More than 30 Disciples students from 16 different seminaries converged on Indianapolis at the invitation of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries in October, 2017.

"I attended the Seminarians Conference in Indianapolis with trepidation, praying that God would show me whether the Disciples truly are ‘my people’ and whether I am called to this tradition or not. After three days spent in laughter, prayer, and blessed communion, I came away from the conference feeling deeply affirmed that these are my people, this is my church, and that I am exactly where I am supposed to be," said Margie Quinn, a student at Duke Divinity.

Staff from the general ministries of the Church shared information about what their various ministries do, but the students were also able to be resourced for their own ministry through workshops in entrepreneurial ministry, transformation, LGBTQ issues, personal money management and more. In addition, they were able to spend time with General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens and hear from Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas, among other Disciples leaders.

Michele Moreland, attending Ashland Theological, found the connection to the larger Church helpful. She said, “Thank you to all of you compassionate leaders for the insightful sermons, prayers, and informative presentations. I feel ‘trained up in the way I should go!’”

A Disciples Seminary Foundation - Claremont student, Iyana ‘Yani’ Davis, said, “The conference proved to be a dynamic experience. I feel so much closer to the heartbeat of the church and I am so excited to continue my work with Disciples of Christ (Christian Church).”

Both divinity houses, several Disciples Seminary Foundation partners, 

Disciples schools (Lexington, Christian Theological, Phillips, Brite) and other regional seminaries were represented.

Meredyth Johnson from Brite Divinity said, “This conference was very helpful for me to connect better to the larger church. I first joined a Disciples church in my senior year of high school and have spent time answering God’s call to ministry and learning more about the church that helped me to hear it.  It was wonderful to learn more about the ministers and ministries of the Church while seeing where I fit into that picture both now and in the future. There is so much happening and so much more coming!”