Field Word Education deals with the practical education of the College of Theology students during the school year. It includes weekend, summer Gospel Team and internship. Participation in an organized program of Field Work (FW) is essential for personal spiritual growth. Involvement in local churches must be arranged through the Spiritual Formation Program Coordinator (SFPC).
Two hours class lecture, sharing, counseling must be completed per week to gain 3 units of credit for each semester of study. Attendance in the weekly FW class is required. Field Work assignments for students in local churches shall be accomplished by each student.
The students are called by churches. The calls are addressed to the SFPC Coordinator who in turn processes the calls. The church usually gives a written call to the seminary regarding a particular student or a general call to an available person. Based on church calls, SFPC assigns students to designated churches. When no specific Field Worker is mentioned in the written call, the SFPC has the difficult job of matching the right student for the church. The SFPC must discern each student’s qualities that fit the needs of the local church. While working in the field, the students must be willing to acquire varied ideas and abilities that will hone their skills to serve God more effectively.
The local church should also accept the student as a willing learner who tries one’s best to serve in the Lord’s vineyard. Thus the church and the student establish a symbiotic relationship as each learn from one another and serve God together. It is important to remember that the church has a great contribution towards the well-rounded development of the student minister.
Weekend field work starts as the training ground for a lot of student pastors. Some may have few experiences in Sunday School teaching and choir singing. However, the actual process of being sent to a particular church with a specific purpose to teach, preach or lead in worship creates a different meaning. It signifies that one has answered the call to ministry and has accepted a specific responsibility to serve God through teaching, preaching, or directing the music ministry.
Field work is a serious task that should not be taken lightly. The local church is training ground for future pastors. Maturity in any task occurs only when one puts one’s full dedication to one’s work. It is imperative to do one’s best for “no man, having put his hand on the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
The field work internship is the final phase for the student’s pastoral training. It is the last testing field where the student will gather all resources of theological learning into one year of practice in church ministry. This will test the student’s faith in God as one faces the dilemma and trials of church work. This one-year exposure will also help determine the intern’s conviction whether or not one is divinely called. The student’s conviction that God always abides in one’s life will lead the intern to affirm: “I am divinely called to serve God forever.”