational conflicts. In two three-day retreat sessions, students are exposed to Bowen family systems theory as interpreted and applied by Edwin Friedman and others.