Published on July 1, 2026 by Neal Embry  
CCMP

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, Samford University is reflecting on the ideals and values that set America apart, including faith-inspired service.

At the university’s Beeson Divinity School, students learn not only in the classroom but in the field through the school’s Supervised Ministry Practicum and Cross-Cultural Ministry Practicum. Beyond preparing them for a life of ministry, it allows them to serve others while earning their degree.

Supervised Ministry Practicum

All Master of Divinity students participate in the school’s Supervised Ministry Practicum (SMP) during their third year of study. The practicum, which lasts a year, includes an internship in local church ministry where students serve a minimum of 12 hours a week and learn from a chosen mentor. Students participate in ministry reflection groups led by seasoned mentors who help students think theologically.

“While students are here, they’re going to get no shortage of theological and biblical training, but alumni consistently tell us that we need to give them as much practical training as possible,” said professor David Parks, who oversees the school’s practicums and Global Center. “You can’t provide enough practical training to cover every situation, but you can give them enough exposure through mentors and churches and internships where it is a safe place to fail.”

In addition to learning about ministry, the work allows students to serve others. “They’re going to be able to have the experience of providing pastoral counsel,” Parks said. “The service depends on the position. Some are serving in student ministry, some are in roles of assistant to a pastor and some serve at Brother Bryan,” a men’s mission in Birmingham.

Kathleen Bass, MDiv ’24, served as an intern with the special needs ministry at Shades Mountain Baptist Church.

“It opened my eyes to the need for our churches to truly embrace and include those living with disabilities and their families,” Bass said. “Many families feel isolated and not welcome because of their child or adult with a disability. Serving with an established ministry that is effectively reaching the disability community with the Gospel prepared me to go forth and do the same.”

Bass now leads the special needs ministry at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Homewood, Alabama, where she serves the disability community within the church while partnering with other Birmingham-area churches to continue reaching people living with disabilities with the Gospel. That work is the culmination of a journey that began with her SMP.

“My perspective was forever changed through my SMP, and it became clear that this was what the Lord had been preparing for me all along. My coursework at Beeson came to life through experience teaching, providing pastoral care, planning outreach events and getting to walk alongside families touched by disability,” Bass said.

Cross-Cultural Ministry Practicum

Master of Divinity students also participate in two-week (minimum) cross-cultural ministry practicums (CCMP), which send them to foreign countries and cultures to learn about ministry in foreign contexts and to serve others and share the Gospel.

“We require it because in today’s world, everyone needs to understand cross-cultural ministry, because no matter where you are in America, there are different cultures right down the street. We also want them to know what the global body of believers looks like, and to have both a heart and practical skills to reach the unreached around the world,” Parks said. “There’s no substitute for actually seeing the masses of unreached peoples of the world with all the different cultures and religions. Just reading and hearing about it in class is not a substitute for seeing and experiencing that.”

Blake and Erin Dean, MDiv ’25, traveled to Berlin for their CCMP and spent two weeks learning from Taylor and Lydia Whitley, MDiv ’14. The Whitleys pastor Community Church Berlin, an international church.

For two days during their trip, the Deans spent time “neighborhood mapping,” where they prayerfully observed, participated and learned about neighborhoods in the city, which helped them evaluate what a church plant could look like in their own city.

“I was humbled by Taylor and Lydia’s profound love for the city and people of Berlin. Their embodied theology of place challenged my assumptions and practices in my own ministry context,” Blake said. “I was challenged by their commitment to teaching the Bible with complexity. Every time Taylor would use a word like ‘salvation’ or ‘love,’ he would offer a brief but rich definition of what the Bible means when it uses these words.”

Dean said his CCMP will help in his own ministry to “speak in ways that can be understood, to pay attention to the place I am and to minister to the people who are actually in front of me, all from an abundance of God’s love.”

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.