Formation for Mission: Why Theological Education Still Matters

By Faith and Field Staff • August 13, 2026

There is a quiet but important shift happening across the Church in North America. Congregations are asking new questions about leadership, calling, and formation -not because the mission of the church has changed, but because the context in which that mission unfolds certainly has. 

 

The “why” of theological education remains constant. Todd Still, dean of Baylor’s Truett Seminary, observes, “When done well, theological education can serve as a bridge from call to competence. Put differently, a call to ministry is a call to prepare for ministry.” 

 

Yet the “how” is experiencing subtle changes. In this moment of re-engagement with the gospel across the continent, theological education is rediscovering its role not as an isolated institution, but as a partner in a larger ecosystem of formation. 

 

Greg Henson, president of Kairos University, describes theological education as an ecosystem of interconnected and interdependent parts. Local churches, ministry networks, seminaries, and followers of Jesus all play essential roles in cultivating disciples who flourish in their vocations. 


“Theological education works best when local churches, networks, seminaries, and followers of Jesus work together to cultivate followers of Jesus who flourish in their vocations for the life of the world,” Henson said.  In that vision, seminaries are not the whole body, but neither are they optional. The church forms leaders best when each part contributes what it uniquely offers. 

 

Dr. Ingrid Faro, interim president of Northern Seminary, points to integration as one of theological education’s most important contributions. Northern Seminary provides space where intellectual engagement with scripture meets spiritual transformation through the work of the Holy Spirit. “Seminary has the unique responsibility to integrate intellectual knowledge of scripture with the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives to serve God’s kingdom more effectively,” Faro said.


That integration matters, because the mission field itself has changed. While earlier generations often imagined mission primarily across geographic or cultural distance, today’s ministry leaders increasingly recognize that mission begins much closer to home. “The mission field begins in our home and continues outside our door,” Faro said. “Every follower of Jesus is a minister of the gospel.” 


Theological education, then, is not preparing people for ministry somewhere else someday. It is helping them live faithfully where they already are. 


Brent Sleasman, president of Winebrenner Theological Seminary, sees seminaries adapting to meet that reality, especially as fewer students prepare for traditional full-time ministry roles and more pursue bi-vocational or locally rooted forms of leadership. 

 

“Those serving in full-time ministry roles are decreasing,” Sleasman said. “Schools need to have affordable and flexible options for students working multiple jobs with limited finances.” That shift has prompted many theological institutions to rethink how they deliver education - expanding hybrid learning, lowering financial barriers, and creating pathways that connect more directly with local church ministry. But accessibility alone is not the goal. 

 

The deeper purpose of theological education remains formation: shaping identity, character, and calling within a community of learning and discipleship. Faro sees that transformation regularly in the classroom. “Every term, every class, I see someone being set free from bondages or abuses that hobbled them from seeing their identity in Christ as beloved and valued,” she said. “They walk more freely and confidently in their calling as a disciple.” 

 

Sometimes the impact of theological education becomes visible in the simple reality of access. Sleasman recalls a student whose opportunity to study theology became a turning point in her life. “The fact that she was able to find a school that accepted her as a mother and follower of Jesus was a huge encouragement,” he said. “For her, access to theological education was an answer to prayer.” 

 

Stories like this reflect a broader shift in how seminaries and other theological education institutions understand their partnership with churches and ministry networks. “The Body of Christ is a body,” Henson said. “Theological education that doesn’t involve the local church is like the body saying it doesn’t need a foot. Theological education that doesn’t include the seminary is like the body saying it doesn’t need an ear.” 

 

This partnership language reflects a growing desire to move beyond seeing a seminary primarily as a credential-granting institution. For decades, theological education was often reduced to degree completion rather than discipleship formation. Henson names that misunderstanding directly.  “When ‘going to seminary’ became reduced to ‘getting a degree,’ we turned deeply rooted journeys of discipleship into commodities,” he said. “If we start with a degree, we may never get to formation. If we start with formation, we can always get to a degree.” 

 

That reframing invites both churches and seminaries to recover a shared understanding of formation as a communal process - one that includes study, spiritual growth, and lived ministry experience. 

