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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2023, Page 134

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

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134

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
are equally met by all participants. The curriculum was
developed and is maintained by a collaborative of international theologians from the LCMS and sister church bodies
throughout Latin America in conjunction with Concordia
Seminary of the Reformer in the Dominican Republic. The
typical student will be a Latino (or other fluent Spanishspeaking male) selected by the congregation and approved
by the district and seminary using the SMP application process. Upon completion of the program, graduates will serve
as SMP pastors in the districts that supported them in the
program. Courses are taught in the same manner as other
SMP courses. Just as in the regular SMP program, SMP–
EsE Program students may be ordained after successfully
completing 8 of the 16 courses and a two-year vicarage
with appropriate COP approval. They are then placed on
the roster of the Synod as SMP pastors because this is not
a separate program but a track now folded into the SMP effort at Fort Wayne. To date, there is one ordained man from
the program and two currently participating in the program
(but not yet ordained).

Location: Distance education with required residential seminars
or on-campus intensive courses
Call
Call and Ordination: Vicarage normally leads to call and
ordination in the same congregation. CSL: after 9 courses
and successful completion of the SMP vicarage, with commitment to finish; CTSFW: after 8 courses and successful
completion of SMP vicarage, with requirement to finish
Ministry Context: Open; specific contexts defined by the district
and the congregation. Synod resolution describes SMP as
providing pastoral ministry in specific and specialized situations where a traditionally prepared seminary candidate or
pastor is not available.
Supervising Pastor Required? If So, How Selected? SMP
students are assigned a pastor who mentors them while
they are completing the program. After completion of SMP
program, SMP pastor must still be supervised by a general
ministry pastor.
Continuation Path (Besides Normal C.Ed.): May take additional courses for an MA and/or general pastor certification

B.2. Cross-Cultural Ministry Center (CMC) (CSL)
Nonresidential Route
Purpose
Program Goal: New, sustainable, urban, culture-crossing mission planter, following plan and plant developed within
program
Year Program Began: 1995
Special Church Needs That Prompted the Program: The need
for a master’s-level missionary/pastoral formation program
for those embedded in their ministerial/cultural context
(who otherwise could not come to seminary) to start new
ministries in non-Anglo or multiethnic contexts
Specific Needs Not Addressed in Other Programs: CMC
provides a comprehensive theological education leading to
a general pastoral certification, with an emphasis on crosscultural mission planting and the goal of a new, sustainable,
2023 Convention Workbook

urban, cross-cultural plant and new mission start developed
within the program.
Statistics
Roster Status: General
Program Completion Rates (Past Five Years): ca. 95 percent
Attrition Rates: Not known
Program Size: 30 (for now)
Requirements
Educational Prerequisite: A bachelor’s degree with liberal arts
criteria; must simultaneously enter CUI’s MA in Theology
(theology and culture)
Age Requirements: No age requirement is listed in the academic
catalog
Experiential Prerequisite: Language and cultural fit; must be an
LCMS member for at least two years
Unique Admission Requirements: (1) Presence necessary
to support ongoing ministry; (2) more appropriate than
residential program due to language and/or (cross-)cultural
context
Language and Level: English competence to work at a master’s
theological level. All nonnative English speakers are assessed and take English prerequisite classes if needed.
Academics
Degree or Certificate: Certificate from CSL. MA in Theology
(theology and culture) from CUI
Biblical Languages: Greek
Region: Region 5 (West-Southwest)
Financial Assistance: No scholarships from CSL. CUI provides
a one-third tuition grant to all students and an additional
one-third tuition scholarship for about half of the students.
Students can apply for additional scholarships or grants
from external partners (e.g., churches, districts) to help
cover the remaining tuition.
Residential and Contextual Learning: Two courses per year
taught via three-week residential intensives (these equal
about 30 percent of the courses); the remaining courses are
taught by synchronous live-feed video conferences.
Curriculum Length: 89 semester credits, includes 26 theology
courses (77 semester credits), 6 semester credits of Greek,
and 6 semester credits of modern language; concurrent
vicarage
Program Length: Four years
Vicarage: Four years of concurrent vicarage, during which
the vicar starts a new culture-crossing ministry under the
supervision of an ordained pastor
Location: Hybrid (minimum of 8 courses face-to-face, with the
remaining as synchronous video conferences)
Call
Call and Ordination: At conclusion
Ministry Context: New ministries in non-Anglo context (bilingual as needed), usually within West-Southwest Region
Supervising Pastor Required? If So, How Selected? Supervising