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Formation for Ministry
Formation for Ministry (FFM) is the integrating principle of all seminary education at Calvin Theological Seminary. FFM at CTS includes the following emphases:
- Formation goes beyond merely dispensing information.
- Formation focuses upon the whole person: head, heart, hands, all in the context of community.
- Formation transcends the separation between academic and practical.
- Formation seeks to make every part of the seminary experience form students into increasingly faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
- Formation is more demanding than academic achievement alone in that it involves accountability for not just academic excellence, but one's total faith life, relational health, and personal commitment to ministry.
Behind this FFM vision is the truth that God forms believers in the totality of their lives - "when they sit at home and when they walk down the road, when they lie down and when they get up" (Deuteronomy 6:7).
Christ forms students in the classrooms of CTS and in the student center. The Spirit forms students in chapel and in a casual conversation with a friend. The seminary's goal is to that community in which, by the Spirit of God and through all of these activities and relationships, Christ forms students into his likeness and prepares them for ministry. Their ministry will, in turn, involve them in forming others into Christ's likeness.