Study and Training for Effective Pastoral Ministry (STEP)
Helping leaders to grow in love for God, in character, in competence, and in effectiveness
Quick Facts:
*Mark R. Wenger is director of the STEP program.
*STEP is a three-year training program based at EMU at Lancaster.
*Classes meet one Saturday a month September-May (8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) at Lancaster Mennonite Conference Center.
*Orientation occurs at the end of August.
*Home work will take about four to six hours each week and should be finished prior to each class session.
*Participants enroll as students at EMU at Lancaster. Each year of STEP will yield 10 undergraduate credits at EMU. (Read student profiles ...)
*Tuition is $320 per credit or $3,200 per year. We encourage congregations and districts to cover tuition costs for their pastors.
What is STEP?
Designed to form leaders who are highly skilled and strong in character, the STEP program provides training for licensed pastoral ministers who do not have college, Bible school, or seminary training. STEP operates out of the EMU at Lancaster site and is a partnership between Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC) and EMU.
With a basis in verse (Col. 1:9-12, Rom. 12:1-2), the program combines spiritual and personal formation with content-based learning in Bible, theology, leadership, and ministry skills in a very practical way. The curriculum is specifically designed for adult learners and emphasizes self-directed learning, learning through experience, learning that grows out of a need to accomplish particular tasks and solve real-life problems, and learning that can be immediately applied. Much of class time is devoted to reflection on actual ministry experience based on the readings and the teaching content for the day.
The program was formally launched in September 2004 by a group of 14 students, who completed their first year of work in June 2005. Two new groups of STEP students begin studies in September 2005, one in the Lancaster, Pa., area and one, with a more urban flavor, in the Philadelphia area.
What is the focus of STEP?
The STEP curriculum is designed to provide training that will be practical and life-changing for the whole person. Our ultimate goal is both students and instructors will grow in the ability and the practice of loving the Lord with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and that they will grow in the ability and the practice of loving their neighbors as they love themselves.
Our prayer, from Colossians 1:9-12, is that the Lord will fill each pastoral leader enrolled in STEP with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. We pray that each of them will live lives that are worthy of the Lord and that they will please him in every way by ...
Being transformed and empowered by the Holy Spirit for effective ministry.
Topics: Spiritual disciplines, Character formation, Prayer
- Knowing the truth of God’s word.
Topics: O.T. survey, N.T. survey, Bible study and interpretation, Church history, Confession of Faith
- Doing the acts of ministry.
Topics: Preaching, Teaching, Pastoral Care, Conflict Transformation
- Leading God’s people as a servant leader.
Topics: Leadership, Administration, Planning, Leading change
How can I pay for STEP?
- Mennonite Mutual Aid (MMA) provides a $500 matching grant to churches for “Ministry Preparation.” Contact your local MMA Advocate.
- Lancaster Conference awards Leadership Education Grants (LEG) on a quarterly basis.
- Charlotte Holsopple Glick Memorial Pastoral Leadership matching grants and loans are available to conference ministers, bi-vocational pastors, and persons exploring pastoral ministry for the first time. Applications are available from Leadership Development.
- Eastern Mennonite Mission’s (EMM) Church Investment Loan Fund (CILF) provides low interest loans to churches to help them cover STEP tuition. Contact Norman Shenk for more information.
What are the monthly classes like?
Each monthly class meeting follows a similar pattern:
Morning
- 8:00-8:30 Bible Study
- 8:30-10:30 Teaching Topic
- 10:45-11:45 Skill Building
Afternoon
- 12:45-1:45 Skill Building
- 1:45-2:45 Spiritual Formation
- 3:00-4:00 Personal Formation
- 4:00-4:30 Wrap Up
Who is in charge of the program?
The program is staffed by a director and administrative assistant. All instructors are guest instructors except that they also grade the work that is done for the units they teach. Mark Wenger became director on July 1, 2005. The director of STEP reports to the dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary.
