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SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Grace Church MAML Cohort

Transform your leadership in an environment where greatness inspires greatness

Join a network of ever-growing, world-changing leaders and pastors who are driven for the future of the Church. 

In January 2024, SEU is launching a regional cohort at Grace Church in Humble, Texas. This program will raise up leaders who will make a powerful impact on their communities and the Kingdom. The SEU Grace MAML Cohort is an exclusive opportunity to challenge yourself through world-class education, to be encouraged by other cohort members, and to be mentored by strong, seasoned leaders.

About the Grace MAML Cohort

This innovative program will give students earning the MA in Ministerial Leadership (MAML) the opportunity to learn from and gain access to key leaders. Cohort members will grow together in community through various in-person gatherings in different regions of the country.

Apply Your Studies to Your Ministry Experience​

Apply what you learn, as you learn it, directly to your ministry. This connection of concepts and practice will enrich your ministry for years to come. Small groups, round table discussions, and other gatherings and conferences will add to the richness of this experience.

Program Details

Elevate your ministry and leadership with other like-minded individuals on the same pursuit as you. As the Church continues to evolve to meet the needs of our modern world, SEU and Grace Church aim to partner with those who desire to continue growing in the areas of leadership and ministry effectiveness. 

Students in the Grace Church cohort will enroll in the SEU’s flagship graduate ministry degree, the MA in Ministerial Leadership. The delivery of all academic courses will be online for optimal flexibility with a ministry schedule. To further enhance these online studies, students can join in on regionally-based events such roundtables, think tanks, and presentations by special guest mentors — all of which will create space for creativity and innovation. 

The School of Divinity within SEU’s Barnett College of Ministry & Theology is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools — the highest mark for any graduate program in ministry, Bible, or theology.

  • The online format allows for maximum flexibility to take this journey according to your schedule alongside in-person gatherings
  • Relationship-driven network of ever-growing leaders that come from different lanes of ministry and leadership — and aim to challenge one another in the journey
  • Our expounded program delivery goes beyond the page to include special guest speakers, who invest in this group of dynamic leaders to challenge them to authentic growth
  • Roundtable and think tank experiences that aim to create space for creativity and innovation
  • Accelerated degree completion saves you significant time

With online access and in-person connections, the Grace Church MAML Cohort bridges the best of both worlds for maximum success.

  • Accelerated Paths
  • Cost Efficiency ($399/credit hour*)
  • Convenient Learning
  • Relationship Building & Connectivity
  • Practical Application
  • Diverse Learning Approaches
  • Enhanced Ability to Serve
  • Leadership & Spiritual Development

*Does not include additional fees or travel

Meet Your Educators

In this program, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from some exceptional leaders who know how to unlock leadership potential.

Scott Jones

Scott Jones has been in full-time ministry since the age of 19.  His broad ministry experience has ranged from youth ministry, executive denominational leadership, to lead pastor.  He has served as lead pastor of Grace Church, a multisite church in the greater Houston area for 28 years.

Scott and his beautiful wife, Melanie, have a driving passion to strengthen people in ministry and their families. They have led a ministerial network, worked with pastors and spouses in one-on-one settings, and often speak in conference settings.  Scott and Melanie have been married for 37 years and have two fantastic adult kids who are also in ministry.

 Scott has been certified in Christian counseling, received his Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership from Southeastern University, and his Doctor of Ministries in Semiotics from Portland Seminary.