 

Across seminaries, universities, and other theological training institutions which are connected to the Ascent Movement and beyond, educators are experimenting with new models of accessibility, partnership, and contextual learning. These changes are not simply institutional adjustments; they are responses to the Spirit’s ongoing work in the church. 

 

Still’s comments reflect his agreement and add an important nuance. “I never cease to be amazed at how the Lord uses theological education not simply to inform God-called men and women but also to form them into more fully devoted Christ followers, he said. He further explained, “It is sometimes suggested that seminary study is too costly in terms of time and money. While not denying that study may well be costly, I have observed over time that failing to prepare adequately for ministry is more costly still." 

 

And as Faro puts it, the calling to ministry begins with obedience. “Pray and ask God to lead you to how he wants you to serve more effectively,” she said, “not if he wants you to serve.”  Sleasman echoes that encouragement with a reminder from Jesus’ words that the harvest remains plentiful. Regardless of the path someone takes, the church continues to need leaders willing to join the work of the gospel. 


The future of theological education will likely look different than its past. Programs may be more flexible. Learning environments may be more distributed. Partnerships between seminaries and churches may grow deeper.  But the core calling remains unchanged: forming followers of Jesus who are prepared to participate in God’s mission in the world. In that sense, theological education is not standing apart from the church’s renewal. It is participating in it. 

 

And as churches, networks, and those who do the theological training walk together in that shared mission, the ecosystem of formation continues to grow and cultivate leaders whose lives bear witness to the gospel for the life of the world. 


Contributors to this conversation include Dr. Ingrid Faro, Interim President and Professor of Old Testament at Northern Seminary; Greg Henson, President of Kairos University and Professor of Organizational Formation; Dr. Brent Sleasman, President of Winebrenner Theological Seminary; and Dr. Todd Still, Charles J. and Eleanor McLerran DeLancey Dean and William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures, Baylor University, Truett Seminary. 

 

Inside the Genesis Cohort - Forming Church Planters, Not Just Church Plans

By Chris Backert • August 10, 2026
Each year, a small group of church planters, some with launch teams already numbering dozens, others still praying over an apartment lease in another town, logs onto a Zoom call together for the first time. They don't know each other yet. But over the next several months, they will come to know each other quite well. That's the Genesis Cohort , a church planting training sponsored by Ascent and its church planting partner Ecclesia . Its defining conviction is evident from the very first session: this isn’t primarily an information-transfer course. As facilitator Dr. Bob Hyatt tells every new cohort, the goal is personal and spiritual formation, helping people become the kind of leaders God can actually use, not simply handing out a planting playbook. "You're not primarily a church planter," he tells them. "You're a disciple maker. Church planting is just an outgrowth of that." The format reflects that priority. Participants work through pre-recorded teaching from a rotating slate of experienced equippers, then gather every other week for a 90-minute live discussion that’s part debrief, part group coaching, and part support group. The topical arc moves from the inside out. Early sessions focus on the character and competencies of a planter: identity, patience, contentment, and the gap between the "church of the mind" and the "church of reality.” From there, participants turn to core team building, using a green-light/yellow-light/red-light framework to discern who belongs on a launch team, and when. The cohort then moves through missional mindset and strategy, discipleship, vision, mission and values, and the work of exegeting a city’s culture, needs and “dirty little secrets.” One deceptively simple question anchors the discipleship conversation: “What do you hear God saying, and what are you going to do about it?” Later sessions explore models and approaches (traditional, missional-community, and big-launch), examined with unusual honesty about each one's tradeoffs, plus worship as formation, apprenticeship culture, children's and youth ministry, and a closing session on pastoral health. The final session addresses burnout's typical years-five-to-seven onset and the difference between being responsible to people and being responsible for them. Guest equippers bring real stories to the table. Pastors who've planted in inner-city Indianapolis, suburban Denver, and post-Christian Portland share what actually worked and what they'd do differently. The thread running through nearly every session is the same one Hyatt keeps returning to: hold your plans with an open hand, because "while we overestimate what God might do within one year, we underestimate what He can do in 5-10!” Participants come away saying as much about the community as the content. "It was an incredibly helpful and encouraging experience," one wrote. "There was a great balance between strategic discussion and tending to our hearts. The opportunity to connect with church planters from around the country was exciting and edifying." Another described coming in "a little nervous and overwhelmed" and leaving "feeling extremely equipped and a lot more knowledgeable and encouraged," adding that "Genesis has done such a great job covering a multitude of topics." A third said the cohort left them "more equipped about how our team is going to make this idea of a church plant into a reality, and more excited about this mission that God has given to us." That's really the aim in a nutshell: not a finished blueprint, but planters who are a little more formed, a little less alone, and a little more ready to build something that will outlast their own effort. This year, sessions will run from late September through mid-March, with pre-work a month before the cohort starts and one-on-one coaching debriefs after it ends. Early bird pricing runs $299 for Ascent and Ecclesia Network members and $350 for non-members, rising to $350/$400 after September 8th. Register now at Ascentmovement.org/genesis-church-planters-training .

