A grant to International Theological Seminary supported by Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Pathways for Tomorrow, “The World Next Door: Increasing Capacity to Prepare Pastors for Immigrant and Ethnic Churches,” will increase capacity to prepare and support pastoral leaders for immigrant and ethnic churches across the United States by strengthening all seminary systems: leadership, finances, and educational programs. We will do this by recruiting promising immigrant and ethnic leaders into degree programs; developing certificate programs that shift the structure of theological education for the unique needs of these churches; increasing practical theology in our MDiv; launching bivocational internships; and strengthening our financial model to better prepare pastors who can lead congregations effectively in serving God and serving communities.

Gweneth Fleming, who serves as the seminary’s Executive Director of the Academic Center, is the project director of the Pathway grant and describes the project’s methodology and impact.

Briefly describe the project.

This is the International Theological Seminary’s first grant, sparking great excitement. We are committed to several components, including launching certificate and internship programs; bolstering recruitment; and strengthening our financial model. The scope is comprehensive, and we’ve been diligently processing each component.

As the director, I started with the certificate program. Leveraging my years of experience in seminary education, creating a certificate was straightforward, though attracting people to participate posed a challenge. Within the first year, we established three certificates: a Presbyterian program that offers certification to ruling elders; an auditing program for pastors and laypeople who don’t have an undergraduate degree; and a certificate program that requires completion of six classes with the option to advance toward a degree.

Subsequently, our focus shifted to refining the field education experience, which involved developing policies and procedures and making a key, dynamic hire to manage the program effectively, which took place during the second year. This year, I’ve been working on the bi-vocational part, which has proved to be a significant challenge.

What have you learned so far?

One major takeaway from this experience is the need for a robust infrastructure. Developing comprehensive policies and procedures became essential to support these programs, especially in field education. Implementing field education was necessary, but required consideration of what field education accomplishes. Convincing some stakeholders took time, and even as we built the program, there was hesitation before it became a required element.

I’ve authored up to 15 policies that apply to the new programs, which underpin the initiatives and the seminary at-large, aiming to establish a foundation for sustainability. Another lesson I learned involves the importance of getting others on board. Initially, I came in “like a storm” as an external hire tasked to manage the grant. I discovered some institutions didn’t understand the scope of what ITS had proposed, and their reluctance was understandable. And, my initial approach was too intense, so I had to adapt a less intense process to engage stakeholders more thoughtfully.

Change is inherently not easy. The seminary community was accustomed to a certain way of operating, and stepping out of that comfort zone was difficult. But, while innovating and transforming longstanding practices can be complex, it can also be necessary.

What has surprised you along the way?

Honestly, when I stopped pushing and allowed some time, support for the project naturally increased. It was surprised by how more engaged and cooperative people became. Since we began, we’ve achieved significant milestones, including developing the internship programs, the bi-vocational piece, and the policies and procedures.

Our field education coordinator has developed strong relationships with local pastors. In just 11 months, he met face-to-face with 77 pastors involving them in various initiatives. His efforts have been truly impressive.

Another aspect of this project is the financial support the grant provided for us to hire key personnel to implement specific tasks, like admissions, fundraising, and online education management. Initially, we lacked name recognition with gaps in the aforementioned areas, but with experienced personnel, we’ve made considerable progress. The grant has been instrumental in enabling us to fill these crucial roles and propel our initiatives forward.

What have been a few successes?

A standout aspect of the initiative has been the field education internships managed by the director responsible for their implementation. Most of our students are from the Majority World, and initially, they were skeptical about internships. The F1 Visa, which our students hold, has strict conditions. I had to familiarize myself with these restrictions to understand what the F1 Visa allowed for our students. Fortunately, we discovered viable solutions, and we created appropriate policies, which were a huge success. The students were eager to participate, and their response has been positive. In our first year, we’ve received an external grant for students to do clinical pastoral education, which they found beneficial.

 The field education initiative has been a huge success, exceeding my expectations.

Additionally, enhancing our seminary’s brand recognition has been another success. While we have a lot more to do, we’ve made promising inroads in broadening our visibility.

Hiring a Vice President of Advancement has been tremendously effective on our fundraising efforts. His rapid implementation and progress are facilitated by the grant, and the financial support has been instrumental in advancing our goals.

What aspects of the project are you hopeful about?

I’m optimistic that we’ve laid the groundwork and structured our programs to facilitate ongoing growth. This initiative has infused life into our small school, and it’s proving effective. My prayer is that this momentum will become self-sustaining and continue growing.

What are you learning that could help other schools?

I tend to be a self-starter and am comfortable working independently. However, I realize collaboration is important. In the initial two years, I worked solo, which wasn’t ideal. Learning to find potential partners – both within our institution and in the broader community – has been a transformative process.

Building the external collaborations is important. Our engagement with Hispanic churches has been fruitful. I’ve worked closely with the supervisor for the field education, and we have begun to involve local pastors to ask how we can serve them. They love our interns, who bring a multicultural perspective and diverse skill set into the Church. We’ve also begun to include non-profits like foodbanks and World Vision in our bi-vocational program to provide students with practical learning opportunities in administration.

Meeting others can broaden one’s perspective significantly, often in unexpected ways. Finding the right collaborators is the key to achieving success.