Skills for Flourishing Congregations
Micro-credentials in practical skills for church leaders
“We never learned this in seminary.” How many times does a pastor and church leader say this? While formal theological degree programs provide an excellent foundation, the fast-paced world of ministry makes it necessary for clergy and laypeople to continually evolve their skills to keep churches healthy and flourishing.
CTS is launching a series of micro-credentialing courses to help meet this need. Micro-credentialing is an emerging trend where educational institutions offer brief, focused, skills-based courses that allow participants to gain and demonstrate competencies in relevant areas of their work. Micro-credentialing courses are not tied to a formal degree. Instead, they are skills-based opportunities for continuing education that help leaders stay nimble and up to date in a rapidly changing ministry environment.
2022-2023 Series
Congregational Leadership Courses
The 2022-2023 series is focused on financial skills. The 6-week online courses will be hosted online Monday evenings from 6-8 p.m. In the winter course, “Grant Writing and Fundraising,” participants benefit from the instructional expertise of faculty from Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, the nation’s premiere research and educational institution for matters of faith and philanthropy.
Additional courses can be taken individually or as a sequence to help leaders develop fresh skills and resources.
October 3 - November 14
Mondays from 6-8 p.m. (Class will not meet on Oct. 10)
Church Finance and Infrastructure
This course will examine different facets of how congregations manage money internally. Budgeting, stewardship/giving, best practices around financial management, etc. will all be covered.
The instructors for the course will be Phil and Janet Jamieson.
January 9 - February 13
Every Monday from 6-8 p.m.
Grant Writing and Fundraising
This course will look specifically at how pastors and congregations can identify and apply for grant opportunities to support their ministries, as well as how grant support can fit into broader fundraising/ stewardship efforts within a congregation.
Lake Institute Director David King, as well as Meredith McNabb, will teach this course.
February 20 - March 27
Every Monday from 6-8 p.m.
Facilities
Management
This course will engage concrete questions of how the material and building resources of a congregation can best be utilized for mission. How can the physical assets of a congregation foster deeper engagement with community as well as robust faith formation?
Taught by Pastor William Smith
Registration
$125 per course
CEU certificates available for each course upon request. Attendance at all courses is required to obtain a CEU certificate.
CTS students can earn one credit hour for completion of the three-course sequence by contacting the Dean’s Office.
Contact microcredentialing@cts.edu for more information.
About these Courses
The Skills for Flourishing Congregations series provides church leaders with a chance to gain relevant, real-time knowledge in key areas of church leadership:
Strategic planning
Fundraising
Volunteer management
Conflict resolution
Other vital skills
Leveraging relationships with premier partners such as the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving, our instructors provide premier training in formats that suit busy pastors and church professionals.
Courses can be combined for comprehensive skill development, or taken individually based on student preference.
