Wheaton College Billy Graham Center (BGC), rooted in the Evangelical Protestant tradition, seeks a five-year grant for partial support for its Envision program. This endeavor seeks to encourage pastors to help each other learn to revitalize their congregations through missional and evangelistic engagement and growth, while maintaining a focus on the quality of congregational life. The program will gather pastors into cohorts of six to ten clergy each for peer mentoring, problem solving and mutual support. Particular emphasis in cohort recruitment will focus on younger pastors and on pastors from a diversity context, including under resourced communities. An exemplary pastor, who can mentor and coach, and a BGC catalyst coach, who brings best practices and strategies for congregational growth that have been tested throughout the country, will co-facilitate the cohorts. To sustain this effort, the BGC will seek funding from foundations and invite congregations to contribute to the costs of their pastors’ participation.
Envision
Wheaton, Illinois
University/College
Other