The Initial Years

Creating conditions for the success of new pastors begins with understanding the significance of the initial years of ordained ministry.

The vocational formation of seminary carries over into the first two years of parish ministry. Adaptation and learning, innovation and meeting new challenges, attempting to balance personal and professional considerations all happen at an intense pace. Every ministry experience is new.

Amid the intensity associated with this time, the full identity of the pastor as scholar, teacher, shepherd, and spiritual and congregational leader takes shape. The foundations for holy habits and healthy leadership practices for an individual’s entire ministry are also put in place. Herein lies the significance of these first two years of ministry. Traditionally these first years have been viewed as a time of trial and error, a time when new pastors learn what not to do by painful mistakes, a time when recently ordained clergy have to figure out how to balance vocational, personal, and family needs. Certainly, positive vocational formation can and does take place in the context of a trial-and-error model. Sadly, more often than not, formation in this context is negative, leaves scars for future years in ministry, and can even lead new clergy to leave ministry.

Creating the conditions for success honors the first two years as unique in an individual’s ministry, as his or her identity takes shape through positive experiences and a structured learning model that embraces the pastoral life as both joy-filled and demanding, both intellectually stimulating and emotionally intense. This context for vocational formation is both active and reflective, providing an opportunity to celebrate the privilege and responsibility of walking with others in their faith journey and to embrace the challenges of daily ministry.

Creating the conditions for new clergy success recognizes that two distinct processes of vocational formation take place during these initial years: the integration of academic learning with the daily experience of ministry, and the mastery of basic skills in the practice of ministry.