# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2023_S136
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

136

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS

Statistics

B.5. Colloquy
Nonresidential Route

Roster Status: General
Program Completion Rates (Past Five Years): Pastoral students
ca. 80 percent; deaconess students ca. 84 percent
Attrition Rates: Not known
Program Size: ca. 40–60
Requirements
Educational Prerequisite: Ability to work at college level. Must
demonstrate basic proficiency in OT and NT content and
Christian doctrine. Must show potential for pastoral ministry to the satisfaction of his district president.
Age Requirements: Ordinarily not less than 30 years of age.
Pastoral students serving in a first-generation culturespecific or non-English-language ministry where no
seminary-prepared pastor is available, and where their
presence and ministry are expected during and after the
completion of the program. Deaconess students serving in
or about to enter into an internship, where they are under
the supervision of an ordained pastor.
Experiential Prerequisite: Language and cultural fit. Must have
been actively involved as a communicant member in an
LCMS parish for at least two years prior to enrollment.
Unique Admission Requirements: (1) Presence necessary to
support ongoing ministry; (2) more appropriate than residential program due to language or educational background
Language and Level: English as a foreign language
Academics
Degree or Certificate: Certificate
Biblical Languages: None
Region: Nationwide
Financial Assistance: A one-third tuition grant is provided
by the seminary, with the expectation that the district will
cover one-third and the local ministry will cover one-third.
Additional financial assistance from the seminary can be
applied for.
Residential and Contextual Learning: Distance education
Curriculum length: 24 courses, equivalent to 32 semester credits, with a concurrent vicarage

Purpose
Program Goal: Route to ministry in the LCMS for pastors
trained outside of the LCMS.
Special Church Needs That Prompted the Program: Historically always part of the LCMS structure and culture
Specific Needs Not Addressed in Other Programs: Provides a
means for pastors trained outside of the LCMS to be examined and certified for call and placement in the LCMS. In
some cases, the pastors are also able to bring their congregations into the Synod.
Statistics
Roster Status: General
Total Number of Pastors Produced: Average of 21.3 general
pastors per year since 2006; 131 Licensed Lay Deacons
(LLDs) certified for the SMP roster since 2016; total number since 1847 unknown; in 2021, 8 percent of all active
pastors had come through colloquy.
Program Completion Rates (Past Five Years): From January
2016 to the present, 156 have applied for general colloquy,
114 have been certified, 34 were declined, 2 have withdrawn, and 20 are still in process.
Attrition Rates: Not known
Requirements
Educational Prerequisite: Must be a graduate “of a program of
study that leads to ordination, from an accredited institution, with no fewer than 60 semester hours (90 quarter
hours) of academic credit” (Colloquy Policy Manual).
Limited exceptions can be granted by the committee.
Age Requirements: No minimum age requirement
Experiential Prerequisite: Must have served “at least three
years in a recognized ministry of [his] church body” (Colloquy Policy Manual) or have been a member of the LCMS
for at least two years immediately prior to applying.
Unique Admission Requirements: Qualifications laid out in
Scripture.
Language and Level: Mostly English, though we do provide
interpreters for those more comfortable in other languages.
Academics

Program Length: Four years

Degree or Certificate: Certificate

Vicarage: Concurrent vicarage

Region: Nationwide

Location: Distance education

Financial Assistance: None

Call
Call and Ordination: At conclusion
Ministry Context: First-generation immigrant ministry
Supervising Pastor Required? If So, How Selected? Applicants
must be paired with an ordained pastor of the LCMS who
will serve as their mentor/vicarage supervisor throughout
the course of study.
Continuation Path (Besides Normal C.Ed.): None; may pursue
MA
2023 Convention Workbook

Residential and Contextual Learning: Seminary courses (most
often online) may be required. Reading under a mentor may
be required.
Curriculum Length: Colloquy is very tailored to the applicant,
depending on his strengths and weaknesses. Coursework,
reading, and/or a vicarage are sometimes assigned and
required.
Program Length: One-half to two years, including the application process
Vicarage: A formal vicarage in an LCMS congregation is often