Ten years ago the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky launched the Church Leadership Institute (CLI) as a way to train lay leaders in our churches for more effective leadership. We also wanted to provide a way to help equip persons who felt called to bivocational ministry but lacked formal ministerial and theological training. A year prior to the launch a team of people looked at programs other denominations were using. We adapted some elements of their programs and added some we felt were important to our region. Because Franklin College is rather centrally located in our state we asked to use one of their classrooms for our classes, and they very graciously agreed. We decided that if ten students signed up for the first class we would consider that a success. Thirty-two people enrolled in that class, and CLI has never looked back.
This past Saturday a graduation service was held in the Franklin College chapel for six graduates. One of those graduates completed the two year program which earned him a Certificate in Christian Leadership. The other five completed the third year of classes for which they received a Diploma in Pastoral Studies. One of these graduates currently serves as a bivocational pastor in Michigan! He had about a four hour drive each way to attend our Saturday classes, and said during the graduation service that what he received from this program was far more than what it cost him to travel.
Since its inception 217 students have been enrolled in CLI. Fifty-four of them have taken one or more courses for their own personal enrichment in the past two years. They may or may not complete the entire program, but they saw some individual courses they believed would be a benefit to them. We currently have 35 students enrolled in either the two-year or three-year program. Fifty-two students have graduated with either the certificate or the diploma.
A number of our graduates are now serving as bivocational pastors in this region. While CLI was never designed to replace a seminary education, it does provide very practical and theological training for persons who feel called to ministry but will not be able to pursue a formal seminary education. Each of these individuals are enjoying productive ministries in their churches. However, the majority of our graduates are serving in their churches as lay leaders. Through CLI they have been equipped to provide leadership to their churches in a way that they could not before their involvement with CLI.
As exciting as our past ten years have been, we are looking ahead to the future. Last year we added an additional site to make CLI available to more individuals in our region, and this fall we are adding a third site in another part of our state. In addition, we have now opened CLI up to church leaders of all denominations. Previously, we made it available only to persons in the American Baptist churches in our region, but now we are inviting persons from all churches to enroll in CLI.
One of the challenges I continually hear from denominational leaders is how they will train the growing numbers of bivocational ministers in their denomination. Something like CLI is one possibility. Develop a quality program, staff it with excellent instructors, and make it available at a reasonable cost, and it will attract persons who want to grow in their leadership skills. Not only will it attract bivocational ministers, but it will attract lay leaders from your churches who will take back to their churches the things they have learned. This can have a great impact on your churches. One of the responsibilities of a leader is to develop other leaders. I believe we in denominational work need to identify ways to develop leaders for our churches, and CLI is a way that is working for us.
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