Workbook page: 76
PDF page: 111
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LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 111
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2026 Convention Workbook 76
OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
8. Ongoing supervision of SMP pastors throughout their careers of ministry will be formalized, de/f_ined, documented (i.e., on LCMS Church Worker Locator, Pastoral Information Forms) and required for continued rostered SMP status.
Commitment to long-term supervision will be explicitly acknowledged and planned by the student and by the congregation, circuit and district from the beginning of the program and shall be the responsibility of the district president and the SMP pastor to arrange and document on a continuing basis.
(*) Exceptions to Policy Requirements 1–3 may be recommended to the admissions committees of the seminaries by the Council of Presidents a/f_ter approval by a majority of the COP. STATUS AND INTENTION OF THESE POLICY REQUIREMENTS /T_hese policy requirements for the LCMS SMP program stand as:
• An official re-articulation of the nature and parameters of the SMP program to foster a shared, common understanding of the program across our Synod;
• An affirmation of the value and legitimacy of the SMP program for its de/f_ined purposes;
• A reassertion of key aspects of the original design of the SMP program;
• A re/f_lection of the church’s prioritization of full-time pastoral formation in a seminary community;
• An effort to maintain a salutary balance within our overall ministerium between residentially formed pastors and SMP pastors;
• Policy requirements for district presidents in their counsel of potential SMP applicants and approval of SMP sites; and • Policy requirements for the seminaries in the operation of the SMP program, including eligibility and prioritization considerations for admission to the program.
