Your leadership is needed as the church continues to evolve and grow. For the Baptist faith specifically, leaders are needed now more than ever to embody and exemplify the values and teachings derived from the Scriptures.
You have the valuable opportunity to become a part of the next generation of Baptist leaders who can extend the Baptist faith to individuals and communities. Read on to explore how to equip and empower yourself as a leader in the Baptist faith, and how a ministry degree can help you get there.
There’s no better time than now to prepare yourself for Baptist faith leadership.
According to Christianity Today, age is the primary factor for many leaders exiting their roles. Right now, the average age of a pastor is 52, but three decades ago, 33 percent of U.S. pastors were under 40 (and the median age was 44). Research shows us that America’s churches are struggling to find a new generation of pastors as the current generation prepares to step aside.
If you’re interested in becoming a Baptist leader, expanding your ministerial profession horizon or pursuing theological education for personal development, now is your time.
Whether your goal is to lead as a pastor, educator, chaplain, musician or in academia, or you simply want to deepen your personal faith, there are options that exist to help you answer your unique calling.
Perkins School of Theology offers respected ministry degrees that equip students with the knowledge to be people of faith in a rapidly-changing world. Here are some strategies for developing the Baptist faith leadership skills you need to answer your vocational career calling, and additional ways the Perkins community will support your growth.
To be a responsible, effective Baptist leader, your faith needs to be solid and strong, and cultivating a deep, personal connection with God is key. Your relationship with God will sustain and guide you through the challenges of preparing for a critical role in ministry.
Here are some practical strategies to strengthening your faith and engaging in spiritual development:
To be an effective leader and share the Gospel, you need to develop your servant leadership skills. Servant work means leading with compassion and understanding. Participating in service work can benefit your leadership skills because you’ll have the opportunity to:
At Perkins School of Theology, you’ll have the chance to develop your servant leadership skills by:
Whether it's gaining exposure to different ministry settings or contributing to meaningful outreach projects, ministry internships provide hands-on learning opportunities that are invaluable to future Baptist leaders.
The Perkins Intern Program is widely recognized as an exemplary program in preparing women and men for faithful leadership in Christian ministry. In the program, students integrate the knowledge and theological reflection disciplines learned in the classroom with the practical demands of providing faithful leadership within a congregation or agency.
Want to learn more? Uncover our frequently asked questions page regarding the Perkins Intern Program.
A spiritual mentor can be an invaluable resource as you move through your life, furthering your education or vocation. While you might gain additional spiritual mentors during and after your time at Perkins, you should make the effort to maintain ties with your original spiritual mentor as well.
By doing so, you can reach out to them whenever you need assistance with any of the following:
In addition to working with your spiritual mentor, it’s critical to network with other Baptist leaders who are interested in spiritual formation. Perkins School of Theology encourages you to expand your connections in the Baptist community by:
Southern Methodist University offers a variety of quality ministry degree programs that are designed to give you a leadership edge as you move into your vocational calling.
Fueled by the faith-based leadership coming out of SMU’s Perkins School of Theology, our Master of Divinity (M.Div.) allows students to concentrate in an area of theological studies, one of which is a Baptist Studies Concentration.
We are also home to a resource specifically for future Baptist leaders: the Baptist House of Studies (BHS). The Baptist House of Studies is a dedicated community of Baptist and Free Church students, staff and faculty who are committed to learning, celebrating, challenging and questioning what it means to be faithful in a modern context.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your Baptist faith leadership calling, then we encourage you to book a meeting with us to discuss your path.