The AMBS Transition to Leadership program guides and nurtures new pastors during the crucial first years of ministry. This two-year program includes monthly one-on-one mentoring sessions, biannual Learning Events with other new pastors and their mentors, and optional consultations with consultants with expertise in pastoral ministry and intercultural competence.
“The mentoring relationship was significant for me as a new pastor. We were able to talk through mundane, everyday questions about being a pastor, and I could also share freely about difficult challenges I was facing. The learning events with other pastors and resource people covered a wide variety of topics. Some of the topics stretched me, but I always came away from the weekend with renewed energy for my pastoral role.”
— Joyce Peachey Lind, a recent participant from Harrisonburg, Virginia
Apply by March 4 for the Spring 2024 Transition to Leadership cohort which begins with a learning event April 4-6, 2024 at Camp Friedenswald in Cassopolis, Michigan.
Ministry Integrity Circles are designed for experienced pastors who are encountering shifts in their ministry or pastoral identity brought on by personal, cultural or structural change. In this one-year program, participants meet four times with a cohort of four to six other pastors to reflect deeply on their current ministry. Led by consultants trained in pastoral ministry and intercultural competence, they gain skills needed for ministry discernment.
“Ministry Integrity Circles provided a safe space to process significant thoughts about my own transformation, offering clarity and discernment through respected peers and mentors. It offered an invitation and freedom to interrogate my own vocation, and to release and renew elements of it. I found myself energized and encouraged at the finish, and grateful for a helpful model for collective listening and group feedback.”
— Brian Bolton, a recent participant from Harrisonburg, Virginia
Apply by March 22 for the Spring 2024 Ministry Integrity Circles cohort which begins April 22-23, 2024 in-person at AMBS. A hybrid cohort (meeting once in person and the other times on Zoom) will begin in the fall.