New Congregation Profile: Taking Root in New Soil/The Spring Church

By by Faith and Field Staff • August 6, 2026
The Spring Church began with a clear sense of calling: to create a welcoming, modern worshiping community that could reach people often overlooked by traditional church models without losing sight of the generations who laid the foundation. For Israel Crawford, one of The Spring’s pastors , the heart of the church has always been about hospitality and belonging. “The Spring started from a group of people determined to offer a more modern worship experience in our small town,” he says, “something that would appeal to younger generations, yet honor our heritage and our elders.” That balance remains central to the church’s identity. From the beginning, leaders sensed a responsibility to meet a need in the community - a place where people who didn’t quite fit the traditional church mold could still encounter Jesus and feel genuinely at home. What has been most encouraging, Crawford notes, is the spirit of unity that has taken root across generations. Support from elders, both in age and spiritual maturity, has helped bridge gaps that often divide churches. “There’s no ‘us and them’ here,” he says. “We’re all trying to be the body and work together.” That shared posture has shaped a culture marked by prayer, encouragement, and mutual investment. The challenges, however, are real. The Spring regularly welcomes people with little or no church background, and Crawford describes the careful work of protecting space for grace to take hold. “It’s challenging protecting people from ‘religion’ long enough for them to experience the Lord,” he explains, emphasizing the importance of loving and ministering to people without requiring them to fit a predetermined mold. As an Ascent congregation, The Spring has found encouragement in relationships that value action over talk and vision over nostalgia. Crawford describes Ascent as a partner willing to step in, support multigenerational expressions of church, and invest in young leaders. For a congregation still taking root in new soil, that kind of partnership has proven both timely and sustaining. Learn more about Ascent’s Genesis Church Planters Cohort here .

Called to Rocky Soil

By By Faith and Field Staff • August 3, 2026
Jesus described the work of God’s kingdom as seed scattered on many kinds of ground. Some soil is rich and ready. Other ground is rocky - harder to till, slower to yield fruit, yet no less worthy of faithful care. For many pastors today, that description feels less like metaphor and more like daily reality. For Todd Willard, Senior Pastor of First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut, the concept of rocky soil hits home. A native New Englander serving a congregation nearing its 400th anniversary, Willard ministers in a region shaped by deep history, intellectual rigor, and a healthy measure of skepticism. “It takes time to build trust here,” he says. New Englanders value education, family legacy, and regional identity, and their assumptions about churches often run deep. First Church is woven into the fabric of the community. Many residents still consider it their spiritual home, even if faith no longer shapes their everyday lives. Willard notes that the idea of needing a savior can feel foreign when Christianity is understood primarily as cultural inheritance rather than lived commitment. Leading in that context requires patience, thoughtful engagement with difficult questions, and relational skills that can navigate subtle but persistent spiritual resistance. Willard’s own family roots in the congregation—stretching back to the mid-1600s—give him trust and credibility while also placing him at the center of the work of helping a historic church re-engage Jesus’ mission in fresh ways. Nearly 3,000 miles away, rocky soil takes a different form. Corey Laughary, Executive Minister of Mission Northwest, serves as a pastor to pastors across a largely unchurched and independent region. His leadership supports more than 130 churches across Washington, Idaho, Montana, and beyond. While the Northwest is known for its breathtaking beauty, that same culture of independence and busyness often leaves little space for church engagement. “The Northwest is stunning,” Laughary says. “God’s handiwork is on full display.” That beauty creates opportunities for reflection and awe, but it also shapes a context where many people are post-Christian—not wounded by faith, but unfamiliar with it. Effective evangelism, Laughary explains, often begins slowly, through healthy relationships built on trust rather than programs.  After more than 20 years pastoring a small-town church, Laughary has seen ministry change alongside broader cultural shifts like rising loneliness, anxiety, and division. His congregation responded by developing mental health and suicide-prevention ministries that serve both the church and the wider community. Though their settings differ, Willard and Laughary describe the same need: companions for ministry in difficult ground. For both these pastors, Ascent has provided relationships, perspective, and encouragement for leaders learning to plant faithfully where growth is slow. Rocky soil may demand more patience and deeper trust. But as these pastors affirm, it is often there that the roots of faithful ministry grow strongest.

