Associates in ministry are persons who are called to serve in specific programmatic ministries of leadership and support within congregations, schools, and other agencies or institutions related to the ELCA. Associates in ministry may serve in the general areas of education (including youth and family ministry), music and the arts, administration, or service and general ministries (including camping ministry, counseling, parish nursing, social work, etc.).
Hands-on Ministry Experience
Wartburg College offers several
opportunities for hands-on ministry. These include field experiences
for beginning students and internships in which students assume
greater responsibility for effective ministry. A standard full-credit
Wartburg College religion internship involves approximately 140
hours of supervised ministry. An individualized learning contract
specifies objectives and responsibilities for both the intern and
the supervisor. With the approval of their synodical candidacy committee,
students may apply Wartburg College internships toward the ELCA
requirement of 600 hours of supervised field experience. AIM candidates
who are not full-time students may also be able to work through
Wartburg College to arrange supervised field experiences appropriate
for their area of service.
Partnership
The ELCA candidacy process is a partnership between synods, candidates
for rostered ministry, colleges, and seminaries. While it is the
synodical candidacy committee that admits, endorses, and approves
candidates for certification as Associates in Ministry, colleges
and seminaries provide the necessary theological education. All
of the required courses for AIM certification are offered at Wartburg
College. Wartburg's religion faculty and campus ministry office
can offer guidance to AIM candidates in starting the candidacy process
with their home synod.
Requirements:
- Successful progress through the ELCA candidacy process and approval by the candidacy committee of the synod where your congregation is located.
- Completion of a bachelor's degree, including 20 semester hours in required theological course work plus any additional course work related to the desired area of specialization.
- Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 600 hours of supervised field experience.
- Professional certification, when appropriate (e.g., day school teachers, parish nurses, social workers, etc.).
The ELCA requires all AIM candidates to complete academic course work in several specific areas of theological study. Wartburg College offers religion courses that meet each of these ELCA requirements.
ELCA
Requirement |
Wartburg
Course |
-
Introduction to Systematic Theology |
- RE
200 |
-
Lutheran Church History |
- RE
304 |
-
Lutheran Theology and Confessions |
- RE
415 |
-
Old Testament |
- Choice
of RE 101, New Testament 301, 302, or other biblical courses |
In addition to these standard requirements, Wartburg College offers many other valuable courses for AIM candidates, including:
- RE 370, Introduction to the Parish
- RE 310, Living with Death
- MU 416, Music in Christian Worship
Wartburg courses in psychology, education, music, art, social work, sociology, and other disciplines are also useful for specific areas of service.
The ELCA also educates and calls individuals to serve in various forms of public ministry on behalf of the institutional church. Ordained ministers, deaconesses, diaconal ministers, and associates in ministry are all recognized and included as rostered ministers of the ELCA. Candidates for rostered ministry in the ELCA must be approved by an ELCA candidacy committee after completing the appropriate requirements.
