Thriving in Ministry serves a wide range of church leaders. We put together groups of church leaders of all ages who share specifically similar ministry settings and roles:
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Associates in multi-staff congregations
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BIPOC clergy in White congregations
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Bivocational priests
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Campus Ministers
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Church planters and evangelists
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Clergy in medical settings
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Clergy in mid-sized and smaller BIPOC congregations
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Clergy in multicultural congregations
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Clergy in transition
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Clergy serving multiple yoked congregations
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Diocesan staff
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Leaders in lay-led congregations
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Military chaplains
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Priests in smaller and diverse urban congregations
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Priests in smaller rural congregations
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Rectors of mid-sized congregations in suburban areas
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Rectors of mid-sized congregations in urban areas
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Rectors of multi-staff congregations
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Rectors with schools
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School chaplains
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University-employed chaplains
Is there are type of ministry setting and role you would like to see brought together as a Thriving group?
IDEAL LEARNING PARTICIPANT
IDEAL MENTOR-COACH
IDEAL PARTNER DIOCESE OR NETWORK
Clergy burnout, the whole post-pandemic vibe, and stressing about time is real, and can feel like a huge roadblock to thriving. However, we want to emphasize that Thriving in Ministry offers a profound form of self-care. By participating, you're not only joining a supportive community in the short term, but you're planting the seed for some big-time benefits down the road. Through learning and practicing new behaviors, you'll develop a healthier approach to ministry and leadership that will serve you well into the future.
Like leaders in any field, religious leaders, over time, face the danger of plateauing or falling into a state of “autopilot.” Growth can be replaced by stagnation or by gradual slippage in skills and capacities. How do you continue to stretch and grow in ways that are directly and specifically meaningful to the places where you lead and serve?
As clergy, we aim to level up our professional and personal game over time, scoring brighter insights, sharper skills, and top-notch habits as we serve. Developing our leadership abilities is a lifelong process. Continuous learning and growth are possible but require a shift in how we learn and practice. More than brief moments of inspiration and learning, we need paths for enduring change. More than once-a-year events, we need support that is ongoing. More than one-size-fits-all programs, we need learning communities that share similarities in settings and stages of ministry, joined in a common dedication to sustained growth.
The Thriving in Ministry process is both deeply personalized and intentionally focused on growth in eight key areas of clergy leadership. As adult professionals, we learn best when we can focus on the unique challenges and opportunities in our specific types of ministry settings when we can enter that depth of conversation with others who serve in similar places and roles, and when we can commit ourselves to continuous learning through focused practice with others.