# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2023_S133
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Faculty advisors assigned. There is a field work pastor
supervising assigned field work in a parish.
Continuation Path (besides normal C.Ed.): MDiv

B. Nonresidential Routes
B.1. Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) Program
Nonresidential Route
Purpose
Program Goal:: Specific ministry pastor prepared for specific
ministry contexts defined by congregations and districts
Year Program Began: Fall quarter of the 2008–2009 academic
year. Previous program was DELTO (Distance Education
Leading to Ordination). SMP was authorized by 2007 Res.
5-01B.
Special Church Needs That Prompted the Program: Provide
training in context for pastors where the fiscal situation or
ministry context prevents the calling of a general ministry
pastor. As successor to (and improvement over) DELTO,
the SMP program meets the Synod’s needs for contextual,
in-ministry pastoral formation with improved curriculum
and updated instructional technology. Program design seeks
to be faithful to AC XIV, so that men who are given the task
of preaching, teaching, and administering the Sacraments
are ordained and recognized as pastors. When compared
with the MDiv or AR programs, the SMP curriculum is
intentionally designed to require fewer courses, yet there is
intensive in-ministry formation under a mentor/supervising
pastor. Men who complete this route are therefore certified
by a seminary faculty for call and placement as pastors,
but to a distinct roster status category with accompanying
limitations for service in the pastoral ministry.
Specific Needs Not Addressed in Other Programs: The SMP
program allows a route to ordination when the typical seminary formation experience is not possible. This meets the
needs of situations where a called worker is needed but the
congregation is not able to call a general ministry pastor.
The SMP program provides contextual training for a specific ministry as identified by the congregation and allows for
the candidate to provide ordained ministry where otherwise
not provided. Although a candidate is identified locally (and
already meets many of the spiritual and personal qualifications), the ministry context prevents him from coming into
a residential program and provides advantages for ministerial formation within the context of service.
Statistics
Roster Status: Specific Ministry Pastor is always under the
supervision of a general pastor, even after completing the
program.
Total Number of Pastors Produced: CTSFW: 64 completed, 7
ordained and completing program; CSL: 217 completed, 24
ordained and completing program; 2 have died; 2 have been
ordained but did not complete the program (one resigned
from the ministerium and one is awaiting action from the
DP).
Attrition Rates: Not known
Requirements
Educational Prerequisite: Entry-level competencies; ability

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to work at master’s level. Core competencies necessary
for admission: (1) Entry-level competence in OT and NT
content and Christian doctrine will be demonstrated by
passing entry-level competence examinations administered
by the seminary. (2) Entry-level competency in worship,
preaching, spiritual life and Christian witness, and teaching
the faith will be demonstrated by portfolio submissions and
the recommendation of the district president.
Age Requirements: No age requirement listed in academic catalog. The applicant must be “mature in faith and life.”
Experiential Prerequisite: Demonstrated pastoral fit; no length
of time stated but “must be committed to the Lutheran
Confessions” and “willing to uphold the doctrinal positions
of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.” Also must
meet the “personal and spiritual qualifications as expressed
in 1 Timothy 3:1–7.” Should be involved “in an existing congregation, ministry or district-approved planned
mission start” and “be in possession of the characteristics
ordinarily and biblically expected of the pastoral office.”
Must have spent two years in an LCMS parish.
Unique Admission Requirements: (1) Presence necessary to
support ongoing ministry; (2) nomination of district president and placement as vicar
Language and Level: English
Academics
Degree or Certificate: Certificate; no degree. However, courses
can be applied to an MA or MDiv.
Biblical Languages: None, but Greek is required for the SMP
AR or GPC continuation track.
Region: Nationwide
Financial Assistance: Some SMP students may receive assistance from their LCMS district. Some receive assistance
from their congregation or ministry. Currently, they do not
receive financial assistance from the seminary.
Residential and Contextual Learning: Distance learning primarily. Several residential seminars or on-campus intensive
courses. Significant learning comes from student’s local
congregation or ministry-setting experiences.
Curriculum Length: CTSFW:16 courses, 32 semester credits,
concurrent vicarage and specific ministry seminars; CSL:
16 courses, 32 semester credits, concurrent vicarage and
specific ministry seminars.
Program Length: Four years
Vicarage: Vicarage requires two years, beginning already
during the first year of the program. The vicarage grade
appears on the transcript before ordination. No credit hours
granted.
Other: The SMP–Español/English (SMP–EsE) program at
CTSFW began in 2016 as a Spanish-language SMP-format
program to prepare men in the Spanish language for ethnic
and bilingual Hispanic/Latino ministry contexts. (A prior
program using the same curriculum—Bilingual Pastoral
Formation for Latinos [BPFL]—was subsumed into the
SMP–EsE program.) The curriculum provides the necessary entry-level Lutheran doctrine, Old Testament, and
New Testament courses to ensure that basic competencies
2023 Convention Workbook