Certificate in Spiritual Direction
Training in the practice of listening, discernment and prayer in the Christian, Protestant tradition
15 Credit Hours across a two-year, part-time program
Certificate in Spiritual Direction
At the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction at North Park Theological Seminary
The Certificate in Spiritual Direction at North Park Theological Seminary is a two-year cohort-based program designed to equip individuals to offer spiritual guidance grounded in Christian, Protestant tradition. We train in the practices of holy listening, spiritual discernment and prayer.
Unique to this program is the requirement for applicants to have experienced at least a year of personal spiritual direction prior to beginning the program.
Students engage in a blend of online learning and three one-week summer intensives held on campus, each focused on deepening skills in listening, discernment, and spiritual accompaniment. The curriculum emphasizes personal formation, supervised practice, and community-based peer learning throughout each phase.
Graduates leave prepared to serve as spiritual directors within churches, ministries, and broader faith communities.
Cohort Training
Learn deeply with others. A cohort completes the 15-credit program together in just over two years. Coming from varied Christian traditions, cohorts include both credentialed clergy and active lay people, men and women.
Distance Learning + Summer Intensives
Designed for the best of flexibility and deep personal interaction, the program requires three summer weeklong intensives on campus in Chicago, as well as year-round training online with an instructor and cohort.
Graduate-Level Quality
The C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction is rooted in North Park Theological Seminary, an accredited seminary with trained faculty across theological and ministry disciplines. Where it applies, credit may be transferred to master degree programs.
Learning Outcomes
After completing a Certificate in Spiritual Direction, you will be able to:
- Identify the history and cultural distinctives of spiritual direction in the Christian tradition.
- Recognize the movement of God in one’s own life (discernment) with a growing capacity to listen deeply for the same in others.
- Embrace the call and commitment to the ministry of spiritual direction prepared to engage the church and the world with its gifts.
My wife and I serve in Alaska with native communities and people, and we thought spiritual direction—listening to the Spirit —would give us tools to walk with people finding Christ in their own culture rather than making them wear cultural Christianity that doesn’t fit them.
—Mike Alverts
It has been amazing to enter this practicum year doing Spiritual Direction with a handful of directees. Living out the call God has placed on my life inspires so much humble awe! It is truly beautiful companioning others in their faith journey and witnessing the Holy Spirit movement in their lives and in mine.
—April Lyon
Surprisingly, I discovered that spiritual direction was not just about giving advice or solving problems. It is about offering a safe and sacred space for people to explore their profound questions, longings, and struggles. I have gained tools that help me listen deeply. I humbly say yes to the call and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit, the true director.”
—Tori Mack
My wife and I serve in Alaska with native communities and people, and we thought spiritual direction—listening to the Spirit —would give us tools to walk with people finding Christ in their own culture rather than making them wear cultural Christianity that doesn’t fit them.
—Mike Alverts
It has been amazing to enter this practicum year doing Spiritual Direction with a handful of directees. Living out the call God has placed on my life inspires so much humble awe! It is truly beautiful companioning others in their faith journey and witnessing the Holy Spirit movement in their lives and in mine.
—April Lyon
Surprisingly, I discovered that spiritual direction was not just about giving advice or solving problems. It is about offering a safe and sacred space for people to explore their profound questions, longings, and struggles. I have gained tools that help me listen deeply. I humbly say yes to the call and leave the rest to the Holy Spirit, the true director.”
—Tori Mack
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Courses & Schedule
The certificate program is completed in just over two years (25 months). The three summer intensive sessions are completed one-week session on campus at North Park Theological Seminary. Throughout each year, students work from their own location, interacting online with cohort members, reading, and practicing spiritual direction.
We move through three phases.
Year 1—Spiritual Direction: Listening to the Movement of God
Summer Intensive 1—SPFM 7501—Foundations of Listening & Discerning
As the first of five courses in a program leading to a certificate in spiritual direction, this course will provide foundational information on the history and cultural distinctives of spiritual direction in the Christian tradition. The course will focus on building listening capacity as the primary skill to recognize the movement of God in oneself (discernment) and eventually the primary skill in the ministry of spiritual direction.
