Great post and analogy! I grew up in Evangelicalism, spent most of my 20s and 30s in it, and even attempted to become a missionary at one point. This post tracks pretty closely to what I observed.
I’d say that as far as education goes, yes you don’t have to have a ministry degree at first, but it’s expected that you’ll seek some sort of ministry education. (Maybe after that four year mark.) This is increasingly done through online-only programs. Sometimes they’re bachelor’s degrees, frequently they’re just certificate programs. They’re always marketed as programs that “fit the busy schedules of full-time pastors.”
On support teams, while this varied a bit from pastor to pastor,... (read more)
Great post and analogy! I grew up in Evangelicalism, spent most of my 20s and 30s in it, and even attempted to become a missionary at one point. This post tracks pretty closely to what I observed.
I’d say that as far as education goes, yes you don’t have to have a ministry degree at first, but it’s expected that you’ll seek some sort of ministry education. (Maybe after that four year mark.) This is increasingly done through online-only programs. Sometimes they’re bachelor’s degrees, frequently they’re just certificate programs. They’re always marketed as programs that “fit the busy schedules of full-time pastors.”
On support teams, while this varied a bit from pastor to pastor,... (read more)