Mennonite Weekly Review

Mark Wenger has seen racially and ethnically diverse congregations growing in Philadelphia.

Khon Tran, right, an emerging leader at Vietnamese Mennonite Church in Philadelphia, and Luc Pham, pastor of the Upper Darby Mennonite Fellowship in Philadelphia, attend class at Lancaster (Pa.) Mennonite Conference Center. — Photo by Dale D. Gehman

Yet those pastors who attended Eastern Mennonite Seminary at Lancaster’s Study and Training for Effective Pastoral ministry program had to drive to Lancas­ter, Pa., every month for sessions.

So STEP is holding its first session in Philadelphia beginning in September.

“Offering STEP in Philadelphia fits with my vision for taking high-quality pastoral training as close to the local congregation as possible,” said Mark Wenger, EMS at Lancaster director.

Every year since STEP began in 2004, church leaders from Philadelphia have participated in the program.

“The sociological study by Conrad Kanagy titled Roadsigns for the Journey spoke about racial-ethnic congregations being the growing edge of the denomination,” Wenger said. “EMU is responding to dynamic church growth, community outreach and ministry in Philadelphia.”

Karen Jantzi, adjunct instructor at Temple University and member of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, served on the advisory committee for the STEP Philadelphia cohort. She will also teach in the program.

“I believe that everyone needs to have an introduction to basic theology and biblical studies,” Jantzi said. “I’m excited about this program because it indicates that the Pennsylvania conferences and the denomination understand the importance of nurturing leadership within the city.”

An advisory committee made up of pastors and leaders in Philadelphia helped shape the program for the urban context.

Wenger is expecting eight to 15 people for this year’s cohort in Philadelphia. Participants will be Anglo, African-American, Indo­nesian, Vietnamese and Latino. While most will be from urban churches, at least one pastor from a rural congregation will join them.

“Working in an urban setting will have some challenges,” Wenger said. “One is that many of these churches don’t have the resources that more rural congregations have to help educate their pastors.”

To help with affordability, Wenger is raising money to provide $1,000 scholarships for each participant.

The STEP program, a partnership between Lancaster Mennonite Conference and Eastern Mennonite University, provides training for people who are licensed for pastoral ministry or who have been encouraged to consider pastoral work but may not have had college, Bible school or seminary.