The purpose of the combined Mentored Ministry & Career Services Departments is to help students Perceive, Prepare and Pursue their calling in Christ. Inspired by Proverbs 16:9, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.” Our call is to help you use your mind to plan your way, while continuously looking to Jesus to be your ultimate guide.
Three Mentored Ministry courses are required for M. Div. students to complete during their time at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Prior to embarking on any of these courses, students must attend our 6-hour orientation (see below).
There are two pre-requisites for beginning Mentored Ministry courses. First, students must attend the two Mentored Ministry Orientation Saturdays in the first semester in which they begin their program. Dates and times to be announced.
Second, be registered for MC501- Spiritual Formation for Ministry or SF/CH591- The Dynamics of Spiritual Life. You will need to take this course either prior to, or concurrent with, your first Mentored Ministry course (MM505). We recommend you take MC501 during your first or second semester of the M.Div. program.
Students register for Mentored Ministry courses at the same time and the same way that they register for all classes. Note: The orientation is not a course in itself but is required to be attended before beginning any MM course.
Mentored Ministry courses are 10 hours per week for 12 weeks of the chosen semester. Mentored Ministry in the Summer must also be 12 weeks long and should be registered for under the entire Summer Session.
The following are the Mentored Ministry classes for which student must consecutively register in the semesters of their choice.:
Course 1 MM505 |
Course 2
MM605 |
Course 3 MM705 |
MM Course Requirements:
All Mentored-Ministry students must complete the three courses: MM505, MM605, and MM705. Two of these coursed must be fulfilled in a church setting. The third course can be completed in a church or parachurch ministry setting.
A Learning Covenant must be submitted at the beginning of the semester for which a student has registered for Mentored Ministry at a given site. If continuing at that site for subsequent courses, a shorter Learning Covenant Update must be completed at the beginning of all following semesters.
At the end of the semester in which a student is doing one of their MM courses, the final assignment is either a Progress Report (if continuing at current ministry site), or a Final Evaluation (if completing final course at their current site). All assignment due dates can be found in Canvas once a student is registered for that given course.
All student forms and requirements can be found here.
Off-Schedule Mentored Ministry – Not infrequently, students work in ministries which either begin earlier (and thus end earlier) or later (and thus end later) than the regular semester timeline. It is important that you inform the Mentored Ministry Office about this so they can help you set personalized assignment due dates. Particularly for those doing an Off-Schedule MM that runs later than the end of a term, you will need to make sure that you arrange for an Extension with the Student Life Services Office.