A Thriving Congregations Initiative
Journey to Thriving is a program where congregations learn about their community, reflect on their congregational identity, and adapt to our changing world.
The Journey to Thriving program is made possible by a Thriving Congregations Initiative grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. The application for the second cohort is open, and the application deadline is Wednesday, April 30. Earlier applications are strongly encouraged and early acceptances may be made. Please note that a letter of support from your pastor is also required with the application.
What is Journey to Thriving?
Over the next five years, through the Journey to Thriving program, DurhamCares will work with three cohorts of six congregations in Durham that will participate in the Durham Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope, engage in a Learning Cohort, and develop a concrete Adaptive Plan.
The Journey to Thriving program will include:
- A fully-scholarshipped customized pilgrimage for your congregation
- A facilitated Learning Cohort with five other congregations in Durham for fellowship, support, and deepening understanding
- Professional workshops and trainings on the following topics:
- Your city and neighborhood’s history
- Researching your community’s history
- Present day resources, gifts, and challenges in Durham
- Developing, updating, and reflecting on your congregation’s mission, vision, and values
- Adapting to our changing context
- Consultation to support your congregation in refining its mission, vision and values
- Consultation to support your congregation in creating an Adaptive Plan
- Books and other curricular resources for all participants in the program
All congregations that complete the Journey to Thriving program will implement a concrete Adaptive Plan and work with DurhamCares to evaluate its impact for future years. Congregations in cohorts 2 and 3 will receive a mini-grant of $3,000 to implement their Adaptive Plan.
Our Goal: Thriving Congregations, Thriving Communities
Journey to Thriving has one chief aim: the mutual thriving between congregations and their communities. We believe this is God’s Biblical vision of shalom and our call as witnesses to the Gospel. To accomplish this, we have three goals. We want to help congregations:
Know their Community
Know their Congregation
Make an Adaptive Plan
Who is a good fit for Journey to Thriving?
Who is a good fit for Journey to Thriving?
- We encourage you to apply to Journey to Thriving if your congregation:
- Wants to learn about your community, reflect on your congregational identity, and adapt to our changing world
- Is committed to having a clergyperson and two lay leaders participate in the entire program
- Is committed to participating in the Durham Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope as part of the program
- Is committed to involving your whole congregation in the process through regular updates and opportunities for feedback
In recognition of the significant contributions of the Black Church to Durham’s story, please note that for each cohort, at least four of the six spots for congregations are reserved for African American churches.
What is the commitment for Journey to Thriving?
Participating congregations in Journey to Thriving:
- Commit to having three people, including at least one clergyperson and one lay leader:
- Participate in the Durham Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope (Friday afternoon through Sunday evening on a weekend chosen by the congregation)
- Participate in the year-long Learning Cohort, which will include monthly workshop and reflection times (about two hours each) and 2 half-day or full-day workshops. Dates are set with the congregations.
- Lead the congregation in developing implementing, and evaluating the Adaptive Plan.
- Commit to promoting the Durham Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope in your congregation to generate signups.
- Commit to communicating the program to the whole congregation by:
- Announcing acceptance to the program in worship and congregational newsletter
- Sharing the details of the program at a leadership meeting for all boards and committees
- Sharing updates and testimonials in worship and the congregation’s newsletter twice per year
Partners
Dr. Dustin D. Benac, (ThD, Duke University) is an educator, practical theologian, and organizational strategist. He teaches at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary as the Director for the Program for the Future Church. He has supported and studied communities of faith who are navigating transition and uncertainty across North America. His latest book, AdaptiveChurch: Collaboration and Community in a Changing World, explores what it takes for communities of faith to navigate organizational change. He is the co-editor of Crisisand Care: Meditations on Faith and Philanthropy and the Editor of Practical Theology, an international and interdisciplinary journal. An accomplished speaker, teacher, and fundraiser, he has worked with congregations and researchers across Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States. You can find him online at www.dustindbenac.com or on X @DustinDBenac.
Dr. Charles Denton Johnson is an Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). As a proud alumnus of NCCU’s History graduate program, he returned to the university in 2015 to serve as the Director of Public History. Dr. Johnson is an award-winning teacher and a co-author of two books: (1) Topics on African Diaspora History (2016) and (2) NC A&T vs. NCCU: More Than Just a Game (2023), a recent publication that chronicles the 100-year history of the Aggie vs. Eagle football rivalry in photos and newspaper articles. He holds degrees from Morehouse College, B.A.; North Carolina Central, M.A.; and Howard University, Ph.D. Dr. Johnson is a scholar of African Diaspora, African American, and Public History. Dr. Johnson is a recognized leader in the field of Public History inside and outside of the academy. Dr. Johnson is the current Principal Investigator (PI) for the ACLS-funded Digital Extension grant, Expanding the Digital Library on American History Through Local Community-Engaged Digital Humanities Research, which helps to preserve the history of Bragtown, one of Durham’s earliest African American communities. He is the proud father of Xavier Johnson, a freshman in Honors College at North Carolina A&T State University studying Civil Engineering.
Ruth Peebles, offers over 30 years of hands‐on experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, grant writing, organizational development and project management. She is the President and Founder of The INS Group a national consulting firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Peebles served as the Executive Director for The Raleigh/Wake Partnership to End and Prevent Homelessness, as the Director of Development for Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina and Associate Director and Development Officer for the North Carolina Caring Program for Children. She has served as an adjunct instructor for the School of Public and International Affairs Master of Public Administration Program at North Carolina State University. Ms. Peebles holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and graduate degree in Public Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ms. Peebles currently serves on Wake County Affiliate Board of the North Carolina Community Foundation. She is a founding member of the Next Generation of African American Philanthropists giving circle.