DALLAS (ABP) — Lying in a hospital bed, Wilshire Baptist Church's pastor emeritus Bruce McIver told a close friend something he'd thought about for a long time.
“Two months before he died, we talked about his desire to see more young people called to the ministry and how churches like ours could make that happen,” said George Mason, Wilshire's senior pastor.
From that conversation, the idea for the Dallas-based church's Pathways to Ministry program was born. The program includes two-year pastoral residencies for seminary graduates — made possible by a five-year grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.– summer internships for college and seminary students, and a vocational discernment program for high-school students.
Erin Hall attended Wilshire when her husband, Jake, worked in the residency program. She now attends the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, a partner school with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
“Other churches talk about being called to ministry, but Wilshire is more intentional about what you want to do with your life as a Christian,” said Hall. “I think George [Mason] has led that in the church, but now it's a whole community saying, ‘If you choose to do this, we support you.'”
Since Pathways to Ministry began, Wilshire has supported more than 25 seminary students. Fourteen Wilshire members are currently enrolled in theological education programs, many of which are at CBF partner schools.
The program is more than just the residency, though. Church members take active roles in supporting each resident.
“Every Wednesday … we have a Pathways Student of the Week,” said Geri McKenzie, Pathways coordinator. “That student is prayed for by the congregation, and members send the student a note of encouragement. We also have an adopt-a-seminary-student process, where they can be connected with a specific family.”
High-school students curious about seminary are encouraged to take part in YourCall, a Web-based program for 9th- through 12th-graders, as a way to explore a possible career in the ministry. Topics from theology to faith are discussed weekly on a weblog.
“We try to demystify the call to the ministry,” Darren DeMent, Wilshire's minister to students, said. “We want to find ways for high-school and college-age students to give ministry the same kind of fair shake they would give medicine or law. We try to get it on the front page of the conversation.”
And Mason encourages other churches to realize the urgency of nurturing in young people an interest in exploring vocational ministry.
“For pastors who might be thinking this is one more thing to add to their already busy schedule, they need to ask themselves a few basic questions,” said Mason. “What would be more satisfying than to see young people in your church catching a vision for ministry and wanting to follow you in doing this work someday? What kind of legacy do you really want to leave?”
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