By Chris Moon
A new ministry training program launched this fall aimed at giving aspiring pastors an apprenticeship-style ministry education at a low cost.
Midwest Ministry Training opened its doors in August with six students and four “training churches” located across three states, said Jamie Franke, preaching minister at First Christian Church in Vandalia, Mo.
The program bypasses the traditional Bible college experience in favor of a hands-on training environment for its students.
“It’s an alternative option out there that the students can consider,” said Franke, who serves as director of Midwest Ministry Training.
The Details
Midwest Ministry Training, which is not accredited, offers students 20 online classes in theology, Bible interpretation, church history, apologetics, and other subjects. In that way, it follows the model of many typical Bible college or seminary programs.
However, Midwest Ministry Training changes things up by requiring students to undergo a 1,500-hour apprenticeship under one or more approved ministers who can show them the ropes of practical ministry.
The all-in cost for the program is $7,500. Franke said it will take at least two years to complete.
Franke called it “a trade school and apprenticeship approach to ministry training.”
“These are the kind of things best learned on the job – best learned following somebody,” he said.
A Blank Slate
Franke has been in fulltime preaching ministry since 1999. He’s been at Vandalia First Christian Church for the past 13 years.
But Franke also was a longtime adjunct professor for Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo. He has a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Johnson University.
Franke said he watched the rising cost of Bible college education – and the recent wave of college closures and mergers – and wondered whether there was a better way to train a minister for church work.
“How would I do ministry training if I just started with a blank slate and thought through it?” he asked.
At the time, Franke’s church had an empty parsonage. What if Franke brought an aspiring pastor on board, housed him in the parsonage, and taught him everything he knew?
The basic concept for Midwest Ministry Training began to take shape.
An Apprenticeship Model
Midwest Ministry Training has four “training churches” so far – Vandalia First Christian Church in Missouri; Callao Christian Church in Callao, Mo.; Burnside Christian Church in Burnside, Ill.; and Pathway Christian Church in Riverside, Calif.
As students apprentice with seasoned pastors, they do as much as possible with their mentors, from crafting sermons to officiating funerals to leading elders’ meetings.
“That’s the life of a minister. Those are the skills that will be needed,” Franke said.
Aspiring preachers are paired with veteran preaching pastors. Aspiring youth ministers are connected with seasoned pastors in that field.
The goal is to produce ministers who are ready to begin serving in church ministry immediately upon being hired.
As students engage in their apprenticeships, they also take online classes from Midwest Ministry Training. Franke said the classes are taught by professors who either are working in ministry currently or are retired ministers. Some have Bible college teaching experience.
“It’s sort of a soldier-teaching-soldier model,” he said.
Students who complete the course work and apprenticeship must pass a formal examination. At that point, they earn a ministry certificate of endorsement from Midwest Ministry Training.
The program will be active in helping students find jobs, Franke said. Midwest Ministry Training is working to build out the network of churches that recognize its work and want to hire its graduates.
Another Option On the Table
Franke said he doesn’t consider Midwest Ministry Training as competition for Bible colleges. He said he wants to incorporate what Bible colleges do best.
“Our colleges have done a good job in the academic side of things,” he said. “We can learn a lot from them. We draw on that.”
But Bible college is increasingly expensive, Franke said. His goal is to help train up pastors without putting them in a financial hole that might affect their future in ministry.
“It’s very reasonable for students to be well-trained for ministry and come out of it with no debt,” Franke said. “They are in a better position to work in churches that are low-paying.”
Franke said the program’s current students have a range of backgrounds – from a recent high school graduate to a student who is married with kids and wants to go into ministry.
Franke said the fact that several Bible colleges have closed or merged means “there’s a vacuum that’s going to have to be filled to train ministers.”
Midwest Ministry Training has a website – midwestministrytraining.com – where people can go for more information.
“Our goal is to put another option on the table for ministry training,” Franke said.
Chris Moon is a pastor and writer living in Redstone, Colorado.
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