We have had active "EfM" groups at Old Donation for more than 20 years. These small group learning cells operate during the school year with new openings every August.
Education for Ministry, (EfM) is a unique four year distance learning certificate program in theological education based upon small group study and practice. Since its founding in 1975 this international program has assisted more than 80,000 participants in discovering and nurturing their call to Christian service. EfM helps the faithful encounter the breadth and depth of the Christian tradition and bring it into conversation with their experiences of the world as they study, worship, and engage in theological reflection together.
TOP TEN REASONS TO JOIN EfM
10. When it comes to your faith, do you have more questions than answers?
9. Do you enjoy spirited discussion and sharing of yourself?
8. Do the stories of war, greed, failure, redemption, and love in the Old Testament excite you?
7. Do you like to be challenged?
6. Do you enjoy breaking bread and sharing fellowship on a regular basis?
5. When it comes to theologians, do you find yourself wondering what they were thinking and what planet they were from?
4. Do you ever read a passage in the Bible, scratch your head, and say, “Huh?”
3. Do you have a hunger for more in your spiritual life?
2. Does Paul confound, amaze, and frustrate you?
1. Do you sometimes wrestle with God, but have yet to win an argument? (God will still win the arguments, but you’ll be a better wrestler!)
IF YOU ANSWERED “YES” TO ANY OF THESE, THEN EfM MAY BE FOR YOU!
In the Christian faith, all baptized people are called to be ministers to one another and to the wider world. Education for Ministry is a comprehensive program of study, prayer, and theological reflection to prepare laypersons for ministry in the world and in the church.
EfM meets weekly during the academic year (September through May) in small group seminars under the guidance of trained mentors. The four-year course of study, designed by the School of Theology at the University of the South (Sewanee) encompasses Old and New Testament, Church History, Theology and Ethics, and Liturgy.