Project Name:
Clergy Coaching in Community and Context
Description:
The University of Dubuque Theological School, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), requests a five-year grant to establish the Clergy Coaching in Community and Context program, a set of three related initiatives that will support 75 to 90 pastoral leaders in the formation of revitalizing peer and mentor relationships, excellent pastoral habits and leadership skills and equip them to articulate a personal vision for their vocation and ministry. Each of the three initiatives will form a community for either new pastors, midcareer pastors or pastors engaged in innovative missional ministries. Modeled after successful high-performance sports coaching approaches that utilize both directive and nondirective coaching, each initiative will place participants in a coaching/mentoring relationship. Participant groups will be lead through explorations of wise and effective pastoral leadership habits and practices. The pastors also will develop sustaining relationships with each other and become part of a wider community of clergy committed to the pursuit of excellence in pastoral ministry. The theological school is exploring various ways of embedding program elements into sustainable initiatives including incorporate program elements into its doctor of ministry degree program, targeted alumni engagement, and new partnerships.
The Center for Courage & Renewal will use its Circle of Trust® approach to help pastoral leaders develop and nurture the collegial relationships vital to thriving in ministry and sustaining the work of faithfulness. We will create and convene five communities of practice made up of twenty-five early career clergy and six to eight seasoned clergy and trained facilitators each. These communities will gather for three, multiple-day retreats and monthly, small group peer learning calls over the course of a year-long program. To sustain this project, the Center will incorporate the project into its operating budget and seek funding through partnerships, grants, individual donations, and project revenue.
Flourish San Diego exists to help the church of San Diego love her neighbors to life. Central to this effort is helping pastors, congregational leaders, and church planters navigate the adaptive challenges of leading in today’s environment. The Ministry of Thriving Initiative is a collection of programmatic offerings designed to support ministry leaders both professionally and personally. Professionally, Flourish San Diego offers learning environments to help leaders develop the missiological lens useful to clarifying congregational vision and mission. Personally, Flourish San Diego offers supportive environments designed to support the spiritual formation, well-being, and overall resilience of leaders in ministry.
The Flourish Collective Academy is the learning community designed to help pastors focus the efforts of their church, church plant, or ministry to contribute to the shalom of the city. Small group cohorts of pastors and church planters provide relational support in spiritual formation and peer coaching in the challenge of congregational culture. Workshops and webinars provide encouragement and direction with regard to the organizational change. A partnership with The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology will bring language and expertise around emotional intelligence and well-being. The Ministry of Thriving is designed to help both ministries and ministers thrive for the sake of a thriving city.
Gustavus Adolphus College, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), operates the Continuous Growth Pathway (CGP) program in partnership with the Southeastern and Southwestern Minnesota Synods of the ELCA. Since 2004 Gustavus and the synods have offered a clergy wellness resource called Pastor-to-Pastor. The CGP builds upon this successful program and significantly expands it to create a comprehensive leadership development structure for the ELCA rostered leaders of Southern Minnesota. The CGP program offers rostered leaders: 1) on-going leadership development and mentoring opportunities sensitive to their tenure in ordained ministry to help them engage in a more focused professional development strategy; and 2) additional leadership support resources and focus for those serving congregations in rural, multicultural, and pioneering contexts to help them gain greater understanding and clarity about ministry in these particular settings. The CGP includes opportunities for rostered leaders to conduct self-assessments and professional inventories, participate in peer-to-peer small group opportunities, build relationships with mentors, receive spiritual direction and pursue advanced leadership development. To sustain the program, rostered leaders participating in the CGP pay an annual membership fee and the CGP appeals directly to congregations and individuals for financial support and shares a portion of the program costs with the synods. Membership in the CGP is limited to rostered leaders serving in the Southern Minnesota Synods of the ELCA.
Vineyard USA, an association of more than 2,400 churches worldwide rooted in the Evangelical and Pentecostal traditions (“third wave”), is excited to have been awarded a five-year grant to support Vineyard’s Well-being of Pastors Initiative. This endeavor will invite at least 90 pastors over 5 years into three affinity-based peer cohorts. Each of three cohorts launches with 30-36 pastors completing a wellness survey and attending an initial retreat to get to know other cohort members. The following month and over the next two years, these affinity-group pastors will meet as a peer group in online video conferences with their affinity mentor, and he or she will meet individually with a specialized support team consisting of their mentor, a coach, and a spiritual director of their choice from a pool of top-rated professionals within the Vineyard. The individual and group meetings will occur 17 of the 23 months during the two year period. At the conclusion of each cohort’s two years together, the cohort will gather in person again and a second wellness survey will gauge the professional and personal growth of the pastors. Survey results will be used to fine-tune the program. An additional 30 pastors will take the wellness survey at the beginning and end to function as a control group for measurement accuracy. To sustain this effort, Vineyard USA will incorporate the program into its operating budget and seek financial support from individuals and congregations who are committed to pastor well-being.
China Evangelical Seminary North America (CESNA), a Chinese-speaking nondenominational seminary with a mission to provide training for Chinese pastors and lay leaders who serve in immigrant churches, seeks a five-year grant to support its CESNA Chinese Pastor Care Project. This endeavor seeks to serve new and midcareer Chinese speaking pastors to enhance their spiritual vitality, emotional health, relational support, integrity and resilience. The pastors will form ongoing peer support groups, receive individual mentoring, engage in interactive leadership workshops and participate in spiritual formation retreats held at regular intervals. CESNA will seek donations from participants and sponsorships from congregations to sustain this program.