At Eden, we believe that the best way to prepare you to lead tomorrow is by leading today. Expect your study, in the MDiv and MCL programs especially, to be centered around hands-in-the-soil work, with and for community. Through our contextual education model, students at Eden start leading on day one. We strive to make Contextual Education the integrative through-line for your Eden educational experience.
Participate in meaningful congregational leadership or leadership in a faith-based organization for credit. Immersive learning is important as you develop skills in mapping your ministry site’s place in the community. Better understanding the history of your ministry site, racism, creation injustice, and interfaith relations are also things we focus on as part of your immersive experience in transformational ministry.
Pictured: Eden Alum Sylvie Bowen-Bailey, serving as a student pastor at her contextual education site, Samuel Church.
In Eden’s Contextual Education program, you can expect to have a mentor at your ministry site to help you further discern your calling in ministry, further develop ministry skills you already possess, and make sense of it all through biblical, theological, and prayerful reflection each week. Our Progressive Christian Leadership ministry seminars provide an opportunity for group mentoring, too, as students gather with Eden core faculty members to reflect on their experiences and learn from one another.
Pictured: Students on a contextual education site visit to Trinity Episcopal West End of STL.
Here’s where Eden students puzzle the pieces of their Eden education together. Eden MDiv students are engaged in ministry sites for two years and two summers. They begin this work early in their time at Eden. As a result, you can see how classroom content takes shape in new ways in practical ministry contexts as you grow in your learning from the diverse courses you complete.
Pictured: Lavenus Lige leads worship at her contextual education site, Third Presbyterian Church.
At Eden, we strive to make Contextual Education both the starting place and through-line for the Eden educational experience. It has been a priority for us from our beginning over 175 years ago. It continues to be a critical part of our story today. We invite you to make it part of yours as well!
“Contextual Education needs to be central in theological education not just because it has proven to be effective in teaching transformational ministry to seminary students, but because it most closely resembles the way Jesus taught. Theological educators too often forget this.”
– Benjamin Hartley, Professor of Contextual Education, Mission, and United Methodist Studies
- A nonprofit broad-based community organizing initiative in St. Louis with 30 years of collaborative accomplishments in advocating for poor and minoritized communities.
- A United Church of Christ congregation in central Missouri that is a hub for a host of other community groups working together to help their neighborhood flourish
- United Methodist congregation in Seattle that was a church plant a decade ago and remains committed to being a new place for new people growing in their relationship with Jesus and witnessing for justice.
- A large county jail in Missouri where the student leads Sunday morning worship with small groups and meets individually with others to provide comfort and encouragement to people created in God’s image.
- A nonprofit organization in Chicago with national reach seeking to make policy changes at the city, state, and federal levels for the sake of justice.
- A rural congregation in Illinois that is seeking to re-imagine itself to reach out to recent immigrants in the county.
- A food pantry ministry in downtown St. Louis that is also involved in an ecumenical ministry with unhoused people that provides shelter on cold evenings.
Many students come to Eden who are already working at a ministry site or are already pastors and want to grow in their knowledge of the Bible, pastoral care, or theology. Such students often want to utilize their current site as their Contextual Education internship. That is also welcomed so long as we can ensure that excellent supervision will take place with an experienced minister.
Pictured: Students on a contextual education site visit to Centennial Church (Disciples of Christ), which suffered tornado damage in May 2025.
To become a chaplain in a hospital, a correctional facility, the military, or elsewhere, students usually need to complete Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) units. These are offered by many different (usually rather large) hospitals. When exploring possibilities for Clinical Pastoral Education, it is important to make sure their educational programs are accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education or another accrediting body. Eden Seminary’s Contextual Education program has connections with several CPE programs in the St. Louis region. Units earned through a CPE program in St. Louis or elsewhere can become transfer credits at Eden Seminary for those students who are interested in applying their CPE work to their Eden Seminary academic program.
If you are a ministry leader who would love to serve as a mentor to one of our students, we invite you to reach out to us! To serve as an Eden Seminary ministry site supervisor, we require that supervisors have a master’s degree and agree to participate in an online supervisors’ orientation.
We cannot promise that a student will be placed with your congregation or organization, but we would love to add your site to our list of possibilities for students to consider! After you send us an email, we will respond by sending you an online form where we ask a few questions to help us learn more about your ministry.
Pictured: Adam Turner at his contextual education site, Trinity Episcopal Church West End of STL.
Ms. Lindsey Brown
Executive Administrator to the Dean of the Seminary and Programs Team
[email protected]
