The Center for Appalachian Ministry (CAM) will design and execute a three-year cohort structure comprised of lay leaders and staff of 6-10 small, Northeast Tennessee congregations (100 or fewer congregants). Participants will gather quarterly, with the help of an experienced facilitator, to imagine, innovate, and discern how their congregations can reorient towards God’s mission in their context. Lay leaders and pastors will begin with exercises in appreciative inquiry. These responses will be gathered to determine emergent themes or findings. With the help of a church planting partner in the Independent Christian Churches, each church will undergo a contextual analysis of their community. Participating churches will receive mini-grants to strengthen and sustain a ministry endeavor on behalf of their surrounding community. And churches will be provided two consultation meetings with a church architecture firm to explore ways to better leverage their spaces for the community's benefit. Participating congregations will be paired with a paid undergraduate ministry student who will intern at the church 10-15 hours per week. Students will serve as outreach coordinators for churches to help create or strengthen connections with non-profits, other churches, or organizations in the area. In partnership with Ballad Health, the CAM will provide workshops in which elders, lay leaders, and staff of small Northeast Tennessee congregations will receive pastoral care training from chaplains on essential topics. And we will design a new certificate program in Appalachian Ministry that will better equip lay leaders and elders to serve their churches and celebrate our heritage.