C2FM Offers Scholarships for the 2025 Cohort
Since 2021, Missouri pastors have enjoyed full-tuition scholarships to participate in the Dakota Wesleyan University Practical Church Leadership Certificate Program (DWU-PCL). Pastors and congregations have sung the praises of the program ever since.
According to a recently published DWU Program Impact Study, nearly 200 pastors and ministry leaders have graduated from the program from ten states, and 80% of the participants serve congregations with less than 350 in average weekly worship attendance.
Findings from the Program Impact Study include:
- Participation in PCL led to significant gains in administrative skills for scholars as well as benefits for their churches.
- The design of the program was a key contributor to significant engagement and overall student benefit; and
- Scholarships for participation in continuing education are important. (Check out the full PCL Program Impact Study on the Missouri UM Foundation website.)
PCL is a one-year, 21-graduate-credit hour certificate program for working ministry leaders. Each semester, there is an applied project that allows the student-pastor to combine classroom learning with the real needs within his/her congregation. Each student works on the project with the aid of a coach. “It is impressive to see how pastors have grown in confidence because of this program,” states Chris Bouchard, coach and adjunct faculty for the PCL program, “I have seen pastors who have felt intimidated in meetings become leaders who know what questions to ask to keep the church, and its people, moving in a healthy direction.”
“We were unsure how successful we would be, given the trends of the church had been declining for a couple of years. We have been overjoyed with the results thus far, as we have seen an increase in giving in the church between 32% and 59% each quarter. We’ve also established a cash reserve policy and now have cash on hand.” – Pastor Ben Bainbridge, 2023-2024 Cohort
Mark Struckhoff, Director of the Clergy & Church Financial Ministry (C2FM) at the Missouri UM Foundation, sees a broader impact, “More than 30 Missouri pastors are PCL Graduates thanks to C2FM scholarships, and their voices now make up a unique leadership “choir” of pastoral leaders who understand how to harmonize financial and spiritual leadership.”
C2FM is now accepting scholarship applications from active Missouri pastors for the DWU-PCL Certificate Program for participation in the 2025-2026 Cohort. Only four scholarships are available, and this year’s application deadline is March 28, 2025. Scholarship recipients will be notified by April 25, 2025. For more information or to apply, contact Mark Struckhoff at mstruckhoff@mumf.org.