Preparing Pastors for Ministry
A Team Effort
It’s good for everyone in the denomination to have a clearer idea of what is involved in training people to become pastors — because, the truth is, everyone in the church plays a necessary role in the process.
Many would agree the most intense and demanding time for future ministers are the years they spend in seminary. There candidates work full-time in academic pursuits, in spiritual formation, and in practicing ministry. Seminary is like a greenhouse where the “seeds of their calling” are planted in deep rich soil, watered, fertilized, and given plenty of sun and warmth to grow strong — so eventually they can be planted in your congregational “gardens.” But that’s only part of the preparation; before we look more closely at seminary training, it’s worthwhile to reaffirm just how valuable local congregations are in preparing these budding pastors. Without Christian nurture and encouragement offered in the church, no one can really discover their call to ministry — ministry training begins and ends in the local congregation.
A Closer Look at Seminary
While in seminary these women and men who have responded to God’s call enroll in courses which challenge them academically, while encouraging them to discover their pastoral identities and strengthening them in performing their ministry roles. Every seminary course requires a graduate level of study and communication (after all, they are earning Master of Divinity degrees); it is difficult work that requires full-time effort.
Like Scripture itself, Bible courses are the foundation of a seminary education; students not only learn a biblical overview, including the content and context of the biblical witness, but also the art of interpretation. It’s not enough to only know “what’s in the Bible;” ministry candidates learn to appreciate the many approaches and perspectives of discerning God’s truth in the Bible, so they can assist the people of congregations to apply it faithfully in their lives. Encouraging a heart-felt love for scripture among others is central to ministry training.
Similarly, theology and history courses give students the necessary background in understanding what the church has come to believe over the centuries and how that belief system affects our Christian identity today. In addition, several of these courses at Moravian Theological Seminary ground future pastors in Moravian culture and identity. Learning the rich history, worship, and theology of our denomination from a more global perspective helps students recognize that many different expressions of those same traditions often exist from congregation to congregation. Teaching students to pastor congregations in ways that honor our Moravian roots, while stretching them to embody our mission-centered identity is vitally important.
These essential academic disciplines are complemented by pastoral theology and practice of ministry courses which enable pastors of tomorrow to engage their learning in tangible ways today. They learn how congregations are organized and how the natural rhythms of a church year are honored. They learn how to teach and preach, how to lead worship and Board meetings, how to pastorally counsel and spiritually guide individuals and congregations. They learn the art of evangelism, stewardship, and discipling, and articulate ways of sharing their insights with congregations. They learn how to manage their time and balance their lives so they can be most effective in pastoring the church. And their pastoral insights are regularly practiced through a field education program that gives students hands-on experiences of ministry within a local congregation and under the guidance of a pastor-supervisor. The feedback from these supervised ministry churches offers immediate assessment to students so they can apply their discoveries toward ongoing growth and maturity. Learning ministry competencies and being able to practice them daily are essential to pastoral training.
A Sacred Collaboration
The commitments to theological students from their home congregations, seminary professors, supervisors, and local field education churches are key to training future pastors. But these are not the only partners — our Provinces also play an important role in relating to and reviewing the progress of ministry candidates. In fact, they are responsible to discern each one’s readiness for ministry and confirm each one’s call; therefore the conversation between the denomination and its future pastors is a vital ingredient to the process. Add to this the encouragement of family and friends, plus the inspiration at retreats and camps, and a broad, sacred collaboration begins to emerge. And at the heart of this coalition is the grace of Christ, the empowerment of the Spirit and the call of God, which echoes through the church, continually raising up and preparing pastors in our midst.
