
Education & Clergy Development offers a variety of resources to help clergy and spouses to be healthy, fit and effective in their ministry and personal lives. Here you will find retreat locations, clergy spouse support, coaching opportunities, resources for the whole person and much more. We believe God cares more about you than what you do.

Dave Higle
Director, Clergy Development
Clergy Care Resources & Programs
Flourishing in Pastoral Ministry Conference
This purpose of this conference is to provide a platform for presenting the latest research results and best practices for clergy wellbeing. It is sponsored by a partnership of Education & Clergy Development, The Center for Vocational Ministry at Azusa Pacific University, and the Division of Graduate Counseling at Indiana Wesleyan University. This conference is targeted toward counselors, denominational leaders and others interested in providing care for clergy. Please watch for upcoming conferences.
New Pastors Orientation
Education and Clergy Development offers this annual event to help orietn newly appointed and transferring pastors to the mission, ethos and resources oft he Wesleyan Church. ECD desires New Pastors and their Spouses to feel connected, supported, and empowered as they walk into ministry with The Wesleyan Church. The New Pastor Orientation (NPO) helps to do just that by offering newly ordained or first appointment pastors, chaplains, and transfers from other denominations the opportunity to get to know the denomination better through personal connections with leaders, fellow pastors, and helpful resources. This event will help New Pastors to….
- Become better oriented to the mission and ethos of The Wesleyan Church
- Become aware of the ministries, resources and opportunities of the Church
- Gain insights into new trends in the Wesleyan Church
- Establish support systems to ensure a good start in ministry
- Develop a network with other pastors, colleagues, and general church leaders
- Share their observations & insights to help improve the ministry formation & education
Wesleyan Sermons
Preaching is incarnational: it’s one of the primary ways that Word becomes flesh again. To faithfully incarnate a sermon, the Church needs resources dedicated to empowering, encouraging, and equipping preachers for a lifelong call to healthy, fit, and effective ministry. That’s what wesleyansermons.com is all about. Since we’re part of the Wesleyan Church, our mission flows parallel to the Wesleyan vision: to transform lives, churches, and communities with the hope and holiness of Jesus Christ. But while we feature Wesleyan preachers, this resource is valuable beyond the boundaries of The Wesleyan Church. No matter what denomination you belong to, wesleyansermons.com helps drive your preaching forward. We do so through three primary ways:
- Content: We write content! On wesleyansermons.com, you’ll find tons of articles about how you can improve your preaching and your ministry. You’ll find sermon reviews featuring a diverse crowd of great Wesleyan preachers: including various ages, styles, genders, and locations.
- Collaboration: We help you network with others! This site will continue to develop into an index of sermon topics, passages, and ideas for sermons—and you get to help create this community. We’re going to keep opening up new opportunities for you to work together.
- Conferences: We help you get together! We want to connect you with others at some of the best preaching conferences in your area. This means we’ll launch some conferences of our own, and feature great preaching conferences around North America.
As God continues to use you, we hope this sermon can be a helpful amalgamation of resources, relationships, and rallies that drive your preaching forward. For the Good of the Kingdom, –
The Gathering
Pastor Spouse Connection
Welcome to the Pastor’s Spouse Connection! If you are married to a pastor, this ministry is for you! PSC began in 2014 when a small group gathered to pray and brainstorm about ways we could serve pastors’ spouses. So many of you are busy, lonely, and in need of connection with other spouses who understand the unique opportunities and challenges in ministry. Visit our website to find out ways you can connect. Pastor Spouse Connection
800-53PASTOR Clergy Care Help Line
A confidential toll-free number for Wesleyan pastors, spouses, children and missionaries to call during times of personal need.
Retreat Locations for pastors
Retreat locations for pastors and families throughout the U.S. and in several other countries.
Pastor for Life Resources
Clergy Care Partners
ECD is proud to partner with several organizations for helping to develop healthy, fit, and effective pastors. Clergy Care Partners.
Pastor Appreciation Resources
Being a pastor is widely recognized as one of the most difficult vocations in society. Every October, churches across North America pay tribute to pastors and their ministry. Online resources from Education & Clergy Development and others, available for local churches to show their love and appreciation for pastors and spouse.
Personal Wellbeing Assessment
What if you had a simple way to assess your own wellbeing on a regular basis? Would you do it? Domain Assessments can help you do your own self-check in just a few minutes of your time, at your convenience.
How are you doing … really? Discover the domain that may be posing a challenge for you and even isolate a specific subdomain that may be at the root of the challenge. So let’s get started by picking one or several of the domains such as relational, emotional, marital, physical, spiritual. You can take the assessment over time and you will be able to compare the results of today with last week, last month or even last year.
Thrive in 5
Wesleyan Clergy Wellbeing Research
Education & Clergy Development has been privileged to partner with clergy care researchers to garner relevant data on the wellbeing of Wesleyan clergy. Here you will find multiple reports from the Flourishing in Ministry project conducted by Dr. Matthew Bloom, reports on the financial compensation of Wesleyan clergy, and physical wellness of our clergy. ECD relies on this evidence-based research to provide the highest possible care and support for Wesleyan pastors and their families.
Clergy Care Blogs
How is your EQ?
You have heard of IQ. Have you also heard of EQ?
Interpersonal Repentance: When “I’m sorry” Isn’t Enough
A good confession is a great start to repair a relationship…
Five Questions to Ask for Decision-Making
Five Questions to Ask for Decision-Making We all make decisions daily and often don’t need to think too hard about the decisions we make, like what to make for dinner or what we will wear. There are times, however, when we can use some guidance for decisions of more...
More Resources
For more free downloadable resources for clergy care, visit our resource center.