About the Project
Why This Project
Today’s clergy and seminarians face urgent challenges that demand adaptive, trauma-informed, justice-centered, and digitally fluent leadership. This project creates space for renewal, learning, and collaboration across identities and contexts so that leaders and congregations can flourish.
Background
Building on Garrett-Evangelical’s commitments to formation, spiritual resilience, and public ministry, Flourishing Together is hosted by the Reuben P. Job Institute and developed with partners across conferences and peer institutions.
Current Challenges
• burnout and spiritual fatigue
• trauma and collective grief
• civic polarization and conflict
• racial inequity and cultural divides
• rapid change in digital and AI landscapes
Vision
A healing, justice-centered ecosystem where leaders cultivate resilience, intercultural competency, and ethical digital fluency—strengthening belonging and renewal in congregations and communities.
Goals
• support spiritual and vocational renewal
• strengthen adaptive and trauma-informed leadership
• deepen racial literacy and cross-cultural competency
• equip leaders for ethical AI and digital ministry
• foster peer networks and mentoring relationships
• generate sustainable resources for future learning
Theological / Formation Perspective
Grounded in Wesleyan practices of spiritual formation and communal discernment, this project integrates pastoral theology, trauma-informed care, and practices of justice, repair, and belonging as essential to faithful leadership today.
Program
Flourishing Together supports clergy, seminarians, and ministry leaders through a cohort-based journey that blends webinars, restorative retreats, peer mentoring, an annual leadership summit, and micro-grants for innovation. The program cultivates resilience, justice-centered and trauma-informed leadership, intercultural competency, and ethical digital fluency for ministry today.
Events
Upcoming webinars, retreats, and gatherings.
Resilience Webinar: Rest & Renewal
Date: June 2026
Trauma-informed practices for clergy wellbeing and sustainable leadership.
Retreat: Vocational Renewal
Date: Summer 2026
Two-night restorative retreat focusing on healing, strategy, and solidarity.
AI & Ministry Lab
Date: Fall 2026
Ethical, justice-centered uses of emerging tech for congregational life.
Key Components
A. Webinar Series: five curated sessions per cohort on resilience, justice, technology, and trauma-informed leadership.
B. Restorative Retreats: two-night, in-person gatherings for renewal, healing, and strategic leadership.
C. Leadership Summit: annual 1.5-day summit with plenaries, workshops, planning, and commissioning.
D. Micro-Grants: $1,000 mini-grants for mentorship-centered innovation projects.