The Princeton Partnership:

A Cohort Ministry Model Faithfully Engaging Creative Modalities of Being Church for a Time Such as This.
ABOUT

In its seventh year, the Ministry & Leadership Incubator (MLI) is an enhanced field education experience offered in partnership between the Presbytery of Philadelphia & Princeton Theological Seminary. Committed to being a teaching laboratory, participants will engage in unique and cutting-edge ministry contexts where they will explore the creative ways congregations are responding to the challenges and needs of the 21st-century church.

Representing communities of diverse locations – suburban, urban, and center city, our placements are led by pastors concretely exploring faithful and relevant ways of being church. Each of these placements will provide seminarians with opportunities to engage, learn and contribute their insights as they come alongside their particular context.

PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
  • A suburban church’s conversion of their buildings for creative ministries and housing for young adults aging out of the foster care system.
  • An ecumenical “Church without Walls” that understands the importance of flexibility and scope in supporting the unhoused population in the city.
  • A center city church located among titans of commerce, reshaping their presence through education and worship.
  • A church straddling the geographic line of the urban & suburban reality as they strive towards greater diversity.
  • A community center that is working to reshape their urban neighborhood through education & worship.
  • A small church creatively re-imagining its place in the community through music and the arts.
OUR COMMITMENT

In addition to engaging in innovative ministries, what sets MLI apart from traditional field education opportunities is that it’s built around a cohort model. In addition to participation in their field sites, students will gather each month as a small group for a time of reflection and leadership development with topics identified by the cohort. These gatherings are led by the Presbytery’s leadership who bring a breadth and depth of experience to the table.

This unique component allows for another level of conversation and connections that seminarians will be able to leverage beyond their field placement.

In an ever-changing religious backdrop where ecumenical relationships matter, the Ministry & Leadership Incubator welcomes seminarians of all denominational backgrounds who are open and committed to exploring their sense of call in a local context with creative models that faithfully reflect the hope of the gospel in real and present ways.