About
The Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program
about thriving in ministry
We are building a learning community.
Funded by Lilly Endowment Inc., Thriving in Ministry awarded 129 grants to colleges, seminaries, denominations, congregations, and other non-profits to support pastors and the congregations they serve. These organizations serve pastors in a wide array of denominational and ecumenical contexts, geographic settings and regions, racial and cultural backgrounds, and contextual or transitional challenges.
The Forum for Congregational Life serves as the coordination program for this initiative, providing resources and support to these projects, curating learning opportunities for project staff, and sharing the wisdom gleaned from the work with others who care about pastors. This learning community is cultivated through an annual meeting, regular online educational opportunities, site visits and resource collection. This initiative was featured in the Lilly Endowment Inc. 2018 Annual Report.
The Forum for Congregational Life (formerly Leadership Education at Duke Divinity) has served as an intermediary organization for the Endowment since 2008. The Forum's mission is to serve as a connection and resource point that affirms, equips and inspires networks of Christian institutions and leaders that nurture congregations.
who we are
Staff
Alaina Kleinbeck
Executive Director of Grants and Services
akleinbeck@div.duke.edu
Alaina Kleinbeck is the Executive Director of Grants and Services at the Forum for Congregational Life. She and her team support networks of organizations and leaders across Christian traditions who support congregational vitality.
Previously, she led the team supporting more than 300 grantees in the Thriving in Ministry, Thriving Congregations, and Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Coordination Programs.
Alaina has served ministries and organizations in suburban St. Louis, urban Houston, Central America and Norway. She holds degrees from Concordia University Nebraska and Duke Divinity School. From 2013 to 2018, she was director of the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation. Before that, she was a director of Christian education working with middle school students. She is committed to developing faithful Christian practices within communities, eliminating barriers to resources for Christian communities and pastors at the margins, and including young people in all aspects of life in the church.
Wanda White
Associate Director,
Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program
wwhite@div.duke.edu
Wanda White started as the Assistant Director for the Thriving in Ministry Coordination Program in March 2020 and became Associate Director in September 2023. She has worked with the Forum for Congregational Life since 2015 as a Staff Assistant, maintaining finances, managing day-to-day office operations, and processing mini grant applications for grants issued to cohort participants. Wanda received her Bachelor of Arts degree from North Carolina A&T State University, Master of Arts degree from Strayer University, and a few certifications from Duke University. Wanda believes her purpose in life is to use her God-given gifts to listen, give, and help others in various capacities of their lives.
Averee Gentry
Program Coordinator,
Thriving Coordination Programs
agentry@div.duke.edu
Averee Gentry joined the Forum for Congregational Life as a program coordinator for Thriving Congregations and Thriving in Ministry in February 2024. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social entrepreneurship from Carson-Newman University and a master of divinity from McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University, where she did administrative work as a teacher’s assistant. She has previous experience coordinating events and doing customer service as a co-owner and store manager of her family’s donut shop in Knoxville, Tennessee.
David L. Odom
Executive Director
dodom@div.duke.edu
Congregations are essential to the fabric of Dave’s life and ministry. He was raised by his family in congregations in Alabama and Florida and worked in and with congregations since his teenage years in a range of roles from custodian to pastor.
In 2026, Dave led the effort to establish the Forum for Congregational Life to nurture a “network of networks” to support congregations. The Forum hosts conversations, publishes stories and offers grants. He is a leader of the coordination programs for Thriving Congregations, Thriving in Ministry and Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns. The Forum builds on the work of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, where Dave was a part of the founding team and worked as executive director from 2008 to 2026.
In addition, Dave supervises select initiatives at Duke Divinity School, where he serves as an associate dean and consulting faculty. He teaches courses on strategy and leadership along with consulting on program and staff development.
Before coming to Duke, Dave was the founder and president of the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which supported healthy communities of faith through consultation, leadership development, interim ministry training and vocational discernment.
For more than 30 years, he has been active in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He is an ordained Baptist pastor and graduate of Furman University, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary.
our commitment
Thriving in Ministry projects are committed to helping pastoral leaders cultivate tools and community to develop a sustainable and hopeful vision of what it means to be a pastor.
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