Guder Scholars
We’re delighted to open registration for our 2025 cohort of Guder Scholars!
August 5th - 7th, 2025
St. Andrew's Hall on the campus of UBC
This year, we welcome Dr. Chris James as our guest speaker and teacher. Dr. James is an Associate Professor of Evangelism and Missional Christianity at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, an author and researcher. His broad research interests include ecclesiology, congregational studies, missional theology, evangelism, spiritual formation, discipleship, church planting/new monasticism/emerging church and more. We’re excited to have him join us this year.
Equipping Pastors
The Guder Scholar program is an annual August gathering of a select number of ministry leaders with programming provided by the Centre for Missional Leadership (CML) at St. Andrew’s Hall. The program is named in honour of CML’s Senior Fellow in Residence Rev. Dr. Darrell Guder, a pioneer of the missional church movement. The purpose of the Guder Scholars program is to equip and encourage pastors in their first fifteen years of ministry through an intensive learning environment at St. Andrew’s Hall exploring a theme of missional leadership in the church today. Program costs, meals and a travel bursary are generously provided to participants selected each year.
The Guder Scholar program runs from a Tuesday morning through a Thursday afternoon. Scholars travel to Vancouver on Monday and we begin exploring the theme with our guest speaker on Tuesday. Wednesday morning features a “field trip” to a ministry site in the Vancouver area connected to the annual theme. The field trip sparks imagination and discussion amongst the scholars and the CML team. Wednesday evening features a public lecture offered by our annual speaker, where our Guder Scholars join with others in person and online. This public lecture has been a gift to the wider church, including the congregations of the Guder Scholars who can join in the learning from home online. Thursday is focused on reflection from our time of learning and what that means for Guder Scholars in their ministry context as they anticipate a return home.
Blessing the Church
Learning & Networking
The program provides a rich and transformative learning environment that sparks the imagination of pastoral leaders and helps fuel their passion for ministry in their home context. Pastors leave encouraged and energized for the year ahead in ministry. Congregations report their pastors return with new ideas for ministry and a sense of pride in being selected as a Guder Scholar. The wider church is blessed through congregations and leaders who lean into what God is up to in their local community, helping to invite people to follow Jesus and find joy in discipleship.
