Frequently Asked Questions

All members of the College are admitted as cohort groups once each year. Applications for admission are available on March 1, 2013 and must be submitted no later than May 15, 2013.

Awards will be made for not more than $10,000. A lump sum will not be disbursed; instead, cohort members will be reimbursed for funds expended. (Complete guidelines will be provided upon acceptance.) In special circumstances, funds can be released to prepay substantial expenses.

Each group consists of not fewer than four and not more than six members. One person serves as the contact person for the College. Each group can determine how needs for leadership, facilitation, reporting, logistics and other matters will be met.

Each member should be engaged in an official capacity for ministry and be of honorable character.

The cohort group structure enables ministers to address the loneliness and isolation that seems to be a part of pastoral life and to establish an ongoing community of challenge, learning, support, and accountability over time.

Cohort groups must meet together with regularity during the two year period. Each group will determine the frequency, duration and setting of their meetings. Members need not live in the same geographic area nor be members of the same denomination; neither is that prohibited.

Each member should be willing and able to commit to:

• participate fully in the group for a two-year period, including entering into covenants, agreements or other promises made by the group;
• set individual intentions for their own heart, soul, mind, and strength; and
• share those intentions with the other members of the group, as agreed

Each cohort must:

1. Send at least two members to the College Conference at Austin Seminary, October 2013 (Dates to be announced).
2. Submit financial reports to Austin Seminary as specified.
3. Submit quarterly updates during 2013, 2014 and the first two quarters of 2015.
4. Submit a final report by May 31, 2015.

There are two parts to the application: Cohort Information and Individual Information. Members of the cohort must discuss and prepare the proposal of the community and submit one Cohort Information form. Individuals must also each prepare and submit an Individual Information form. Click here to see the application.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Deadline for application: May 15, 2013

Awards announced: June 30, 2013

Start date for grants: July 1, 2013

College Conference: October 2014

End date for grants: June 30, 2015

The most compelling proposals include:

(1) a statement of hoped-for learnings or changes;

(2) a well-articulated relationship between the proposed activities and the invigorating and sustaining of ministers and ministry;

(3) a robust agenda, meaning non-trivial subject matter and actions, adequate attention to the cohort as community, an explicit but not overly constraining learning agenda, and ongoing practices to support the enterprise;

(4) a sound, thoughtful, realistic budget.

Helpful questions for your consideration include:            

• How often would you meet together?
• Where would you meet?
• Who would facilitate your meetings or who will be invited as resource persons?
• What would you read or share as common texts?
• What creative endeavors would you undertake?
• Where might you engage in service?
• What would you do with an award of as much as $10,000?

Absent exceptional circumstances, proposals will not be awarded which:

• seek to host one event as the sole cohort activity
• only fund participation by members in a group traveling as part of another institution
• aim to launch a new ministry effort
• dedicate more than 10% of the award to the purchase of equipment
• provide more than 50% of the budget to one resource person.

 The proposal should also include responses to the following questions:

• How will you know whether you have reached your hoped-for learnings or changes?
• What would have to happen or not happen for you to be deeply disappointed?
• How might you share what you learn with others in ministry?

 Applicants are welcome to consult with Melissa Wiginton, Vice President for Education Beyond the Walls, as they are preparing proposals.

Each application will be reviewed by a selection panel composed of Austin Seminary faculty, Austin Seminary administrators, and former members of the College of Pastoral Leaders.

Applications will be evaluated in keeping with the criteria set forth in “What makes a good proposal?”

Preference will be given to qualified first time applicants.

Consideration will also be given to selecting a class of cohort groups who represent diverse perspectives, races and traditions.

Up to eight awards of not more than $10,000 each will be made. Should your group develop a plan which requires a budget greater than $10,000, you may submit it so long as you indicate the sources of additional income needed. Cohort members often contribute continuing education funds from their own organizational budgets.

Applicants will be notified through the designated cohort contact person no later than June 30 on the disposition of their application.

The purposes of the conference are the following:

1.            Participants will be exposed to new ideas for theology and the practice of ministry.

2.            Participants will be refreshed and renewed, with a boost for their next months of ministry.

3.            Participants will be encouraged and supported by persons in ministry from diverse settings who are also committing to and investing in enlivening and invigorating themselves for ministry.

Attendance is required by at least two members of each cohort, and all of their expenses will be paid.

The College will also provide housing and meals for as many as six members of each cohort. travel will not be provided, however travel for additional members can be budgeted in the proposal budget.

College members will be invited to extend their stay for an additional night so that cohorts may spend unscheduled time together; during the additional stay, the College will pay for lodging and cohort members will pay for their own food and other activities.

The College will next convene for three days in Austin, Texas in October, 2014. Details to be announced.

1. Each member of the cohort must sign and return the College Acceptance Form.
2. Send at least two members to the College Conference at Austin Seminary, October 2013 (Dates to be announced).
3. Submit financial reports and requests for reimbursement to Austin Seminary as specified.
4. Submit brief quarterly updates reporting on activities set forth in the proposal or changes that have been made.
5. Submit a final report by May 31, 2015.

Click here to read brief descriptions.

Yes, although preference will be given to qualified first time applicants.