As church leaders, we have heard you asking for more tools, more support to help your church community thrive. We are thrilled to invite you to an opportunity to participate in a new vitality initiative of the dioceses, Thriving in Ministry.
Thriving in Ministry is an intentional program that invites parish leaders into a consistent process of mutual support and learning in order to provide meaningful connections with parish members and growth in ministries to the wider community and within their parish.
Our Aim in Thriving in Ministry is to:
This will be accomplished by building skills and insights with each other in small groups and personal sessions through honest and direct conversation about challenges leaders are facing, seeking feedback from one another, and practicing deliberately and deeply in those areas participants wish to grow.
Logistically, we will:
Gather in cohort groups, each composed of up to eight participants and two mentor coaches
Meet nine times per year (monthly, with a hiatus) for approximately two hours at a time over the two-year commitment
Meet one-on-one, participant-to-coach, for one hour of one-on-one coaching per month for nine months
As a congregational leader, we hope you will commit to this exciting program, continuing to build the congregational development capacity of our leaders and congregations. We look forward to working with you!
Church leaders, both lay and ordained, looking for training and connections that help build skills to face opportunities and challenges within the life of a congregation.
Each peer learning group is made up of individual leaders from a congregation (you don’t have to attend as a team from one place). All gatherings will meet via Zoom unless the particular group requests to meet in-person.
This program has been considerably subsidized by diocesan congregational development funding. The cost to the participant is $425 per person per year. If this cost would impede your ability to participate, we have limited scholarship funds available–please request a scholarship on the application form.
The following FAQs may help clarify whether you feel called toward Thriving in Ministry, the College for Congregational Development, or both!
Can I participate in both CCD and TiM?
Yes! Both initiates are meant for leaders—lay and ordained—across our dioceses.
Are both CCD and TiM available to leaders in parishes who currently do not have clergy?
Yes! Whether or not your parish currently has clergy (full-time, part-time, supply, or not at all), you are welcome and encouraged to participate.
If I am seeking personal learning and growth as a leader, should I participate in TiM or CCD?
We recognize that our personal learning and the cultivation of gifts God has given us is intended not just for us, but for the love and sake of living more fully as disciples of Jesus wherever we grow. Both TiM and CCD provide resources and practical tools to individual and team/cohort growth and learning.
TiM includes cohort gatherings with mentor coaches and one-on-one coaching.
CCD focuses on training congregational teams (lay and clergy leaders) with the understanding that teams are more likely to be able to create positive change together.
Are CCD and TiM offered in-person or online?
CCD participants meet in-person for one-week in the summer; additional opportunities to gather online throughout the year for mutual support will be offered.
TiM cohorts will schedule online group meetings; additionally, nine months of the year the TiM participant meets one-on-one with a coach. In person meetings can be determined by the will of cohorts or individual participants.
Informational Session on TiM and CCD – May 16, 2024
Zoom Recording
Dr. Nancy Foster
Coordinator for Thriving in Ministry; Coach for Congregational Development
Location: 124 N. Fayette Street Saginaw, MI 48602 | Phone: (877) 752-6020
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