Joined Horizon: Partners for a New Era in Global Mission

By Faith and Field Staff • July 30, 2026
For many churches, global mission has long followed a familiar pattern: identify an agency, send support, and trust the system to carry the work forward. John Upton, a member of the Ascent Council and Project Lead for Church Engagement, explains that today’s Church calls for something more collaborative—and more formational. Through the work of Ascent’s Global Mission Task Force, Upton and others have been asking a defining question: What unique contribution can Ascent offer churches engaging mission today? Rather than creating another sending agency, the task force envisioned a framework that connects churches to trusted partners while offering multiple, meaningful ways to participate. The result is Joined Horizon, a global mission initiative built around clearly defined pathways.  “At the heart of this,” Upton explains, “are three well-respected mission organizations who’ve come together within the Ascent network.” Each brings deep experience and a distinct approach. Restore Hope focuses on holistic restoration, TMS Global provides extensive infrastructure for missionary sending and care, and Canadian Baptist Ministries equips and empowers indigenous leaders to serve within their own cultural contexts. Pathway One is the most immersive. It invites churches into a three-year journey of formation and engagement. Participants begin with training designed to help congregations reach beyond themselves and cross-cultural boundaries in their own communities. In the second year, churches spend time in deeply secular contexts, learning firsthand what ministry looks like where Christian presence is minimal. The third year culminates in a hands-on mission experience alongside one of the partner organizations. This pathway is designed not only to send people, but to shape how a church understands mission itself. Pathway Two focuses on supporting and sending missionaries. Churches may come alongside missionaries already serving through one of the partner organizations, or support individuals raised up from within their own congregation who sense a call to cross-cultural mission. Through this pathway, churches remain relationally connected while benefiting from the training, infrastructure, and care provided by experienced mission partners. Pathway Three centers on supporting local nationals - leaders already embedded in their own cultural and linguistic contexts. Rather than sending outsiders, this pathway equips and sustains those best positioned to lead gospel work where they live, offering training, resources, and long-term partnership. For Upton, posture matters as much as structure. “Ascent is an opportunity to do ministry not from a place of certitude,” he says, “but from a place of learning.” Churches interested in Joined Horizon can learn more at the Ascent Summit directly from leaders and one or more breakout sessions, with additional information becoming available on the Ascent website soon.

