The Joe R. Engle Institute of Preaching
The Engle Institute is a weeklong continuing education event designed to nurture and strengthen the craft of those who preach in city or suburb, small town, rural community, or other specialized ministries. Engle Fellows and faculty participate together in the hospitality of the seminar room, the dinner table, and the chapel pew. Through hands-on workshops, seminars, tutorials, and conversations, Engle fellows are supported and challenged to seek excellence in their preaching vocations. The Institute is made possible by the dream and generosity of Joe R. Engle, who was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Teaching Spiritual Entrepreneurship in Theological Education
Despite social innovation’s historic roots in the Christian church, spiritual entrepreneurship rarely makes it into the curriculum that shapes American faith leaders. Theological schools tend to view conversations about social innovation and entrepreneurship as outside the theological canon; congregations tend to see social enterprise as a “new” form of church funding, rather than as an ancient form of Christian witness. In short, theological schools and congregations alike overlook entrepreneurial ministries as vehicles for shaping theological imaginations, especially with the young and the “ecclesially ambivalent.”
The “Teaching Spiritual Entrepreneurship Project” (TSE) seeks to reframe this conversation by making formation toward spiritual entrepreneurship and its corollaries (Christian social innovation, social entrepreneurship, changemaking, etc.) more available in theological education.
Ministry Collaboratory Project
Through Princeton Theological Seminary and funded by The Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Ministry Collaboratory is enabling churches to dream and experiment through a unique design sprint process leading up to a Pop Up Project in their local community.
The Isaiah Partnership is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. This three-phase initiative is designed to help theological schools across the United States and Canada as they prioritize and respond to the challenges they face as they prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future.
Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network
The Polaris Young Adult Leadership Network seeks to cultivate community among young adult Christian leaders, amplify their ministries in a variety of local contexts, and inspire other young adults to lead from their own Christian faith.
The Institute for Youth Ministry
For more than 25 years, the Institute for Youth Ministry has bridged theology and practice in youth ministry through research, programs, events, and resources. We form ministry leaders who work with youth, support emerging scholarship, and collaborate with Christian congregations. In all that we do, we bear witness to God’s just and creative movement in the world.
Sustaining the Preaching Life
Sustaining the Preaching Life (S.T.P.L.) is a program that supports community for pastors through small groups for a period of six months and offers a framework and tools for improving one’s preaching through a blend of instruction and peer learning.
Worshippers often name strong preaching as a key reason for participating in weekly worship. And yet, the demands of weekly sermon preparation are a heavy load for pastors when carried alone. This is even more true today, with the implications of the shifting pandemic for communal worship. You do not need to go it alone. Be part of the Sustaining the Preaching Life Program and renew your preaching ministry with vocational friendships and a fresh look at the weekly sermon.
The 2022 program receives support from a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.
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