Contact Information:

Tara Hornbacker, Associate Professor of Ministry Formation
E-mail : hornbtabethanyseminary.edu
Telephone: 765-983-1817 or 800-287-8822 ext.1817

Daniel Poole, Coordinator for Ministry Formation
E-mail: pooledabethanyseminary.edu
Telephone: 765-983-1812 or 800-287-8822 ext. 1812

Click on the following links to navigate this site:

Student Placement Guidelines
Ministry Formation Overview
Educational Objectives
Curricular Requirements
Information for Prospective Ministry Sites
Information for M.Div. Students

Terms Defined

Ministry Formation
Ministry Formation Elective

Church of the Brethren Student Placement Guidelines Bethany Theological Seminary

I. Two broad categories of student placements should be differentiated

A. Persons who are primarily part-time pastors and secondly students. These persons will serve in pastoral or pastoral staff positions. They will go through the Church of the Brethren placement process and will generally be called to an open-ended agreement for service. These persons will be understood to have "a student placement" (see II below).

B. Students who require ministry experiences as a part of their seminary program will be placed in various defined length ministry positions through seminary contacts. These persons will be understood to have "Ministry Formation Placements" and will work through the seminary ministry formation office (see III below)

II. Student placements

A. Interpretation will be important for both congregations and the pastors who seek to serve in student placements. In general, it will be understood that since the student pastor must have adequate time for school and study, a balance must be found between school and ministry. This balance should be a part of the negotiation, agreement, and ongoing evaluation between the student pastor and the congregation, with the assistance of the District Executive/Minister as needed. Perhaps churches could expect 20-25 hours per week. Certain pastoral situations, like funerals, would take precedence over school.

B. The basic understandings regarding the Church of the Brethren placement process would apply to student placements. Although the District Executive/Minister will be the key organizational person, the faculty for Ministry Formation at the seminary should be informed as a part of the process.

C. Any person desiring a student placement in a Church of the Brethren congregation may start the process but must secure admission to a seminary before placement is finalized. The student's interest in a student placement should be noted on the seminary application.

D. Students from various areas in the Church of the Brethren who express interest in student pastorates, near the main campus of Bethany Theological Seminary, the Susquehanna Valley Satellite, or a non-Brethren seminary, will go through their own District Executive/Minister to begin the placement process. The process, for those not ordained, is to have an interview with the appropriate District Ministry Commission.

E. When the Pastoral Profile is filled out, it should have a letter of affirmation from that interview attached for circulation. It is appropriate for the Pastoral Profile to be restricted to a particular district when general placement is not being considered.

F. If problems arise for a pastor in a student placement, the first call will be to the District Executive/Minister for that congregation.

G. When a pastor who has been attending seminary graduates, the District Executive/Minister should facilitate a congregational/pastoral review to determine the appropriateness of continuing the relationship.

III. Ministry Formation Placements*

A. The faculty for Ministry Formation and the District Executive/Minister will work directly with congregations and other church agencies to develop ministry opportunities for students. These opportunities will generally be for a fixed length of tenure and part-time in nature. The primary decision on the part of the congregation or agency will be to participate in the Ministry Formation Program of the seminary. Within the context of that existing decision, individual candidates will be considered in terms of their ability to participate in the program, not essentially on the gifts or graces they already bring to the position.

B. Students will submit an application to be considered for placement in the Ministry Formation process by mid-February of the academic year prior to the experience. Names of students who have applied for a Ministry Formation placement are shared with faculty and the District Executive/Minister of the sending district.

C. Upon acceptance into the Ministry Formation placement process, the students are notified of potential sites for placement. The seminary will advertise opportunities among students and students will express interest to seminary personnel. After consulting with the District Executive/Minister of the receiving district, the seminary will invite a congregation or agency to consider a particular new student for the Ministry Formation placement. This faculty contact will allow conversation about the use the student will make of the placement in his/her program.

D. Proposed student placements are shared with faculty and receiving District Executives/Ministers prior to the onset of the student working in the congregation/ministry setting.

E. If the congregation or student experiences problems in the placement, they will notify Ministry Formation Faculty who will keep the District Executive/Minister informed as deemed appropriate. If the District Executive/Minister becomes aware of a concern in placement, he/she will notify the Ministry Formation Faculty.

*In the Church of the Brethren, credentialing of ministers through licensing and ordination is assigned to districts by Annual Conference. Therefore, licensed and ordained ministers are accountable to district ministry commissions and district boards, and the District Executive/Minister acts as the placement person on behalf of the district. This policy is operative for the student placement mentioned in this paper. The congregation where the student serves and the sending district may be held legally liable for the student minister's moral, ethical, and professional misconduct. Ministry Formation placements, however, are uniquely different in that Bethany Theological Seminary carries the primary placement responsibility, as defined in this paper. Therefore, as the placement institution, the seminary assumes the liability that could result from the student minister's moral, ethical, and professional misconduct.

Approved by Bethany Theological Seminary and the Ministry Office of the General Board in consultation with Ministry Advisory Council, October 1999.
Office of Ministry
Church of the Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Avenue
Elgin, Illinois 60210-1694

Ministry Formation

The Master of Divinity (M.Div.) program is a professional degree program designed to prepare persons for church-related ministries requiring ordination. Among the vocations in which M.Div. graduates serve are congregational ministry, theological education, chaplaincy, social service, and a variety of denominational and ecumenical staff positions.

