To Add Specific Ministry Pastor Church Planter Designation including Applicants Under 40

WHEREAS, Congregations, circuits, and districts of the Synod are working diligently to establish new church starts that would benefit from seminary-trained church planters to provide future pastoral leadership; and

WHEREAS, The gift of church planting knows no artificial age restrictions, and knowing that our seminaries, where younger pastors are formed, are not producing an abundance of residential seminary M.Div. graduates who desire to serve in this role; and

WHEREAS, New church starts often benefit from a pastor who is willing to work bi-vocation ally, who is already established with employment, a home, and relational networks in the area; and the low-residence requirement and contextual formation features of the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program make it better-suited than the residential model of education to prepare men to be this type of church planting pastor; and

WHEREAS, The new 2025 SMP Policy Requirement 6 states: “Seminary admissions will give priority to SMPapplicantswhowill serve congregations that could otherwise not receive Word and Sacrament ministry” (Pastoral Formation Committee, Policy Requirements for the Specific Ministry Pastor Program: Admission, Administration and Supervision, Nov. 2025); and

WHEREAS, The new 2025 SMP Policy Requirement 3 states, “SMP applicants must be at least 40 years old,” with a footnote that indicates, “Exceptions to Policy Requirements 1–3 may be recommended to the admissions committees of the seminaries by the Council of Presidents after approval by a majority of the COP” (Ibid.); therefore be it

Resolved, That the specific ministry designations of the original LCMS, Nov. 2025, LCMS Policy Requirements For The Specific Ministry Pastor Program), and that all be given equal priority in the admission process to support the necessary work of church planting in the Synod; and be it finally

Resolved, That applicants under the age of 40, whose ministry context fulfills the Council of Presidents (COP) definition of a New Church Start, be recognized by the COP as a standing exception to Requirement 3 in the SMP policy document and be permitted to enroll in the SMP program with a Church Planter designation.