Ministry Studies

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Teaching Pastor's Evaluations

 

Teaching Pastor Evaluation Form (pdf)

Evaluations are Due the Tenth Week of each Academic Quarter or as Requested by the Director of Field Education

We ask that you evaluate your student's work at the end of each academic quarter. The autumn and winter evaluations should cover the work of those quarters. The final evaluation due in the spring should cover the student's entire year of work with you, using the guidelines below. Your evaluations contribute to the grade the student receives for the Field Education Practicum in the autumn and spring quarters, and are a central part of the student's quarterly conference with the Director of Field Education and Church Relations. In addition, ordination committees often ask to see the evaluations by the student's Teaching Pastor.

In the autumn and winter quarter evaluations, we are especially interested to know what strengths and weaknesses you observe in your student in the seven areas outlined in the Learning Agreement and Action Plan: preaching, worship leadership, pastoral care, church administration, religious education, denominational and ecumenical relations, and social ministry. Of course, your student will probably not participate in all these areas of church life each quarter; please address only those areas that apply. We are also interested in your reflections on your own interaction with your student and your student's interaction with the parish. Do you find your student prepared to participate fully in parish life? Does your student seem able to integrate the academic study of religion with congregational practices of faith? What questions, concerns, and issues do you believe will shape your work with your student for the rest of the year?

We are, of course, very interested in any other issues you feel are important to address in your evaluation of your student.

In the end-of-year evaluation, we are especially interested in your responses to the following questions:

• What are your student's strongest gifts for ministry?
• In what areas does your student still need to grow?
• Do you believe your student has a vocation to ministry?
• How well does your student integrate the academic study of religion with the practice of ministry?
• Has the experience of being a teaching pastor been a positive one for you?

Kevin Boyd, the Director of Field Education and Church Relations, will conduct quarterly conversations with you and your student at your church. In addition, either he or the Director of Ministry Studies will visit your church at least once during the year to hear your student preach. We are always happy to make additional visits if need be, for any reason.