Ministry Training & Education

Ministry Training & Education equips current and future church leaders with practical, Bible-based preparation for lifelong service. Explore resources on theological training, ministry skills, mentoring, leadership development, and building healthy learning pathways for pastors, elders, staff, and volunteers. You’ll find guidance on discipleship models, teaching and communication, ministry internships, and developing teams—so training is both spiritually formative and mission-focused. Whether you’re pursuing formal education, leading an in-house training program, or coaching emerging leaders, these articles help you grow in competence, character, and faithful ministry.

January 13, 2017

Christian Standard

Making Longer-term Connections

By Jennifer Johnson Although internships are invaluable for helping college students determine their vocational path””and although many Christian colleges and universities now require them for students across a variety of disciplines””ministry internships can be difficult for both students and churches. “The shorter internships, especially, are challenging,” says Tim Dunn, minister at LifeSpring Christian Church in Cincinnati, OH. “With just a few hours a week, you don”t have time to really influence or invest in the students, especially when they are also participating in mission trips or camps. It”s hard to really include them in the life of the church.” Cincinnati

January 13, 2017

Christian Standard

Helping Ministry Leaders Develop Skills, Relationships

By Jennifer Johnson This month, more than a dozen pastors in the Greater Los Angeles area will begin a journey of learning, leadership, and change as Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA) kicks off its second Communitas cohort. The program, which began as part of the Lilly Endowment, is designed to connect senior leaders who have served in ministry for 5 to 10 years and help them develop greater leadership skills; grow in their understanding of significant issues facing their communities; build networks with civic, business, and political leaders throughout the city; and develop strong relationships with each other. “Lilly discovered there

September 24, 2016

Christian Standard

Partnering to Teach the Bible

By Jennifer Johnson Southland Christian Church (Lexington, KY) has created a way to engage people who are interested in deeper study of the Bible, maintain their interest and involvement, and even train current leaders and discover future staff members: Southland University. “We”re trying to meet the needs of many different groups,” says Derrick Purvis, formation pastor at Southland. “Weekends are “˜bottom shelf” and designed to be as accessible as possible. Programs that go a bit deeper are the next step. “But we also knew a number of people wanted more challenge and more growth. The problem is it takes a

February 1, 2016

Christian Standard

Dear Aspiring Minister . . .

By Jennifer Johnson You may be attending a Bible college, a Christian college, or a Christian university. That school may be affiliated with the Restoration Movement, with a mainline denomination, or with no particular group at all. And you may dream of someday serving as a preacher, a youth pastor, or a worship leader. No matter where you are in school, no matter what your background, and no matter what your dream, consider this letter my virtual attempt to shove all five feet and two inches of myself in your face (or your shoulder) and demand you stop saying things

August 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Ten Ways to Help a New Graduate Succeed in His First Year of Ministry

By David Fincher Our Bible colleges send out hundreds of graduates each year. Churches hire many of them right after graduation to serve as staff members. But the transition from enrollment as a full-time student to employment as a full-time minister is more difficult than expected. Too often, a poor experience leaves the church wondering what could have been done better in the first year of ministry. Bible college graduates know how to succeed within the expectations and rhythms of the American educational system. In addition, Bible colleges have used several other practices to help students. Below are 10 ways

May 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Acting My Age

By Jennifer Johnson A new thing for me is being one of the older people in situations where I used to be young and cool. Most recently I experienced this in my preaching class at Emmanuel Christian Seminary; when Dr. Aaron Wymer discussed the various generations currently alive in the church and surveyed our class, I sheepishly raised my hand as a Gen Xer. The millennials who made up most of the class peered at me with curiosity. (“Look, she can use a computer!”) I realize that at not-yet-40 (you didn”t think I”d give you my real age, did you?),

August 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Training the Next Generation of Leaders

By Dean Collins President, Point University, West Point, Georgia When I think about the future of Christian higher education in general””and the colleges that come from our tradition in particular””my mind is conflicted. Will I operate out of fear of the brutal realities we face, or with faith that God wants us to do what we are called to do? About 13 years ago, Bob Andringa, then president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, predicted that in 25 years, 25 percent of Christian colleges would be out of business. I don”t know all of the reasons behind Andringa”s

February 10, 2014

Christian Standard

Fix It!

By Teresa Welch   “What”s wrong with education in the church today?” As a professor and practitioner of Christian education, I have posed this question in workshops and classrooms and received no shortage of replies. Inexperienced teachers. Antiquated methods. Lack of organization. Bland curricular materials. The question often riles up the room. There”s something cathartic in complaining about how the church bungles education. At some point, however, I end the conversation. I look straight at the group, and I share three simple words: “Then fix it.” You have probably heard complaints about the lack of biblical literacy in today”s congregations.