Educational objectives

Educational objectives for students pursuing an M.Div. degree include the following:

• Familiarity with the biblical sources of the Christian community, and competency in interpreting those sources.
• Familiarity with and ability to reflect theologically on the history and social context of Christianity.
• Awareness of the contextual character of particular Christian traditions, especially as found in the North American setting and global settings of developing Christianity.
• Familiarity with and ability to reflect theologically on the heritage of the believers' church tradition and/or the student's own denominational heritage.
• Ability to articulate faith in language that is theologically informed and culturally persuasive.
• An understanding of the congregation informed by both theological heritage and learnings from the human sciences.
• Ability to articulate a vision of ministry congruent with one's sense of vocation and appropriate to the ministry context in which that vocation will be practiced.
• Ability to nurture and reflect critically on the spiritual formation of self and others, including ethics for ministry and life in community.
• Skills in interpersonal relationships, in mediating conflict, and in building community.
• Ability to provide effective leadership in congregational and other church-related arenas of ministry.
• Ability to integrate biblical and theological understandings with the practice of ministry.

The faculty has established criteria for determining fulfillment of each of these objectives. These, together with the curricular requirements outlined below, provide a basis for course selection.

• Intern Year Nine to twelve months of full-time ministry, following the guidelines of the Intern Syllabus.
• Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) A basic unit of CPE offered by an agency accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).
• Summer Ministry Ten weeks of full-time ministry and reflection as outlined in the Summer Ministry Syllabus.
• Extended Ministry The equivalent of ten weeks of full-time ministry and reflection, spread over a longer period of time.
• Prior Ministry Experience Credit may be granted for ministry experience within the three years preceding admission to Bethany, when the nature of the experience warrants such credit. Requirements for receiving credit for prior ministry experience are outlined in the Bethany Student Handbook.



Curricular Requirements




To obtain the M.Div. degree, a student must complete a minimum of 81 semester hours of graduate course work and two related ministry experiences as described below. This work may include Bethany courses, cross-registered courses, and courses taken at other institutions fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and/or a recognized regional accrediting association of colleges and secondary schools. For guidelines governing course work to be taken at Bethany's main campus and credit that may be acquired in other ways, see page 28. All transfer credits are subject to approval by the Academic Dean, who shall ensure that such credits are distributed appropriately across the various curricular areas.

The 81 hours of the M.Div. program will be distributed as follows. (Some courses may fulfill more than one distribution requirement, but not reduce the total number of hours needed to complete the program.)

Ministry Formation: (15 hours) to include: Exegeting the Call and Culture of Ministry (two semesters); Ministry Formation (two semesters); Ministry Formation Elective; and M.Div. Review.

Biblical Studies: (15 hours) to include: Introduction to the Old Testament; Introduction to New Testament History and Literature; exegesis course; plus 6 additional hours.

Theological and Historical Studies: (15 hours) to include: Introduction to Theological Reflection; History of Christianity I or II; denominational heritage course; one additional theology course; plus 3 additional hours.

Ministry Studies: (18 hours) to include 12 hours in preaching, music, and worship (with at least one course in each of those areas) and 6 hours from any two of the following areas: teaching, pastoral care, and administration.

Interdisciplinary Studies: (6-9 hours) to include one course in cross-cultural studies and one course in peace studies. Connections students are required to take Introduction to Ministry Education for three additional hours in this area.

Electives: (9-12 hours) to be distributed among the above areas according to educational and vocational goals of the student.





Ministry Formation

The M.Div. curriculum presupposes the centrality of ministry formation, to which the rest of the curricular program contributes in various ways. The ministry formation process provides opportunities for students to bring together ministry experience in multiple contexts, supervised reflection designed to enhance that experience, and academic course work which informs this reflection.

Ministry formation is rooted in the praxis of ministry, a process of learning ministry by doing ministry. To that end, students participate in two required ministry experiences in two different ministry contexts. The reflective process related to these experiences involves faculty, supervisor, and peers, and is designed to lead students to an integration of personal and professional identity, and academic and practical proficiency. The process also enhances the student's ability to articulate faith within concrete life experiences and the changing dynamics of today's world.

Ministry formation consists of the following components:

Junior
Exegeting the Call and Culture of Ministry As the title suggests, this course explores both the call and identity of the minister and the cultural context in which specific ministries take shape. Among the various ministry contexts that students may be considering, particular attention is given to pastoral and other congregational ministries. A three-hour course held over two semesters (1.5 hours each semester), F-110A is offered in the fall of each year and F-110B is offered in the spring of each year. This course is designed to prepare students to participate in the middler year ministry formation process and to assist the student in spiritual formation and discernment of call.

Middler Year
Ministry Formation Each student participates in a nine-month, part-time ministry placement, concurrent with classes, in an approved congregation or other ministry setting. This supervised experience provides the basis for reflection in the ministry formation group. The class component consists of a three-hour course in both the fall and spring semesters. F-301 (a and b) are offered each year.

Senior Year
M Div. Review This course is designed to synthesize and reflect upon each student's cumulative course work and field education experience. In preparation for this course, each student assembles a portfolio of representative papers and reports from prior courses and ministry placements. The course culminates in a review of each student by a faculty committee to assess the student's fulfillment of the objectives of the M.Div. Program F-302 is a three-hour course offered each fall semester.

Ministry Formation Elective

In addition to the four ministry formation courses described above, three hours of credit are granted for the second required ministry experience and related reflection process. As noted, the second experience takes place in a different ministry context than that of the middler year placement. Options for fulfilling this requirement include:

Completion of M.Div. Program

Students have six calendar years from the date of admission to complete their degree program under the graduation requirements in force when they were admitted. After six years, students may apply for readmission to the program, with the possibility of previous credits being carried forward. Such students are advised of new and/or outstanding graduation requirements upon readmission. Students pay for courses at the rate set for each academic year.