Leonard Sweet

Author of more than seventy books and 1500+ published sermons, Leonard Sweet’s recent publications include groundbreaking textbooks on preaching (Giving Blood), evangelism (Nudge), ecclesiology (So Beautiful), discipleship (I Am A Follower), and eschatology (Telos). Len often appears on the “50 Most Influential Christians in America” listings, and has appeared in the non-English  “Top 10 Influential World Christians.” His “Napkin Scribbles” podcasts can be accessed on leonardsweet.com or Spotify. His Twitter and Facebook microblogs are ranked as some of the most influential in the religious arena. His weekly “LenTalk” vlogs are found on his Leonard Sweet YouTube channel.  Len works with doctoral students at four institutions: Drew University, where he has occupied the E. Stanley Jones Chair, George Fox University, Northwind Seminary, and Southeastern University. In 2015 he launched his own homiletics resource, preachthestory.com. In 2020 he founded the publishing house the Salish Sea Press. One of the most sought-after speakers in the religious world today, he resides on Orcas Island in the San Juans in the PNW.

AJ Swoboda

Dr. A. J. Swoboda (PhD, Birmingham) is a pastor, professor, and writer. For nearly ten years, he served as a college pastor on the campus of the University of Oregon. Then, for another decade, planted and pastored a missional church in urban Portland, Oregon called Theophilus that continues to worship to this day. Currently, he is the Associate Professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University. As well, he leads a Doctor of Ministry program around the Holy Spirit and Leadership at Fuller Seminary and has taught at Multnomah University, London School of Theology, LIFE Pacific, and Southeastern University. He is the author of ten books, including Redeeming How we Talk (Moody), After Doubt (Brazos), and the award-winning Subversive Sabbath (Brazos). As well, he is the co-host of the “Slow Theology” podcast with New Testament scholar Dr. Nijay Gupta that reaches thousands each week. He loves Jesus deeply, has been married to Quinn for eighteen years, and is the proud father of one son, Elliot. They live and work on an urban farm in Eugene, Oregon

Landon Galloway

Landon Galloway is a pastor at Grace Church of Houston, TX and the director of Destiny Leadership Institute, a two year ministry training program that empowers local churches to train and equip leaders within the context of their own churches. 

His dissertation was titled “Rhetorical Characterization in the New Testament,” and his primary research interest is the rhetorical and literary features of the New Testament narratives, particularly Luke-Acts.  He earned the Bachelor of Arts in History at Mississippi State University, the Master of Divinity and the Master of Arts in Biblical Language from Oral Roberts University, and the Masters of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Landon is happily married to Sarada, and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Vanna and Zarra. 

Terry Crist

Terry Crist serves as the Lead Pastor of City of Grace, a church with four campuses across Arizona, and in Las Vegas, Nevada. As a fifth-generation pastor, he has a rich history of building churches and helping hurting people. Terry has traveled extensively in over sixty-five nations speaking in churches, conferences, and on university campuses. He has a Th.M. and D.Min. and has completed two business certificate programs from Harvard Business School.

In 2011 Terry was appointed by Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, to Chair the Arizona SERVES Task Force which was dedicated to engaging the community around serving the most vulnerable citizens of the State. In 2013 Arizona SERVES was the catalyst for the launch of AZ127, a church-to-church partnership dedicated to recruiting, resourcing, and retaining foster-care families. AZ127 has since inspired a national movement of churches united in partnership around adoption and foster-care. Terry was honored by the U.S. Congress with the “Angels in Adoption” congressional award in 2015. He presently serves as a member of Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s “Council for Child Safety and Family Empowerment.”

Terry hosts “Café Theology,” an innovative weekly television program with a live studio audience airing on Hillsong Channel and TBN Inspire. He has spoken or contributed to the Hillsong Conference (Sydney, London, and USA), C 3 Pastors Conference, ARC Conference, Fellowship Church (Dallas), The Barna Group “State of the Church Conference,” The Nine’s Conference (Leadership Network), Right Now Media, Liberty University Convocation, Grand Canyon University, Movement Day NYC, and elsewhere.

Get Started

We invite you to join this exciting program! Getting started is simple. When you apply to SEU, be sure to choose the Grace Church, Humble, Texas location and Master of Arts in Ministerial Leadership as your intended degree.

To learn more about the program, contact Scott Jones at srjones@seu.edu. 

For assistance with your application, contact Chloe Blue at cjblue@seu.edu.