hero default image
The demands on ministry leaders today are more complex than ever before.
Theological schools have historically provided training for ministers modeled after a professional school approach, not unlike other practice-based industries like law and medicine.
However, shifts in the cultural landscapes of faith communities and their larger contexts require new ways of approaching both the preparation and sustaining of ministers.
In response to these shifts, theological schools are rapidly growing their capacities to offer both flexible pathways to ministry as well as ongoing support through lifelong learning programs.
The response to these offerings has been robust. In between 2023 and 2024, enrollment in non-degree offerings at seminaries grew 24.2%; here at the Center for Lifelong Learning, we reflected that larger trend, receiving nearly 900 registrations to our programs in 2024-25.
Lifelong learning programs provide ongoing, accessible education that helps ministry professionals stay relevant, resilient, and effective.
The Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning for Ministry (ALLLM), the guild for lifelong learning leaders, recently completed a research project to survey the landscape of lifelong learning in theological schools. Our research into these programs focused on their leaders and revealed some fascinating insights that underscore the importance and growing edges of this work.
Here are five key findings about their leaders and their programs.
The lifelong learning leaders we surveyed and interviewed weren’t just “doing a job;” they were living out of a sense of vocation, seeing it as an expression of their ministry.
They were frequently professionals who had had both higher education and pastoral experience, and they resonated with the work of equipping and empowering others on their ministerial journeys.
All but four respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “The work that I do is aligned with my personal sense of vocation.” Similarly, all but 5 respondents agreed that “Lifelong learning is the future of theological and religious education.”
These leaders are also highly educated, with 69% of them holding either practice or research doctoral degrees.
They bring significant practical and academic wisdom to their work.
When asked where they had “learned” how to be a lifelong learning leader, one interviewee responded wryly, “My dad owned a handyman shop.”
This echoed a commonly held conviction that lifelong learning is a unique space in which participants can integrate content with lived experience to become reflective practitioners.
The median number of full-time staff for the lifelong learning programs surveyed was just 2.2, and 2/3 of the directors have additional responsibilities.
However, more than half of the programs surveyed annually served over 250 participants with an average of 81 programs a year. By contrast, the median number of degree-seeking students in accredited theological programs is 155, according to the 2024 ATS Annual Data Tables.
These students are supported by comparatively robust staff, faculty, and resources even as their numbers decline.
As one forward-looking director commented, “[Lifelong learning] is one of the futures of theological education. I do think that the future of ministry–in the biggest and broadest sense–and spiritual care will require work outside of denominational confines and the capacity for institutions to recognize the durable skills of ministry.”
This was echoed by other survey respondents; 85% agreed or strongly agreed that “Lifelong learning is the future of theological and religious education,” the same number to affirm “lifelong learning is integral to the mission of my organization.”
The survey also revealed a challenge.
Most lifelong learning leaders report that their institutions have a long way to go in providing effective support for these programs. When asked what they needed in order to thrive in their positions, the top three responses by far were additional staff, increased funding, and more time.
In fact, while 65% of the survey respondents reported that they had experienced an increase in overall programming over the past five years, 60% said that their budgets had remained flat or decreased during that same period.
These insights, coupled with the outsized productivity on very lean staffs, point to the likelihood that theological schools are not yet in a position to support the growth and increased impact of these programs. As one respondent lamented, their host institution “[sees] lifelong learning as a low priority” despite its crucial role in fulfilling educational mission.
Forming and sustaining ministers in new ways means rethinking how we “do” theological education and the work for which it prepares people. This requires uncoupling the intent (theological education and formation for ministry) from the means (degree programs, for example). Institutions that take this challenge seriously will need to realign institutional priorities and resources as well.
But I and my lifelong learning colleagues firmly believe this realignment is worth the effort. Where others might lament the perceived decline of theological education, we see growth! That growth is in lifelong learning, demonstrating that there is still a need and appetite for theological education – and in new ways of being church and configuring ministry. And all of this can be supported by a robust and well-supported lifelong learning program.
Want to learn more about this research and the state of lifelong learning? Join us for a free ALLLM webinar, Mapping the Ecotone: The Landscape of Lifelong Learning in Theological Schools. Click HERE to register!
~Helen Blier, Ph.D. serves as the director of the Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary and also as the president of the Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning for Ministry (ALLLM).
