Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP)

Before applying to the SMP Program:

1. There must be an identified specific ministry need identified before the application is submitted.
2. A mentor and a vicarage supervisor must be identified and agree to fill these roles for the application to be processed. The two roles are often served by the same individual but can be two separate people. The SMP mentor is required to attend the on-campus orientation with the student as he begins the program.
3. The applying congregation that intends to call the SMP applicant once he is certified should formally indicate its desire to do so. A congregation vote is recommended.
4. The district president in whose district the applicant will serve must endorse the applicant for the specific ministry where he will serve. (The LCMS district is to collect the SMP application documents and send the completed application to Concordia Seminary by the deadline. The congregation also should send the completed vicarage document to the LCMS International Center by the deadline).

Annual application deadlines:

• Fall cohort: Feb. 28
• Spring cohort: Aug. 31

Additionally, SMP students are required to take the Entry Level Competency Exams (ELCEs) for the Old Testament, New Testament and Christian Doctrine. For more information on ELCE requirements click here. The annual deadlines are:

• Fall cohort: April 30
• Spring cohort: Oct. 31

Contact the admissions team for more information.

The SMP Program is designed for mission and ministry opportunities where a pastor with a Master of Divinity degree might not be available and a pastor trained for a specific ministry and location is needed. Whether a context is suitable for a Specific Ministry Pastor is determined by the local LCMS district president.

To be eligible for the SMP Program, a man must be serving in a ministry of an LCMS congregation that has identified the need for a pastor, desires his service as a pastor and may be:

• A congregation with a pastoral vacancy that can be effectively served by an SMP pastor;
• A congregation that requires an additional staff pastor;
• A church plant
• A specialized ministry position, such as an institutional chaplaincy, campus pastor or a specific cultural and/or linguistic setting.

*Resolution 5-01b of the 63rd Regular Convention of the LCMS

An applicant must be under the supervision of an ordained pastor of the LCMS who will serve as his pastor-mentor throughout the course of study.

Following completion of the program, supervision of the SMP pastor will continue through a pastoral supervisor appointed by the appropriate LCMS district president.

Concordia Seminary’s SMP program’s 16 courses are taught sequentially, one per academic term. Each course is counted as two-semester credit-hour courses and are billed as such. During the first two years of the program, the student also serves as a vicar in the congregation that has asked him to prepare for the pastoral ministry. The standard vicarage administrative fee is a one-time charge for the entire vicarage, but it is billed over two years.

SMP Cohorts

Online classes are held:

Mondays 6-8 p.m. (CDT) for cohorts beginning in the fall term.

• Upon admission to the SMP Program the student is assigned as a vicar in his location of service.
• Certification, call and ordination follow completion of SMP Courses 1-9.
• Students must also participate in two external workshops or conferences during the course of the SMP curriculum.

The SMP Program curriculum builds on basic competencies in biblical and doctrinal knowledge, demonstrated skills in leading worship, preaching prepared sermons under supervision, and witnessing and teaching the faith, leading to fundamental competency for pastoral ministry under ongoing supervision.

The SMP curriculum follows a narrative structure that begins and ends with a focus on pastoral ministry. In between, the courses are organized in two cycles that follow an intentional progression, with certification, call and ordination after successful completion of the first cycle.

SMP courses are taught online and as on-campus intensives:

• Online courses prescribe weekly reading, reflection, discussion with one’s mentor, and the submission of a journal for critical review in advance of a weekly live online classroom for two hours with the course instructor.) Each online course is structured as an 11-week class.
• Intensive courses utilize a hybrid of pre- and post-residency assignments along with a required week-long residential instruction on campus. All Winterim (January) courses and some summer term courses are offered in this format.

The curriculum also includes a requirement that students participate in two field seminars or conferences during the course of the program. Students are responsible for selecting and participating in these workshops or conferences with the approval of the program director. The topics should enhance the student’s ministry. These are in addition to attendance at district and circuit conferences which are expected of pastors and vicars.

All courses are designated as two semester credits, but note that no academic degree is granted at the conclusion of the program. Students who wish to earn a master’s degree after graduation from the SMP Program should contact Ministerial Recruitment and Admissions for information on the procedures and expectations for continuing their education.

The SMP vicarage is conducted concurrently while taking courses and preparing for ministry in a supervised ministry setting. A concurrent SMP vicarage is usually 24 months.

Congregations with an SMP student applying for a concurrent vicarage will complete two vicarage agreement forms. The congregation will submit the completed vicarage application and agreement forms to its LCMS district office.

Please contact your LCMS district office for the SMP Vicarage Application form.

After successfully completing the SMP vicarage, nine courses and being certified, students become eligible for ordination in the specific ministry where they are serving. They are then required to complete the balance of the 16 courses of the SMP Program in order to maintain LCMS roster status as a Specific Ministry Pastor.

New students and mentors are required to attend a week-long, on-campus orientation; fall cohorts in late August and spring cohorts, early February.

All students are required to attend a one week on-campus course each year in early January. There also is a summer on-campus course taught for one week at the end of June that students may attend in lieu of a summer term online course.

The SMP Program is designed for mission and ministry opportunities where a pastor with a Master of Divinity degree might not be available and a pastor trained for a specific ministry and location is needed. Whether a context is suitable for a Specific Ministry Pastor is determined by the local LCMS district president.

To be eligible for the SMP Program, a man must be serving in a ministry of an LCMS congregation that has identified the need for a pastor, desires his service as a pastor and may be:

• A congregation with a pastoral vacancy that can be effectively served by an SMP pastor;
• A congregation that requires an additional staff pastor;
• A church plant; or
• A specialized ministry position, such as an institutional chaplaincy, campus pastor or a specific cultural and/or linguistic setting.

*Resolution 5-01b of the 63rd Regular Convention of the LCMS

The applicant’s congregation plays a significant role through the SMP admissions process. The following application requirements are the responsibility of the applicant’s congregation to complete as part of the SMP application:

• Letter of recommendation from the president or other elected representative of the congregation or ministry that will be served by the applicant.
• Signing of the SMP Partnership Covenant, which pledges support for the applicant throughout the program.
• Completion of the Vicarage Application and Agreement, which is to be submitted to the district office for processing and assignment of vicarage through Concordia Seminary, the Board of Pastoral Education (BPE) and the LCMS Council of Presidents.

The SMP vicarage is conducted concurrently while taking courses and preparing for ministry in a supervised ministry setting. A concurrent SMP vicarage is usually 24 months.

Congregations with an SMP student applying for a concurrent vicarage will complete two vicarage agreement forms. The congregation will submit the completed vicarage application and agreement forms to its LCMS district office.

Please contact your LCMS district office for the SMP Vicarage Application form.

After successfully completing the SMP vicarage, nine courses and being certified, students become eligible for ordination in the specific ministry where they are serving. They are then required to complete the balance of the 16 courses of the SMP Program in order to maintain LCMS roster status as a Specific Ministry Pastor.