New Worship Arts Minor

Ambrose University is excited to offer a new Worship Arts minor to our prospective and current students, giving students a focused opportunity to study worship arts in an interdisciplinary setting.

The Worship Arts minor provides a dual focus on pastoral theology and the arts and is training both for students who may be considering vocational roles as worship pastors, as well as for students who want to serve as volunteer worship leaders in their church. The minor is intended for students in music, theatre, and dance programs, and also for those who wish to complement their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree with training specific to church worship and liturgy.   

“The Worship Arts minor will help students grow in theological understanding, artistic skill, and practical experience, and to ask important questions such as ‘how do my studies impact my own creative mission as an artist, and how do they equip me to lead others?’” says Mark Bartel, Associate Professor of Music at Ambrose.

The minor consists of 21 credits, divided between pastoral theology, biblical studies, and history and praxis courses in the arts which range from applied lessons in music, dance and theatre, to ensembles and music composition.  Students will have the opportunity to apply what they learn in Ambrose University chapels.     

Students in the minor will have an opportunity to learn more in their chosen artistic field, be it theatre or music, and will gain a greater sense of the history of art and faith in the Christian church. They will explore biblical, pastoral, and theological issues relevant to worship and liturgy in the church today. Additionally, students will have an opportunity to learn with faculty who have extensive experience leading congregations in worship, in both lay and professional capacities.

“With this minor, Ambrose has developed a truly unique opportunity in Canada,” says Colin Toffelmire, Chair of the School of Ministry at Ambrose. “Because we have both a faculty of Theology and an Arts faculty, we are able to create an interdisciplinary minor that is both rigorous and practical. Students will study with theologians who have extensive pastoral experience in worship arts, and with artists who have a deep love for worship in the church, giving the students the best of both worlds.”

For more information please visit: ambrose.edu/worship-arts-minor