New EfM Formation Products Debut
The Rev. Kevin M. Goodman, Executive Director, EfM
Fifty years ago, Education for Ministry appeared as a way of educating the laity for ministry. Born out of the imagination of Charlie Winters, the first curriculum was compiled from the notes of the faculty of the School of Theology, the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. What was once known as Theological Education by Extension became EfM—Education for Ministry.
EfM believes that through five core practices utilized in small group seminars creates brave space for ministry for all of God’s people to occur. Many people think that one must be ordained in order to be a “minister,” but a Christian’s vows at baptism and confirmation support something different because all baptized Christians are called to be ministers. We are ordained for ministry at our baptism.God calls all of us to be active participants in the whole ministry of the Church.
The five core practices EfM utilizes for small group transformation are:
Living in Community
Prayer and Worship
Theological Reflection
Study of Christian Tradition
Vocational Discernment
How do I respond generously to such a call? The EfM program was designed to help Christian people prepare for that ministry. EfM helps participants in the program develop an understanding of their faith through the study of Scripture, church history, and theology and by bringing those influential voices into dialogue with the events of everyday life. That vision is at the heart of EfM’s mission to this day.
Kathryn Tanner’s thoughts from her book The Politics of God, about the strength of Christian relations, captures the heart of what EfM has been doing for over 50 years: empowering the people of God on the journey of faith.
As EfM celebrates 50 years of service to God and the Church, we are moving from a text-based to multi-media program. The history of revision is part of the culture of EfM keeping the curriculum engaging and up-to-date. A brief history of revision could be summarized this way:
Initial Curriculum - a compiling of notes from the faculty of the School of Theology, compiled in yellow, spiral-bound books (1970s)
1st Revision - purple spiral bound books replace the yellow originals (1980s)
2nd Revision - notes updated and compiled in white books (1980s)
3rd Revision - notes updated and compiled in a binder system designed to be updated through strategically-numbered page replacements (1990s)
4th Revision - academic text-based program with the introduction of the Reading and Reflection Guide (2000s)
5th Revision - academic text-based program that introduces a multi-media syllabus called a Path, which replaces the Reading and Reflection Guide (2025)
Beginning in the Fall of 2025, EfM constituents will journey through the program’s 5th revision, engaging scripture, tradition, culture, and personal experiences to discern their ministry. Additionally, EfM has created and will continue to develop additional formation products that empower small group transformation through study and reflection. In addition to our Classic 36-week program, we are introducing other formation products that gather between 4 - 12 weeks for spiritual-specific study.
EfM’s new formation products will be housed in Pathwright, an online content delivery program for interactive group learning. Pathwright is easily accessed through phone, tablet, and laptop, making the program accessible from any vantage point. In EfM’s Pathwright library will be all of our formation offerings and free resources to help all spiritual sojourners enhance skills needed for a lifelong journey of faith, including study, practice, and worship.
If you do not have an EfM Pathwright account, link to EfM’s Pathwright Library and create your free account. As you register for EfM formation products, the Path product will appear in your EfM Pathwright Library.
The program that has has over 120,000 shaped God-seekers for the past 50 years is coming out in its fifth revision, rebranded as EfM: Classic. EfM: Classic remains a four-year program in which participants commit to studying one year at a time.
Each yearly Path has a theme:
Path A - The Journey with God (2025-2026)
Path B - Following Jesus (2026-2027)
Path C - Listening to the Spirit (2027-2028)
Path D - Engaging the World (2028-2029)
Joining EfM: Classic, is a new one-year offering of all things EfM called EfM: WideAngle. An EfM seminar group led by an accredited mentor will now have 5 voices:
Year 1 - the Old Testament
Year 2 - the New Testament
Year 3 - Christian History
Year 4 - Christian Ethics and Spirituality
Wide Angle - an overview of the spiritual journey
EfM: Wide Angle is a one-year commitment that invites participants to experience an introduction to scripture, history, spiritual practices, ethics, and theological reflection. This new one-year curriculum is facilitated by an accredited mentor and is embedded within EfM: Classic. Participants may join EfM: Classic as a fifth voice or may find themselves in a group in which all are participating in Wide Angle.
