Equipping Adults for Vocational Ministry

An increasing number of local churches are raising up their own pastoral-staff by starting with laity in the church who sense a call to ministry then developing their own home-grown ministers by helping these adults get the education they need through programs like FLAME or the other non-traditional adult education models offered by several Wesleyan Universities. These non-traditional adult education programs supply the educational component for these adults but what about the...
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An increasing number of local churches are raising up their own pastoral-staff by starting with laity in the church who sense a call to ministry then developing their own home-grown ministers by helping these adults get the education they need through programs like FLAME or the other non-traditional adult education models offered by several Wesleyan Universities. These non-traditional adult education programs supply the educational component for these adults but what about the practical training side of these adults' ministerial preparation? That's what this guide is about. How to raise your own home-grown ministerial staff and systematically make sure they also get the practical training while they are in FLAME or other nontraditional adult programs where they get the classes they need for ordination.This guide is not about graduates from traditional college or seminary programs-they already have a "Residency" program where they serve two years as a "Resident Pastor" on staff at a local church after their college graduation. This guide is about adults who don't "go off to college" to get their education, but stay at home and take classes toward ordination online or in concentrated "intensives." This guide helps a local church plan for practical training for these adults while they are taking their educational courses, not afterward like traditional aged college kids do.This means that the adults in your church who plan to take their courses in a non-traditional format can become a "Resident Pastor" on your staff throughout the time they are studying and learn the ropes of ministry as they move along through the courses over three, four or five years. They might be a volunteer resident or receive a small sum from your church; that is totally up to the local church. But the point is planning the "curriculum of experience" they can only get in a local church and no course can give it to them.The title of this guide hopes to say all of the above in shorthand: Equipping Adults for Vocational Ministry: A guide for churches to prepare working adults to transition into vocational ministry while staying serving in their local church.