Transition into Ministry Project
ELCA Studies 'First Call' Congregations with Lilly Endowment Grant
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is studying the characteristics of congregations that call new pastors into ministry following completion of their seminary education. Lilly Endowment Inc., Indianapolis, a private philanthropic foundation, has provided a $525,000 grant for the project, "The Vocation of First Call Congregations."
Helping a seminary graduate move from being in school to being a pastor can be a difficult transition, said Gretchen Wolfram, communications director, Lilly Endowment Inc. The purpose of this grant is to learn what attributes congregations have that lead to early successes for new seminary graduates, she said.
"From a congregational standpoint, (the ELCA) would know where these successes are, and help seminary graduates have a first experience that is helpful and encouraging," Wolfram said. Results of the project are normally shared with other churches by the grantee – the ELCA – or the Endowment, she added.
The four-year project which began in 2005 builds on a "Transition into Ministry" (TiM) grant Lilly Endowment made to the ELCA in 2001. Dr. Connie Leean Seraphine, TiM project director, ELCA Vocation and Education, is also the director of the new project. The TiM project focused on leaders in their first ministry calls, ELCA synods, seminaries and continuing education centers, and it was aimed at learning what it took to be well prepared and supported as a person went from the seminary into public ministry. For a summary of this five-year effort, see Sustaining First Call Handbook.
In 2005 the ELCA reached a 10-year milestone with its commitment to First Call Theological Education (FCTE), a three-year structured program of theological and practical education designed to assist newly called leaders in their transition into public ministry. Nearly all of the ELCA's 65 synods have FCTE programs. For a summary of the latest FCTE progress report from synods, see 2007-2008 FCTE Synod Report. 
In the 2004 synod progress report of FCTE, a common theme was how to work more effectively with congregations in support of their newly called pastors. This expressed need became the basis of a renewal grant to Lilly Endowment for the present project, “The Vocation of First Call Congregations.”
"We know that the congregation plays a significant role in the first call process," Seraphine said. "We haven't worked directly with congregations in how they see their roles with first call pastors and that would be helpful information to know,” Seraphine added. Nearly half of new ELCA pastors' first calls are into congregations located in small towns and rural areas or multi-point parishes in which one pastor serves several congregations in nearby but different locations.
The project team wants to know if these congregations see themselves as part of the wider church's responsibility to raise up and develop leaders, and if the congregation sees its work with new pastors as a "vocation."
The project team began by working with ELCA synods and other partners to identify and study congregations that have "an exemplary history" of helping support and form newly called pastors. Previous anecdotal reports pointed to how some ELCA congregations have consistently welcomed new pastors right after completing their seminary education.
After being trained in naturalistic case study methodology, the project team spent several months studying 14 selected congregations from diverse settings. In developing the case study stories, the team visited the congregations, studied their histories and documents, and observed the congregations, both in worship and in service to the pastor, to members and the community. Case studies resulting from site visits to these congregations have been completed. You can read these case study stories online: “The Vocation of First Call Congregations Project.”
The team has engaged synods in examining factors, values, perspectives and theology that contribute to positive experiences for the new pastor. What is learned from this case study analysis will guide the next steps and phases of the project. A summary of two synod consultations in 2007 can be read at Summary of Synod Consultations on Case Study Research.
Next steps in this project include development of resources, providing mini-grants to some synods for pilot projects, and publishing case study results for broader dissemination. Other endeavors will explore communication links between synod FCTE programs and seminary preparation for first call ministries.
"Lilly Endowment has expressed excitement about probing the concept of vocation in terms of an organizational identity," Seraphine said. "The ELCA is the only church in which the whole denomination is involved," she said.
Information about Lilly Endowment's "Transition into Ministry" programs is at http://www.lillyendowment.org/religion_tim.html.