Transition into Ministry:
The Pastoral Residency Program at BMPC

Consider the last time you crossed an important threshold. Perhaps you began a new career, entered or ended a significant relationship, moved to a new city or school. I hope you had someone trustworthy to help you navigate the transition, that you weren’t left completely alone to “figure things out for yourself.” Times of transition can be life-shaping or life-sapping and often the difference is having a community of support willing to offer a hand and share its wisdom.

Our congregation is just such a community for Susan Sytsma Bratt, Graham Ford and Elizabeth Lovell. They each are at a crossing point in their lives as they have completed their seminary training and are taking the step into congregational ministry. This is the time when habits are formed, identities are shaped, and calls are challenged. By giving them the time and space to practice ministry and helping them reflect on their practice, we are walking across this threshold with them. And as they minister to us and allow us to mentor them, they help us live into our calling as a congregation that continually learns and teaches what it means to both follow and lead.

An Alban Institute Special Report on Transitioning Into Ministry, Becoming a Pastor, shows we are not alone in this work but are part of an intentional network of mentoring communities concerned with how people navigate the transition into ministry. It is worthwhile reading, both informative and inspiring. And I am grateful that we are part of the story.

David Van Houten
Program Director
Transition in Ministry at BMPC