This Thriving Congregations Initiative project aims to answer the following question: “How can Black, Hispanic, and Asian churches enhance the vitality of their congregations in the face of emerging social and cultural trends?” The five-year program works through two cohorts of churches and engages clergy and lay leaders in a human-centered and participatory design process to develop a cohort-based learning program. Churches are taught to use research instruments to understand the changing cultural and social contexts of their members and surrounding community. The process guides churches through the process of thinking deeply about the connection between their Christian practices and the social and cultural contexts of their members and surrounding community, helps churches develop missional clarity and ministry priorities to align their ministry activities, and provides churches with small grants to implement short-term projects that will embed their unifying theme into the life of their worship community.
Thriving Congregations Initiative
Grand Rapids, MI
National
Khary Bridgewater