ForMission Program

What Makes ForMission Different:

• Formation of formators 

• Holistic formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, pastoral

• Cyclical themes revisited and deepened over time

• Residential formation plus year-round accompaniment

• One-on-one mentoring and supervision groups

The goal of the program is:

• ForMission is designed for those who form others and recognizes that sustainable formation begins with the formators' own ongoing formation.
• Personal and communal transformation for the sake of communal life and mission in the context of religious life, the church, and the world in the 21st century.

The two-year program is designed to:

• assist participants to strive toward personal and communal transformation;
• assist women and men responsible for any stage of initial or ongoing formation to be agents of personal and communal transformation;
• assist participants to develop and articulate the vision, aptitudes and skills necessary for the formation of persons for a prophetic way of religious life in the 21st century;
• assist participants to transfer learnings, skills and processes to the lived reality of their respective congregation/province and local communities

How the Program Works:

• Participants are admitted to the program annually during the May-June residential session. Over the course of the two (2) years, participants attend four (4), week-long, residential sessions – two (2) in January and two (2) in May-June. Generally, the venue for the sessions rotates between the Chicago area and the Texas region (unless scheduling requires an alternative site). Credentialed program presenters are drawn from theological schools, religious congregations and organizations that offer the expertise needed in the education and formation of formators, are first rate in their respective disciplines, and lecture nationally and internationally.
• Between residential sessions, participants engage in various program requirements at home. Some responsibilities call for personal reflection, prayer, reading and writing of reflection papers and assessments/progress reports.  Other activities engage participants in study with members of their own communities or with religious from other congregations, and participation in a peer supervision group. A final project connected to one’s ministry and of relevance to one’s religious community is submitted at the conclusion of the program. Upon successful fulfillment of all ForMission requirements, a certificate of completion is issued.

The residential intensives focus on the themes of:

• Mission and Religious Life in the 21st Century
• Communion and Community
• Spirituality for Apostolic Religious Life
• Formation for Religious Life

Residential sessions utilize processes reflective of an adult learning model, integrating both theory and skills practice/development. Daily Eucharist, prayer, community, networking, and peer support provide a framework for a rich learning environment. Each participant is assigned a Contact Person with whom s/he connects regularly to address whatever needs may arise during the two-year process.  The Contact Person provides feedback and support on the program's written and at-home requirements.

June 2026 Residential Session: Formation for Religious Life – Forming the Whole Person for Lifelong Mission:

This June residential session of ForMission focuses on the ongoing formation of formators and congregational leaders entrusted with accompanying others in religious life. Grounded in holistic formation—human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—the week invites participants to deepen their own formation so they can more faithfully form others. Through integrated engagement with ecclesiology, interculturality, Scripture, spirituality, and formation skill-building, participants will reflect on how identity, authority, discernment, and interior freedom shape formation in today’s Church. The session emphasizes personal transformation, communal reflection, and practical application for those responsible for forming mature, mission-ready religious in complex and changing contexts.

Ecclesiology: Being Church Today: Formation and Discernment for Missionary Communion in a Fractured Church
Robin Ryan, CP 

• Communion and ecclesial discernment in contemporary Church life

• Authority, conscience, and belonging in a fractured Church

• Forming formators for missionary communion

Interculturality: Formed by Many Worlds: Identity, Culture, and Conversion
Roger Schroeder, SVD

• Cultural and religious identity in the formation process

• Interculturality as ongoing conversion

• Power, privilege, and marginalization in religious life

Scripture: Formation in the Bible: God’s Long, Patient Work with Imperfect People
Laurie Brink, OP

• Formation as lifelong process in Scripture

• Biblical narratives of growth, failure, and transformation

• Vulnerability and limitation as formative moments

Spirituality: Becoming Before Doing: Interior Freedom in Formation
Presenter: 

• Interior freedom as the foundation of formation

• Spirituality, affective maturity, and vocational integrity

• Prayer and self-awareness in accompaniment

Formation Skillset: Self-Awareness as a Formation Skill
Presenter: 

• Emotional intelligence and formative self-awareness

• Naming patterns, triggers, and blind spots

• Growth rooted in truth rather than shame

Program Fees

The following program fee amounts are effective for the incoming ForMission cohort/class June 3-10, 2026 with a required virtual orientation in April. The cost includes tuition, room and board, program and reading materials. 

Please note that yearly inflation adjustments are possible. As costs for in-person gatherings continue to rise (e.g., travel, lodging, etc.), the Conference continues to explore alternative formats that balance the physical, in-person sessions with advances in virtual community and learning. We ask that the fees be paid in U.S. dollars drawn from a U.S. bank, with checks payable to the Religious Formation Conference. You can also use a credit card or an electronic withdrawal from a checking account. Invoices will be sent to your email address. 

RFC Member Congregation: The total cost of the 2-year program starting January 2026 is $14,740 payable in four (4) installments of $3,560 (includes a $500 non-refundable deposit). Each installment payment is due prior to the next upcoming residential intensive session. 
Deposit and application due date: March 31, 2026. 

Non-Members: The total cost of the 2-year program starting January 2026 is $16,855, payable in three (3) installments of $4,060, and one (1) installment of $4,175 (includes a $500 non-refundable deposit). Each installment payment is due prior to the next upcoming residential intensive session. 
Deposit and application due date: March 31, 2026. 

Mary Daniel Turner, SNDdeN Scholarship Fund

We are happy to share that partial scholarship funds are available for RFC member congregations/provinces. Learn more

ForMission Withdrawal Policy

The RFC is bound by various contractual agreements, including financial commitments, necessary to secure appropriate venues and accommodations and qualified presenters for each residential session. Early withdrawal does not automatically curtail responsibility of the sending congregation/province for payment of remaining quarterly tuition fees.  

Participants who need to withdraw from the ForMission program are obligated to pay for the program portion of the sessions they are not able to attend. The program portion is equivalent to 50% of each session fee. Withdrawal notification must be provided at least 30 days before the next session(s) or the community is responsible for the full amount of the program. For serious reasons, participants may take a leave of absence for one session. However, if the participant does not return to the ForMission program, the congregation/province remains financially responsible for the full amount of the remaining sessions.