Support Our Work - Midwest Institute of Ministry

Our History - Steps of Faith

The Midwest Institute of Ministry has grown through repeated investments and regular steps of faith over the past 16 years. What began as a staff continuing-education effort in Chicago has grown into a comprehensive leadership development program impacting churches around the Midwest and on the mission field. Our leadership teams, including: our staff, elders, deacons, and small group leaders, need to be in a continual state of development and renewal for the church to thrive and for us to impact the world around us. Our mission at the MIM is to provide a cohesive and comprehensive approach to leadership training that is widely available to churches across our fellowship. We aim to continually train and equip the next generation of leaders and give them the tools they need to succeed. We are standing at a turning point and an opportunity to take yet another step of faith and we are looking for disciples who share that vision and want to partner with us in our work. Read on to get a sense of our history, our success, and our ambitious goals for the future.

Consider the Following Needs in Our Fellowship

We need a cohesive, comprehensive, and deliberate approach to leadership training

Our leaders face many challenges in their effort to lead us through the complexities of intimate fellowship and church leadership. We look for our leaders to be: faithful visionaries, effective evangelists, wise counselors, sound exegetes, inspirational speakers, capable administrators, and savvy theologians. Yet, many of the leaders in our fellowship have not had the benefit of any formal training in these areas. Leadership training in our fellowship often lacks a cohesive curriculum or a defined structure. As a result, we fail to anticipate or at times even create turmoil or disunity. The Midwest Institute of Ministry was founded to meet this need.

We need a strong teaching ministry in every corner of our fellowship

While our teaching ministry has grown globally, there is still much work to be done! There are still regions of our fellowship that lack a strong teaching ministry or ministry training academy. As a result, we see groups of disciples that are theologically impoverished, struggling to navigate scripture and to respond to the many questions and critiques our faith prompts. As our fellowship ages, and as our disciples mature, they need a robust teaching and preaching ministry that engages these challenging topics and that can teach them to engage fruitfully with scripture and deepen their faith. Our work is already beginning to meet that need. Eight of the twelve graduates in our 2017 cohort are currently furthering their studies and pursuing masters degrees. Their time with the MIM sparked their learning and equipped them for the next level of their development.

We need a steady supply of well-trained and thoroughly equipped leaders for everything we do as a church

When we are faced with ministry needs and opportunities, how often do we find ourselves tapping the same shoulders? From our staff to our elders, deacons, and small group leaders, our leadership teams must be in a continual state of development and renewal in order for the church to thrive. As church leaders retire, as house-churches grow, and as we age as a fellowship, we have been confronted with a generational gap in our past leadership development. This was part of what motivated our investments in the MIM over the past 15 years. The Midwest Institute of Ministry aims to ensure that we have a continually renewing supply of effective leaders at every level for God’s church.

We need to be ready for the many socially loaded and exegetically difficult challenges the church will face.

Impacting the Church, Furthering Our Mission

About Our Graduates

We have 25 year olds coming out of the program that know more about exegesis, hermeneutics, and the application of scripture than I did, maybe at age 40. They’re equipped in their knowledge of scripture, and in their capacity for ministry. They’re able to handle both basic discipling situations and more complicated counseling needs.
Dave Eastman
Evangelist: Rise Church Indianapolis
This training has been directly responsible for some significant character growth and development in our graduates. They are not simply better speakers. They’re better disciples and better ministers. As a whole they are a lot more capable. They’re mature and extremely thoughtful and there’s a level of confidence that I would attribute directly to the training they’ve received.
Ruben Marbury
Evangelist: Chicago Ministry Center
Our MIM grads are all top notch players and contributors in our work in Chicago. I respect every one of them. They do a great job in their ministry work, both before the congregation and in smaller settings. They have great depth, a willingness to learn, and in many cases maturity beyond their years.
Todd Fink
Elder - Chicago Church of Christ