Why build a ministry portfolio?
Ministry Portfolio— a curation of your
prospective, retrospective, introspective
thoughts, experiences, learnings and future goals.
Why would I want to create a Ministry Portfolio?
There are various benefits in creating a Ministry Portfolio:
- Professional benefits– Pastors benefit from the Ministry Portfolio because it supports and advances their careers with searches for ministry assignments, credentialing, seeking coaching, and eventual access to an electronic portfolio platform.
- Reflective benefits– The Ministry Portfolio provides a framework within which to reflect on and learn from ministry experience. The Ministry Portfolio is a tool that calls for intentionality, focus, and support. It becomes a heartening tool and a constructive project to which congregations can offer various kinds of support.
- Relational benefits - The Ministry Portfolio can engage our “hunger for connection”. For pastors who want or need a sense of camaraderie and mutual support, the Ministry Portfolio creates a context within which pastors can engage one another in conversations pertaining to their respective ministries.
Two primary activities that are inward-focused (conducted by the individual according to their own inner process, their own spiritual formation, their own schedule):
- Collect items, and
- Reflect on items (integrating items, making connections between items, etc.).
Two secondary activities that are outward-focused:
- Curate items for: others, job applications or credentialing processes, and;
- Share items with others as part of a peer support process or for other discussion-based learning.
Since the Ministry Portfolio emphasizes self-reflection, it is private by default. It is only when the person chooses to utilize the Ministry Portfolio for job searches, credentialing, or peer support that some portions of the Ministry Portfolio become visible to others. It is to be noted that while this tool is designed for use by pastors it could be used by anyone who wishes to work in this way on their role as a member of the priesthood of all believers.
Helpful Links:
- Background information on the Ministry Portfolio
- Access the Competency Examen
At least once every year, we invite you to take time for the following exercise of what is called the Competency Examen. Don’t let the name scare you away. It is an opportunity to appreciate how God is and has worked in your life around six themes. - Access the Six Core Competencies