Official Workbook PDF page source text

LCMS 2026 Convention Workbook: Reports and Overtures, PDF page 111

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 congrega-
tion, 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 consid-
erations for admission to the program.