The Upper Midwest School of Ministry (UMWSM) is the product of dreams from the Commission on Ministry, the Minister’s Institute, and countless clergy & lay persons of the Upper Midwest Region. Founded in 2011, the mission of the School is two-fold: First, to provide affordable, accessible educational opportunities for clergy and lay persons to grow in personal faith & professional development for ministry, and secondly, to provide a Regional Commissioned Minister Education Program (see details below).
Commissioned Minister Education Program (CMEP)
The CMEP program is a structured curriculum to help commissioned ministers to gain foundational theological training to help serve congregations where they are commissioned. The curriculum is non-accredited (seminary credits not given for work done in these courses). Highlights of the CMEP include:
- Curriculum will be offered in a 3-year sequence.
- One year will be Church History (2 courses)
- One year will be Bible (2 courses)
- One year will be Theology (2 courses)
These courses will be offered as an online 10-week course with the first and last classes of each course being “in-person” in the best central location for the participants. Courses will be “pass/fail” and not for grades. These courses are open to all clergy for continuing education credits. There will also be a Practice of Ministry course taught by intensive Friday/Saturday retreats. The retreats will primarily be for Commissioned Ministry students. Ideally a student in the CMEP will have flexible scheduling during five years to take the six courses and to attend six of the Practice of Ministry retreats. They will also have more intentional activities with their mentors during their training.