I've just spent a week teaching at the Program of Alternate Studies Summer Extension School on the campus of Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee. The program is for those persons called to ministry in our denomination who are unable to pursue the traditional seminary educational process in preparation for ordination. Typically, these are second and third career individuals who have been engaged in some form of lay ministry for a long time, or who may hold ordination from another denomination. They are invariably deeply committed Christians eager to respond faithfully to the call of God on their lives.
One particular interest they almost all exhibit, too, is the desire to share their witness with those who do not, as yet, have a life-transforming relationship with Christ. Generally they are working with smaller congregations, often in rural settings, and they are attempting to assist those churches to find ways of attracting new friends. It's not easy. They know that their own personal witness as they meet people in the community is a vital part of their ministry. Some of us who have been ordained ministers for a long time, or other church leaders, could learn something from these PAS students.
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