Esperanza is launching Renovación Pastoral (Pastoral Renewal) a program funded by the Lilly Endowment. Esperanza is a faith-based nonprofit organization driven by the biblical mandate to “serve the least of these.” We strengthen our Hispanic community through education, housing and economic development, immigration legal services, job training and advocacy. Renovación Pastoral supports new pastors in their first years of service to the Latino communities of Philadelphia, Allentown, Bethlehem, Lancaster, and Reading. Through Renovación Pastoral we offer these pastors a sacred space to be affirmed, to learn, and to be nurtured through mentoring that is focused on both spiritual and practical matters. Esperanza connects pastors in their first years of ministry with active and retired long-term pastors who have demonstrated longevity and success in local ministry, helping the younger pastors to transition successfully into congregational leadership, while building a pastoral legacy for the well-seasoned religious leaders of the Latino communities of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Thriving in Ministry at Virginia Theological Seminary (Thriving at VTS) creates peer learning and mentoring experiences for Episcopal priests who are in the midst of professional transitions. We develop safe, accountable learning experiences for clergy to grow and infuse vitality into the congregations they serve. Thriving at VTS forms peer groups for priests whose ministry settings generate unique challenges, e.g. church planters, clergy couples, ethnic missioners, school chaplains, and women who are expanding their roles in leadership. These clergy are most likely to find themselves lacking the resources needed for continuing education and vocational flourishing. We train facilitators and mentors to lead Thriving participants through case-based/action reflection learning and to supportively challenge each priest’s commitment to his or her well-being. Through careful attention to fostering positive habits of pastoral leadership and peer work, the project seeks to build a self-sustaining culture of honest, continuous, collaborative, and intentional leadership development among Episcopal priests. VTS will sustain this project through annual participant fees and financial contributions from partner organizations.
Project Name:
Develop Leaders/Thriving in Ministry
Description:
Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), a rapidly growing multiethnic denomination, seeks a five-year grant to support its Shaping, Strengthening and Sustaining Resiliency program, an effort to strengthen the leadership practices of pastors at different stages of their careers. The program will begin by identifying outstanding pastors with 15 or more years of experience in ministry to form a “sustaining resiliency” cohort and become mentors for pastors who are in earlier stages of their careers. The mentor-pastors will work with two cohorts of pastors; the first cohort will comprise midcareer pastors with six to 15 years of experience, and the second cohort will include pastors with five or fewer years of ministry. The pastoral cohorts and their mentors will gather regularly for face-to-face retreats and maintain ongoing connections using online communication. To sustain the program, ECC will share costs with its regional conferences and launch fundraising efforts to solicit contributions from donors.
Project Name:
Charis Collective (Center for Thriving Leaders)
Description:
Grace Theological Seminary (GTS) is building the Charis Collective for Thriving Leaders (CC), an organic network of leaders from Charis Fellowship partner organizations formed to collaborate in the flourishing of church planters and small church revitalization pastors. The Charis Collective's primary initiative is the establishment of the Center for Thriving Leaders at GTS. The Center will facilitate mentor-based cohorts, annual events, ongoing training events, digital resources, and academic programs geared toward equipping pastors and encouraging their spouses.
Leaders from the Charis Collective will participate on an advisory board for the Center and lend their expertise as cohort mentors, speakers, and contributors. As a result of participating, church planters, small church revitalizers, and pastors-in-training will develop the skills, competencies, and relationships needed for thriving in ministry. Grace Theological Seminary believes this program will contribute to the flourishing of local churches within the Charis Fellowship, expand the reach of the gospel in North America, and develop a new generation of seasoned pastors who, in turn, mentor fellow pastors.
George Fox University seeks a five-year grant for its Portland Seminary to launch the Institute for Pastoral Thriving. This effort will build one-year peer cohorts of eight to twelve pastors each to foster authentic relationships, offer safe spaces for exploring pastoral leadership challenges, nurture spiritual disciplines, and provide a network of allies to support their own thriving in ministry. The Institute will directly address challenges to pastoral thriving, particularly professional transitions and the rapidly changing demographics of the Pacific Northwest. It also will offer an annual symposium for all cohorts to gather as a larger body alongside the seminary community with the intent to foster fruitful conversations regarding pastoral spiritual renewal. To sustain this project, George Fox University will seek funding from denominations and congregations and provide advanced standing credit in the seminary degree programs for project participants.
Caminando Juntos is a Global Impact and Urban Strategies partnership initiative to improve the holistic wellbeing and interconnectivity among diverse Latino(a) Pastors in the USA. We accomplish this through Latino(a) pastor cohorts centered on 10 holistic wellbeing learning and practice sessions and a financed virtual renewal retreat. These pastor cohorts also experience grants for personal counseling and spiritual direction, as well as general wellbeing implementation. These opportunities are provided in bilingual, Spanish and English settings with materials developed by subject matter experts from or with extensive experience in Latino(a) contexts.
The Caminando Juntos initiative also offers a virtual platform with contextualized, holistic wellbeing materials and supporting resources for Latino(a) pastors. During 2022, the program also plans to offer development, training and certification of pastoral holistic wellbeing mentors, and consultancy services to improve on organizational practices to increase the holistic wellbeing of Latino(a) pastors within their denominational context(s).