EfM: Classic and EfM: Wide Angle are 36-week curricula, with 27 weeks dedicated to Core Studies and 7 weeks devoted to Common Lessons.
Here are the Core Texts that have been selected by the Curriculum Revision Task Force for the program’s 5th Revision:
Seven times a year EfM seminars worldwide engage the same material. The Common Lessons are comprised of 4 essays from the Path’s Spiritual Sojourners. The Spiritual Sojourners accompany the participants through a path-wide theological reflection inviting deeper engagement with the Path’s theme. The three remaining Common Lessons are Community Gatherings. Community Gatherings are special times for an EfM seminar when we invite alumni and those interested in joining EfM to gather and reflect upon a book relating to the Path’s theme and engage other multi-media content. Here are the Common Lessons for the Path: the Journey with God:
Download the Core Lessons resource:
Download the Common Lessons resource:
As with the 4th revision of the curriculum, participants will buy the books either as texts or e-books, according to their preference. Books will cost the participant between $50.00 - $100.00 per year. Tuition remains at $340.00 per year plus a $10.00 per year copyright clearance fee and a 5% credit card processing fee.
All EfM formation products are created to have a familiar flow of moving through four steps. They are:
Engage - work the participant does on their own to prepare for their weekly seminar
Respond - work the participants do together within the weekly seminar
Reflect - work the participant does together within the weekly seminar
Resources - materials available for additional study
Additional new EfM formation products will be housed in your Pathwright library. They are:
EfM: Reflections (piloting now, debuting Fall 2025)
EfM: Catechumenate (piloting Fall 2025)
EfM: Recruitment is a free resource available now in your Pathwright library. Just join the cohort to access the Path.
EfM: Week by Week is a free resource available now in your Pathwright library. Just join the cohort to access the Path
EfM: Fun are manipulatives for adults to enhance their seminar life debuting at our 50th Anniversary Celebration at Sewanee in June. All are invited.
EfM: Reflections are 4-10 week short courses inviting particpants to reflect theologically on contemporary Christian subject matter.
EfM: Reflections is in piloting right now and will debut during the Fall of 2025.
EfM: Catechumenate is a study course grounded in history, scripture, reflection, and engagement empowering participants to prepare for full membership in the Church. Being designed by The Very Rev. Jim Turrell, Dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South and The Rt. Rev Jeff D. Lee, retired bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, core practices of EfM prepare the catechumen for the spiritual discipline of the journey of faith.
EfM: Catechumenate is in development. Piloting will begin during the fall of 2025.
EfM: Recruitment is a free resource found in your Pathwright library for coordinators, mentors, participants and anyone looking to start an EfM group or to promote the program. It includes bulletin announcements, suggested workshops, curriculum development resources and downloadable media to help anyone speak about and recruit for EfM.
EfM: Week by Week has been a resource for mentors for the past 2 years. Produced by Karen Byers, mentor and trainer, and Beth Cavey, EfM’s trainer in residence for mentor empowerment, and previously only available on the mentors list-serve, these popular Zoom workshops are now available in everyone’s Pathwright library. These informal conversations encourage seminars to create brave space for participants journeying together through EfM formation products. Join participants, mentors, coordinators, trainers, School of Theology faculty, and book authors to deepen your engagement with EfM. New episodes are added each week during the academic year. Just join the cohort to access this free resource.
EfM: Fun are manipulatives available to enhance group life. Products debut at EfM’s 50th anniversary celebration at summer. A Path of downloadable “fun stuff” is in development and will be available in your EfM Pathwright library during Advent 2025.
Celebrate EfM’s 50th at Sewanee, June 5 - 8, 2025. Our celebration keynote will be delivered by The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers and the folk-rock diva of New Orleans Lilly Lewis will perform a concert for all attendees. Plenary and break-out sessions will celebrate the 50-year history of the program, grant preview access to the 5th curriculum revision, gather us to worship, culminating with a celebration of Pentecost as the gathering concludes.
Register now! and see the celebration schedule
Pre-order the 50th Anniversary Book celebrating EfM available from Church Publishing
“Life is short, and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who make the journey with us. So be swift to love, and make haste to be kind. And may the blessing of God, who made us, who loves us, and who travels with us be with us now and forever. Amen.”
