Date: August 7, 2025
The ministry of Forma is to celebrate, equip, support, and connect leaders who form followers of Jesus. We live into this ministry in a variety of ways: from online cohort gatherings of formation professionals across the church to advocacy for formation ministry at General Convention. Two of our major initiatives include the Certificate in Lifelong Christian Formation and our Annual Conference. These offerings are avenues for collaboration that equips leaders for ministry.
In 2024 Forma launched a revitalized certificate program in partnership with VTS – Certificate in Lifelong Christian Formation. Our pilot cohort finished the program in May of 2025 with 10 members receiving certificates of completion. We continue to work on program design and development as we incorporate learning from our pilot year. The second Forma facilitated cohort launched in July as well as a pilot of a regional model of the program which is being run concurrently in the Diocese of Atlanta. You can find out more about the Certificate in Lifelong Christian Formation, our learnings, and plans for future implementation by reading our Program Development and Pilot Cohort Report.
Over the past two years Forma has found great success with our radically-hybrid conference model–improving access to professional development in formation ministry through utilizing an online format which allowed for innovative use of translation services and multi-site regional gatherings. For the first time since 2023, Forma will hold a single-site conference in Denver, CO on January 26-29, 2026. Our annual conference brings together formation practitioners and experts for a generative gathering focused on learning and leadership development. Our theme for this year’s conference is Belonging & Becoming. During our plenary, workshop, and collaborative time together we will be diving deep into the questions “Who Do I Belong To?” and “Who Am I Becoming?” – especially how these inform our ministry as formation ministers. More information about the conference can be found here: https://www.forma.church/home/conference/2026-forma-conference/ Registration opens October 1, 2025.
Forma is a membership organization comprised of dynamic Christian formation ministers from across the Episcopal church and beyond. If you are engaged in formation ministry, we hope you will prayerfully consider becoming a member of Forma.
Samantha Clare
Coordinator of Forma Evangelism