Supervised Ministry Placement

Today, I'm meeting with Rev. Jack Johnson about the possibility of a supervised ministry placement in Trenton, NJ. It's a two-point charge: First Church and St. Paul's. I was going to drive down there, but my car broke down, so the pastor is graciously coming up to Drew to meet with me.

This is my second meeting; the first was with Rev. Tom Korkuch of Westwood UMC. It's pretty much the opposite of what I might get in Trenton. Right now, I'm leaning there, though I'm not really sure. I'm trying to pick the placement that will afford me the right preparation for work in New England.

Seeing as there aren't a lot of urban churches, part of me thinks it would be great to get that experience. On the other hand, it might not be that practical.

Ideally, I wanted a church setting that was actively using principles of congregational development, since that's something I'm not going to get in my seminary education at Drew. At least, I want a church that is growing. From what I understand, Westwood is growing, but I'm not sure about Trenton. I know Trenton has limited resources (like so many of our churches in New England!), but they're doing a lot of outreach (something New England churches desperately need to do!).

Let's see what becomes of my conversation today...