Year 1—SPFM 7502—Listening & Discerning Practicum I
Practicum I is designed for program participants who desire to continue to discern their call and giftedness into the ministry of Spiritual Direction as begun in Course 1 of the program. Work will be done in the participant’s home region with support from the course instructor, Dr. Tim Harbin. In addition to the core requirements of ten meetings with a spiritual director and the online journaling component, participants will have flexibility to study a topic of personal interest in Christian Spirituality. The course begins on the first day of the Seminary’s fall semester and ends on the last day of the spring semester.
Year 2—Spiritual Direction: Listening to the Movement of God with Another
Summer Intensive 2—SPFM 7503 – Spiritual Directing: Listening to the Movement of God With Another
The third course in the Certificate of Spiritual Direction focuses on skill development as a spiritual director. In the classroom, program participants will give and receive direction from each other, developing skills through practice and evaluation by expert supervisors. Participants will be introduced to the practice of peer supervision and self-supervision. The course begins with a required retreat day.
Year 2—SPFM 7504 – Spiritual Directing Practicum II
Practicum II is designed to develop experience and wisdom in spiritual directing through receiving spiritual direction, giving spiritual direction to others, receiving both individual and group supervision, reading and dialoging with supportive literature, and studying specific relevant issues in spiritual direction.
Final Summer—The Ministry of Spiritual Direction: Listening the Movement of God in Church and Community
Summer Intensive 3—SPFM 7505 – The Ministry of Spiritual Direction: Listening to God in the Church and World
The final course in the certificate in spiritual direction equips participants to embrace the call to the ministry of spiritual direction. A combination of self-evaluation and Center staff evaluation will be components in the final discernment process of engaging the church and the world as a trained spiritual director. Participants will also receive instruction and practice in Group Spiritual Direction. The course will begin with a silent retreat and end with a consecration service and the awarding of certificates.
Active Cohort Dates
Summer Intensive Required Weeks
Cohort Summer Intensives are in-person on the campus of North Park Theological Seminary
| Summer Intensive 1 | Summer Intensive 2 | Summer Intensive 3 | |
| Cohort Beginning in 2023 | Completed | July 15-20, 2024 | July 21-27, 2025 |
| Cohort Beginning in 2024 | July 22-28, 2024 | July 14-19, 2025 | July 20-July 26, 2026 |
| Cohort beginning in 2025 | July 21-27, 2025 | July 13-18, 2026 | July 19-July 25, 2027 |
| Cohort Beginning in 2026 | July 20-July 26, 2026 | July 12-17, 2027 | July 24-30, 2028 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to apply?
This program is designed for mature Christian leaders and ministers who would benefit from training and supervised experience in the ministry of spiritual direction.
Applicants should have, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and one year of experience receiving spiritual direction.
Many applicants may be trained ministers, but each cohort will have a variety of lay and clergy and a variety of professional backgrounds. The uniting profile will that thay have encountered God in new and deeply personal ways, beyond knowledge-based understanding, and they fill a call to do the same for others.
How do I find a spiritual director to meet the one-year of spiritual direction requirement?
The Center for Spiritual Direction is in partnership with the Association of Covenant Spiritual Directors, which can provide assistance.
How do I know if I am called to the ministry of spiritual direction?
All applicants have in common that they have encountered God through spiritual direction themselves, and feel a potential call to do the same for others.
Discernment is key in our training. How do we know the voice of God? Can we trust our inner promptings? But discernment for spiritual direction need not be complete before starting the program. Both the application process and the first year of certificate training—Listening to the Movement of God in oneself—are considered part of the discernment period.
What is the time commitment?
Over the course of just over two years (25 months), students will invest approximately 110 hours of work in addition to three week-long summer intensive courses. This will include interacting online with other members of your cohort, reading, and practice in spiritual direction.
Will this certify me to be a spiritual director?
No—we train together in spiritual direction. While we earn an academic certificate, the maturity, gift and call to serve as a spiritual director is not conferred through a certificate.