EfM, “Education for Ministry” or “Exploring Faith Matters,” is a mentor-guided small group adult theological study program for lay people that provides tools to help explore faith and discern the call as to how to incorporate ministry into our lives, in the context of a complex world. The program was developed and is directed by the School of Theology at Sewanee, the University of the South, in Sewanee, Tenn.
EfM is a four-year program: Year 1 focuses on the Hebrew Bible, Year 2 on the New Testament, Year 3 on church history and Year 4 on theology, ethics and interfaith encounter. Members register for one year at a time. It is possible to take a year, stop for a time, then pick up the next year at a later time if desired.
Each week at EfM participants check in, sharing successes and stresses of the previous week, discuss the readings and share reactions using the process Theological Reflection to discern where and how God is at work in everyday life.
More information is available at efm.sewanee.edu.
As of the end of 2019, there were 13 EfM groups at 12 churches in the Diocese of Massachusetts.
Volunteer coordinator in the Diocese of Massachusetts is David Bresnahan. He can be contacted at EfMMass@gmail.com.