Austin Seminary

LAST DAY TO APPLY FOR BRIDGE TO MINISTRY COHORTS! 🚨🗓️⏰

Hear from Rev. Dr. Sarah Allen, Associate Dean of Ministerial Formation and Advanced Studies at Austin Seminary and Bridge to Ministry Grant Director, who shares how this amazing new program is designed to help new clergy members grow into faithful pastoral leaders in cohort.

The Bridge to Ministry cohort is a three-year commitment designed to provide consistent, meaningful accompaniment through the earliest and most formative seasons of ordained ministry. Each cohort is made up of 6–8 clergy who journey together through monthly online gatherings and a three-day in-person retreat each year.

Each cohort is guided by a trained and experienced facilitator who offers structure, wisdom, and gentle leadership, while honoring the deep learning that happens when peers reflect together. Facilitators do not provide supervision or evaluation; instead, they create a hospitable and thoughtful space where new clergy can listen, share, and grow alongside one another.
Participants learn not only from the facilitator, but from the lived experience, questions, and insights of their fellow cohort members. The result is a community of practice—one that supports spiritual grounding, vocational clarity, and sustainable ministry through shared wisdom and mutual care.

Applying to Bridge to Ministry is an invitation to invest in yourself, your calling, and a community that will walk with you through the holy and hard first years of pastoral leadership.

Learn more about Bridge to Ministry and apply today at
www.bridgetoministry.org !

https://youtu.be/IKdLORMc6Q4

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Introducing Bridge to Ministry Cohorts The Bridge to Ministry cohort is a three-year commitment designed t...

One year after deadly floods devastated the Hill Country of Texas, First Presbyterian Church Kerrville gathered for worship Sunday to lament and to hope. Read more about the service here: https://hubs.ly/Q04nWVqv0

Bucket List: Learning with Hispanic Scholars Program (HSP)!

“I am deeply grateful to Austin Seminary for the opportunity to attend the Hispanic Scholars Program (HSP) Summer Session at Villanova University, an experience which was intellectually enriching, spiritually formative, and personally transformative.

The program provided a welcoming space where I built friendships with students from seminaries across the country. Although we came from different institutions and denominational backgrounds, we shared many of the same questions about ministry, vocation, identity, and justice. As a woman of color discerning a call to ministry in the PC(USA), I felt seen, valued, and at home. Our conversations reminded me that I am not alone in this journey and that the Church is strengthened when we learn from one another’s stories.

One of the greatest gifts of the program was learning creative and contextual ways of preparing liturgy and worship rituals that speak meaningfully to diverse communities. These sessions challenged me to think more deeply about how worship can embody justice, inclusion, and the lived experiences of God’s people Through our studies in Bible and ecology, I came to see that Christian ministry includes caring for the earth as an essential expression of discipleship.

I leave the HSP Summer Session with lasting friendships, meaningful academic and professional connections, renewed vocational clarity, and a profound sense of hope for the future!”

Reflection from Grace Asare, an MDiv student who recently participated in the 2026 HSP summer session/intensive held at Villanova University, with fellow students as well as the Rev. Dr. Patricia Bonilla, Assistant Professor of Christian Education.
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In 2023, Austin Seminary received a $4.3 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support HSP and its crucial work. Learn more about this partnership here: https://bit.ly/APTS-HSP

Stay tuned for more stories from Austin Seminary community members! Learn more about how you too can be a part of such formative and enriching experiences while embracing your call by visiting www.austinseminary.edu today!