Education for Ministry (EfM) is a unique four-year distance learning certificate program in theological education based upon small-group study and practice. EfM helps the faithful encounter the breadth and depth of the Christian tradition and bring it into conversation with their experiences of the world as they study, worship, and engage in theological reflection together. For many years Ascension has offered EfM study led by Jim Busbin and Dick Lounsbury. Each August a new cohort joins the four-year program.