Wilshire will not add pastoral residents in 2022
In light of Wilshire’s senior pastor transition, the church will not call a new class of pastoral residents this year. This decision, made by staff in consultation with the Pathways to Ministry Committee, means that Brianna Childs and John Kelly will be Wilshire’s only residents after Jenna Sullivan and Ashley Robinson complete their two-year terms this summer. Two new residents will be brought on in August 2023, and two more in August 2024, bringing the number of residents back to four.
Senior Pastor George Mason says, “We will take the time after 20 years of residency work to consider how we might grow the program, which is now nearing full endowment funding. The Pathways program has fulfilled our ambition to host a premier congregation-based clergy apprenticeship program. Nearly 40 residents have come through this program, and many are serving churches faithfully around the country and even overseas.”
George, who will remain director of Pathways after leaving the senior pastor role, notes that the new Baptist House of Studies at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology “has opened new avenues of partnership” in the work of training young clergy. George is teaching a class at Perkins this semester, and two Perkins students, Leah Lucas and Lindsay Bruehl, are serving internships at Wilshire.