Church in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

By Jim Baucom • July 27, 2026
A unique co-evolution of parallel technological developments in artificial intelligence, robotics (as embodiments of AI), and biotech has facilitated an epochal global revolution more rapid than anything heretofore known in human history. This transformation is so accelerated that humans in the developed world are unable to understand what is occurring or adapt quickly enough to changes they can only intuit. The natural social reaction to this shifting reality is collective fear and uncertainty, and its byproduct is a wicked stew of individualism, pragmatism, polarization, nationalism, authoritarianism, and the like. The typical ecclesial responses to AI and broader technological advancements seem to come in three forms: assimilation, rejection, and denial. Some churches and church leaders are rushing in with untempered enthusiasm, regarding AI as if it were like prior technologies - which it is not - and asking only how it might be used in the service of the gospel. Others regard AI as an attacking beast that must be vanquished, most of them unaware that they are already being discipled by AI through their interactions with media, social media, their phones, etc. The most common response is to pretend that any real changes are many years off and unlikely to result in major cultural upheavals. In varying degrees, each of these responses is inadequate at best, unproductive at least, and dangerous at worst. Instead, churches and church leaders should be seeking to understand the epochal shift that is well underway and adapt in Spirit-led ways that are hopeful, biblical, relevant, and healthy. As we seek to respond faithfully, there are a number of questions that can guide our inquiry, two of which have proven helpful to me, my church, and the various ecclesial and secular leaders and organizations with whom I have consulted on this matter. First and most generally: What does it mean now to be human and thus humane? This question matters both because the lines between human soul and effective intelligence are becoming fuzzy, and because the emerging cultural conversation is around “sentience” rather than being (or soulfulness). These questions naturally lead followers of Jesus to ask subsequently: Who is God, still, when technology can feel so divine? Second and more specifically: What can redeemed people be that AI can never be? Since AI will always exist within the limits of time and space and in the image of its fallen human creators, our answers to this question will carry us into the spheres of theology, revelation, and biblical truth. Taking cues from church leaders like Augustine at the time of the last epochal shift, I have begun to rephrase the question: What does it mean to be virtuous (godly) in a virtual world? I see some answers to these questions beginning to emerge, though exploring them in depth requires more space than this article provides. Suffice it to say here that the best of them lead quickly to non-anxious considerations of how the church will adapt faithfully and creatively as the world order we have known deconstructs, and the Western or Modern Epoch winds down. What I am hearing from a small-but-growing tribe of faithful church leaders inspires hope for such a time as this. Rev. Dr. Jim Baucom is a pastor and consultant who has served as pastor of Columbia Church in Falls Church, VA, for 24 years. He is one of the founding leaders of Ascent and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Ascent Council.

Inaugural Pentecost Offering Exceeds Expectations

By Chris Backert • July 23, 2026
We are excited to share that, in response to the inaugural Pentecost Offering, churches and individuals came together during the weeks between Easter and Pentecost to contribute over $40,000 to special projects advancing the growth of the gospel throughout North America. Accompanied by a weekly devotional resource from best-selling author J.R. Briggs, stories were shared of the impact Ascent-related ministries are making from Cuba to Canada and many places in between. Ashley Berryhill, Discipleship Minister at First Church Arlington, TX, expressed her congregation’s rationale for supporting the Pentecost Offering. “We give to the Pentecost Offering because we believe God’s Kingdom grows through seeds faithfully planted. Pentecost reminds us that when the Holy Spirit moves, the gospel doesn’t stay in one place - it multiplies. That’s the kind of work we want to invest in: planting churches, equipping leaders, and opening new doors for people to encounter Christ. We’ve found in Ascent partners who share this heartbeat, and we’re grateful to join in praying and giving toward a harvest that reaches across North America and, ultimately, the nations.” The primary focus of the Pentecost Offering in 2026 was related to church planting and other areas of pioneering ministry that are specifically oriented to breaking new ground for the gospel. For instance, Purpose Church, located just outside Dover, Delaware, is reaching new families and current military members through their high-impact, high-touch ministry. Further north, New micro-churches are being seeded throughout French-speaking Canada and new missional leaders are being placed to generate multiplication hubs in key cities. The 2026 Offering supports ongoing efforts to engage the Latino community in upstate New York (Rochester and Buffalo) as well as efforts to plant a new bilingual congregation called The Boulevard Church in south Charlotte, NC. Chris Backert, Senior Director of the Ascent Movement, shared “I’m grateful for the generosity of all those who contributed to our initial giving campaign and to the team of people who came together to make it happen. Such a response only a few weeks after the announcement at the Ascent Summit and before Pentecost is a clear demonstration that we are in a moment when people recognize God is doing something in North America. Like many, I will stop short of calling it a revival or awakening, but there is clearly a spiritual temperature that is rising throughout the continent.” Adam Stadtmiller, Lead Pastor of Sea Change Church in La Jolla, CA, shared, “Earlier this year, just before Pentecost, I was struck by Numbers 18: 26-28, where God instructed the Levites to give a "tithe of the tithe" back to Him. It reminded me that those who receive God's provision should also lead in generosity. As a church, we committed to giving approximately 15% of our general fund to trusted mission partners. Supporting Ascent was an easy decision because of their vision, mission, and the integrity of their leadership. I hope more churches will join us in supporting this incredible ministry.” For those who missed participating in the Pentecost Offering, Ascent is planning the launch of a similar Advent Offering this fall. The Advent Offering will focus on supporting ministry that represents the theme of God coming near through the tangible presence, proclamation, and demonstration of the gospel. It will have a special emphasis on the global witness of the broader Ascent Movement, while the Pentecost Offering is focused on North America. It will also feature a daily devotional resource from J.R. Briggs and is made possible, in part, by a gift from the EverBless Foundation. To receive the daily devotional resource, please follow the links below. Seasonal Resources for Churches Seasonal Resources for Individuals

