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The Experience of Ministry Orientation

I still remember attending Ministry Orientation. I was relatively fresh in my pastoral role — my first opportunity after years of university, seminary, and searching – and brand new to the Free Church family. I remember sitting down on that first morning — I knew some people and a few more faces — but I was nervous; was this family really for me? Was I going to hear something that put me on the outside?

In the near decade since I sat around that table, some of those names have become dear friends as well as others who were mere strangers that morning. At the same time, some of those names and faces have changed. Orientation itself has changed in its content and its format. But the substance remains the same.

At the heart of Ministry Orientation are three key facets:

Awareness

A big part of Ministry Orientation is simple awareness and information about who the EFCC is, how we function, and what belonging brings. In Ministry Orientation, we explore the core of what we believe through the Statement of Faith; we explore what is expected of Ministers ethically through the Covenant of Personal & Professional Ethics; we explore our history and the resources that are part of being within this family.

Equipping

Ministry Orientation equips ministers to serve within their local church, exploring leadership structures and congregationalism. Orientation equips by addressing common issues in churches before they arise within a ministry setting, and this equipping happens not just from the ‘front’ as a sort of download from the ‘expert’ but throughout the room of participants as ministers share their own experience and insight into the issues facing churches and church leaders today.

Relationships

This is the most significant of the three. There are relationships that I have today because I attended Ministry Orientation all those years ago, and those relationships have helped me be a better leader, pastor, and person. These are some of the relationships that have guided me when challenges arose. These relationships exist because orientation intentionally builds connections among ministers (pastors, leaders, ministry workers, missionaries, and others) — across districts and across ministry areas. Information and programs can be delivered virtually, but these sorts of relationships require intentional time together, something that Ministry Orientation provides.

I have now also had the opportunity to take part in Orientation as a presenter. Every time I take part in Orientation, I walk away with a very similar experience as I did the very first time: knowing more about our family, seeing new opportunities, but I think most importantly an ever deeper awareness that this is a family, a family worth belonging to. At the core is a dedication to making our Lord and saviour known across our country and across the world, because: “in all things Jesus Christ.”