Since a seminary exists to strengthen the church and its ministries through preparing people to serve God, Urbana Seminary encourages each student to have the most meaningful possible involvement with a local church. The opportunity to interact within a local church will allow a student to receive teaching and mentoring, enjoy fellowship, and provide opportunity to minister to others. This is important for the student’s own spiritual and personal growth as well as to prepare for a lifetime of service beyond school. In particular, each Master of Divinity student preparing for full-time ministry is required to be involved in the ministry of a local church (or, with approval from the Field Education director, a parachurch ministry) under the guidance of a mentor. This requirement ensures ongoing ministry in an area chosen by the student in collaboration with the mentor as well as allows exposure to a variety of areas of ministry in the local congregation. The supervised ministry experience provides for self-analysis in ministry and allows the student to integrate educational experiences with actual ministry opportunities. This analysis is accomplished through the completion of the Field Education courses (FE 101-102-103 and the FE 500-501) listed under Supervised Ministry in the course descriptions. An internship in a local church may fulfill some of these requirements. See the Field Education office for more information.