Theological Affirmations and Awakening

By Charlie Self • July 20, 2026
We are praying and working for awakenings that will touch the whole person and the whole community. As we worship the Holy Trinity, we are also invited to join the Trinity on the divine mission of reconciliation and restoration (2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2). Ascent participants share a commitment to the Great Commission locally, regionally, and globally. We gather and work rooted in the historic, orthodox heart of the Nicene Creed of 381 and the 2010 Capetown Commitment (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). We aim for a dynamic, Jesus-centered orthodoxy that is faithful to scripture and the historical Christian faith, affirming timeless truth in a timely matter. Specifically, we counter post-modern subjective thinking with a commitment to truth that transcends our personal or cultural narratives. We respond to the gender and sexual confusion of this moment with biblical celebration of humankind created in God’s image, invited to dwell with God and do the works of God as male and female. Our commitment to our Creator and the new creation found in Christ leads us to affirm complete equality of women and men, with full access to all of God’s callings and gifts for both sexes. Put simply, we are biblically egalitarian. We believe that the global church is prophesying to the West, calling on formerly Christianized nations to repent and rediscover the gospel. What used to be the margins are now new centers of vital Christianity. We reject the syncretism of human ideologies that lead to moral and theological compromise. There is no place for any kind of classism or racism in the church. Our Theological Affirmations are biblical, pneumatic, and prayer infused. While affirming objective truth rooted in the Bible, we also confess our radical dependency on the Holy Spirit who makes Christ our contemporary, enlivens the word, and empowers our service. All of God’s callings and gifts are present for the church to grow into the fullness of Christ and carry out the mission of God (Acts 2; Romans 12:1-8; I Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:11-16). We agree with John Wesley that, “Prayer is where the action is.” God has decided that our cries and hopes, intercessions and petitions matter for the mission. This is why Ascent focuses on prayer as foundational (Ephesians 6:18-20; Philippians 1:19). We aim for the integration of orthodoxy, orthopathy, and orthopraxis. Intellectual acumen united with prayerful affections and obedient actions are all necessary for the display of God’s glory to a watching world (Ephesians 3:10). Dr. Charles “Charlie” Self is a Visiting Professor at The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (2006-present, 2009- 2016 as a full-time professor) in Springfield, MO, where he teaches courses in church history, mission history, leadership development, and discipleship.

New Congregation Profile: Reimagining Church for a New Generation – inSPIRE Church

By Faith and Field Staff • July 16, 2026
inSPIRE Church in Canmore, Alberta

Mustard Seed Faith in Rural Places

By Faith and Field Staff • July 13, 2026
Spotlight on Florence Carlton Community Church 

Webinar- Raising People Up: Leadership Development for Small and Rural Churches

By Ascent Movement • April 21, 2026
What if leadership wasn’t just about keeping things going?