Grantee Directory

The University of the Ozarks has been helping students find the courage to be who they are and discover freedom to be something more since 1834. We extend that ambition with our Thriving in Rural Congregations program, focusing on cultivating, developing, and sustaining a mutual relationship of support for rural congregations in the Presbytery of Arkansas. We will begin with a regional cohort model, where congregations will be organized by region into small groups of four, for an initial commitment of one-year. Cohorts will focus on helping churches rediscover their theological roots through an in-depth exploration of the Great Ends of the Church: six historic affirmations of the Church's purpose. Through this process, they will be equipped to use this renewed theological identity to engage their community and their life together in new ways. The breadth of the Great Ends will allow congregations to focus on specific ministries rooted in the assets of their congregation. The process will begin with recruitment of congregations then gathering on the campus of the University of the Ozarks. Following these initial steps, congregations will receive curriculum and support to begin leading conversations within their congregations such as clarifying their mission and goals. Finally, congregations will finish their year implementing what they have learned. By the end of the year, congregations will have re-examined their theological roots, assessed their congregation and community, collaborated with neighboring congregations and university staff who are dedicated to the rural church, and begun the process of bringing about sustainable, transformative change to their congregation. The entire process will be rooted in the theological foundations of the Reformed faith, the specific gifts of their particular congregation, and the unique attributes of that congregation’s home community.