The Ministerial Formation Program

Overview

Welcome to the Ministerial Formation Program. The formation program at LTS is a vital part of the Master of Divinity Program. The process of becoming a spiritual leader in our world requires us to pay attention to our lives. In the formation program at LTS we actively engage students in the process of integrating all the aspects of their lives: spiritual, emotional, academic, ministerial, relational, financial, and physical. We hope that in the formation program our students will discover a wider and deeper way of living.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is currently performing a study on the preparation of people in particular professional fields, including ministers, priests, and rabbis. The study has identified three apprenticeships that are part of each training program. The cognitive apprenticeship provides students with what they need to know to practice their profession. The practical apprenticeship trains students on what they must be able to do in their professional life. And the third apprenticeship, which addresses the identity of the professional person, shapes what kind of person one needs to be in that given profession.

The Ministerial Formation Programat Lancaster Theological Seminary addresses each of these apprenticeships. The program is composed of four elements: Field Education, Ministry Seminars, Comprehensive Ministry Reviews, and the International Cross-cultural Seminar. Organized into 3 levels (100, 200, and 300), the program provides M. Div. students with supervised ministry experience and regular opportunities to learn from their experiences through focused discussion with colleagues. The program also exposes students, through a diverse student population and through their guided visit to another part of the world, to different ways of shaping a life of faith and leadership.

While the program is directed by the Director of Ministerial Formation, each member of the LTS faculty and a variety of pastoral leaders in the region participate in facilitating the program and advising the students.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact me at 717-290-8751 or the administrative assistant for our office at 717-290-8723. Or you can email me at, dmellott@lancasterseminary.edu.

Faculty Advising

Faculty Advising takes place in conjunction with the Ministry Seminars. Advisors assist students with selecting courses, discerning a vocation, and attending to vocational requirements. The faculty member associated with a student's particular ministry seminar serves as the Faculty Advisor for the student. When the student moves to the next level of the program she or he will receive another Faculty Advisor.

Students not in the Master of Divinity Program should consult the Student Handbook about faculty advising.

? For more information on each of the components and some of the requirements of Ministerial Formation Program, please click on the menu to the left. You will notice some items have a plus (+) sign, click on the word to expand the word and see other options.