October 21, 2013

Christian Standard

The Ministry of Christian Scholarship

By Thomas Scott Caulley Nearly 20 years ago, Mark Noll, then a professor at Wheaton College, began his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, with a simple and provocative assertion: “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.”1 He described his work as a “cry of the heart” on behalf of the intellectual life by one “who embraces the Christian faith in an evangelical form.”2 Compared to other religious groups, Evangelicals fare poorly on the intellectual scene. One symptom of this problem, according to Noll, is they support no specifically Evangelical

October 5, 2013

Christian Standard

Educating Ministers as They Serve

By Jennifer Johnson “Old methods of seminary training assume an outdated model that”s primarily baptizing, marrying, and burying,” says Mark Love, dean of the School of Theology and Ministry at Rochester College (Rochester Hills, MI). “But we don”t live in that world anymore. We need to be teaching students how to read a culture and relate to it as missionaries.” To this end, Love created the Master of Religious Education in Missional Leadership, a two-year, 36-hour program designed to educate students while they serve in a local ministry. “Their ministry context is their primary classroom,” Love says. “So we combine

March 14, 2012

Christian Standard

Love “em into the Lord”s Work!

By Steve Reeves In my opinion, a young preacher”s first ministry experience lays the groundwork for either a long, healthy ministry career or a short-lived series of job hops that leaves churches and families in a serious state of dysfunction. I”ve heard that the average tenure of a minister is three to four years. It was seven years only a decade ago. What seems to be the problem? While I”m sure there are immature “church-hopping” ministers, I guess there are at least as many “minister-chasing” churches. Most young ministers have school-age children, and I doubt many of them want to

November 2, 2011

Christian Standard

Emmanuel Institutes Seeks Top Students

This week the Emmanuel Institutes announced a new program–and an opportunity for 15 students to earn a full scholarship. Next August the institute will host its first-ever Ministry Immersion Week as an opportunity for emerging church leaders from undergraduate programs. Students will gather for a week of “comprehensive exposure to the ‘ins and outs’ of ministry best practices.” The organization is inviting other Restoration Movement colleges and universities to encourage their top students to apply, and 15 will be selected to participate with no expenses beyond the $50 application fee. The East 91st Street Christian Church Foundation and contributions from 33 partner churches and organizations are

January 31, 2011

Christian Standard

The Leadership Institute Offers College-level Courses

By Jennifer Taylor The Leadership Institute at Christ”s Church of the Valley (Peoria, Arizona) offers college-level courses from Hope International University (Fullerton, California) plus an internship program. Interns work with CCV staff pastors, attend weekly training sessions, and receive one-on-one mentoring. Participants may choose a one- or two-year internship; the two-year program allows students to earn their master”s degree from HIU. www.ccvonline.com www.hiu.edu ________________ Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s contributing editors and bloggers, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Do you know of a church breaking new ground or leading innovative ministry? Contact bu**@*********ub.com.

September 1, 2010

Christian Standard

Answering the Challenge for Bible Materials in Spanish

By Jennifer Taylor Good Books When Jon and Kathy Underwood visited Colombian Christian Mission in 2005, missionary Dale Meade asked the couple to outline a course of study for general and graduate-level Bible training. Jon created a sequence including Bible surveys, history, and theology””and received another request from Dale. “The team really wanted more challenging materials and asked us to consider translating and publishing books into Spanish,” Kathy says. “We were concerned about a conflict of interest, since Jon works at Standard Publishing. But we explained the project and received their blessing to move forward.” In 2006 the Underwoods created

June 2, 2010

Christian Standard

Interview with Mike Claypool

By Brad Dupray Mike Claypool was 30 years old when he and his wife, Cindy, attended “Summer in the Son” at Kentucky Christian College as youth sponsors. The preaching there convicted them to make the life-changing decision for Mike to leave the printing industry and attend Lincoln Christian College to pursue his passion to preach. Mike loved the teaching he received from mentors like Chuck Sackett at Lincoln, and has served as preaching minister at First Christian Church in Newburgh, Indiana, for 18 years. Mike and Cindy have celebrated 35 years of marriage and have two grown children, C.J. and

November 1, 2009

Christian Standard

Read Well to Lead Well

  by Eddie Lowen Every church leader, especially the primary communicator, the preacher, should fear staleness. Those who listen to us instinctively know whether or not we are digging the well deeper or skimming the surface. When people begin to lip-sync your pet phrases as you speak them . . . when you have to feign enthusiasm for things that should genuinely excite you . . . when you preach old sermons because you can”t imagine improving upon what you wrote several years ago””you are going stale.  The easiest ways to stay fresh are through reading and discussion. Not every

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