Date of Award

3-13-2025

Document Type

Project Portfolio

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

Susan Rose, DMin

Second Advisor

Rebecca Park-Hearn, PhD

Third Advisor

MaryKate Morse, DMin

Abstract

NPO Statement: Considering current training for Evangelical clergy, sustained attention to spiritual formation is often missing but essential for pastoral health and healthy, sustainable ministry.

Clergy are burning out significantly, as reported by a Lifeway Research Poll that found 100% of 1,500 pastors know colleagues that left the ministry, while 91% of pastors report experiencing burnout.1 The research suggests that seminary does not prepare clergy for the demands of ministry or the practical spiritual needs of their congregations. Clergy struggle to maintain a solid vocational identity rooted in the Trinity amid pastoral duties. Many clergy are isolated from ongoing support and identify the need for sustained formational communities of belonging. They believe understanding their story is critical to healthy ministry.

I am ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). The ECC has eleven conferences across the United States and Canada, each led by conference staff. I will utilize my pastoral experience and connections with conference leaders to enlist clergy participation in the ECC and broader Evangelical context.

The MVP/Doctoral Project consists of a two-year curriculum delivered in four webinar/retreat sequences spaced six months apart. This project will incorporate “Three Strand Strong” (3S) groups, consisting of two or three participants from the larger cohort. 3S Groups will commit to staying together for at least five years.

There are pre-reading and content-rich webinars. Participants will engage in autobiographical storytelling at experientially and relationally focused retreats. This sequence allows belonging to emerge over multiple touchpoints while allowing participants time to notice how their stories impact their emotional maturity, relationships, and formation in Christ.

The Sequence timeline:

  1. Webinar
  2. 3S Groups meet once in between webinar and retreat
  3. Retreat, one month after webinar
  4. 3S Groups meet once per month until next webinar
  5. Repeat the timeline for the remainder of cohort

1 Bill Gaultiere, "Pastors Under Stress," accessed February 3, 2025, https://www.soulshepherding.org/pastors-under-stress/.

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