Engaging Faithful Innovation in Your Congregation

Discover what God is up to in your neighborhood - and how God is inviting you and your congregation to join in.

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Facing uncertainty in your congregation or discerning where God may be leading? "Engaging Faithful Innovation in Your Congregation: Discern What's Next" provides practical steps forward. Imagine a faith community where the subtle movements of God in our neighborhoods and lives are not just heard, but amplified—and not just by ministry leaders, but by the community as a whole. This course is more than just a learning experience. It’s a journey into the heart of listening, and a foray into experimenting with new ways of “being church” in the modern world. These skills of listening and experimenting have never been more crucial for spiritual leaders and everyday believers than they are today.

"Engaging Faithful Innovation in Your Congregation: Discern What's Next" is all about transformation through action; it introduces participants to faithful innovation, a powerful framework that can be used whenever you’re stuck or unsure of the next faithful steps. Here, you will learn to discern the voice of God in your local contexts, to see God’s work in the life of your congregation, and to notice God's presence in your everyday life. Together we will move from passive observation to active participation, using simple yet profound spiritual practices to explore God’s activity in your community and congregation. This course guides you in sharing these discoveries, reflecting on your actions, and discerning your next faithful steps. The cherry on top? It’s not all on the shoulders of the pastor or church leader alone. This program is designed to equip congregations and communities as a whole to step into faithful innovation, with ministers and congregation members alike leading the transformative process and practices together.

What You'll Learn

  • In-Depth Introduction to Faithful Innovation: Gain a deep understanding of and confidence around using the faithful innovation framework, exploring how the powerful process can be applied in your community.
  • Listening to God: Develop the spiritual practice of listening, and learn to actively hear God’s voice in Scripture and in the world around you​​.
  • Listening in Community: Gain insight into how God speaks through our lives and those of others, and build a culture of sharing stories​​.
  • Listening with Neighbors: Discover the power of listening beyond the congregation’s walls and connect with your neighborhood through spiritual practices​​.
  • Moving Forward Experimentally and Experientially: Equip yourself to conduct faithful action-learning experiments and experience God’s work in your community​​.
  • Discerning God’s Movement and Your Next Steps: Apply what you learn from your community's experiment by taking your next faithful step for the sake of the Gospel in your neighborhood.

About this Course

  • Modules

8

  • Learning Elements

66

  • Videos

24

  • Practices & Activities

9

  • Time

6 hours, 30 minutes

  • Price

$55

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Here's What's Inside...

Get oriented to the course, meet your instructor, download the interactive handbook, and more.

In this module, you will:

  • Understand what the faithful innovation process is.
  • Pray regularly for this process.
  • Start the pre-work to form a guiding team.

In this module, you will:

  • Learn two practices to begin listening to God in and around your community.
  • Develop skills in listening as a spiritual practice.
  • Actively listen to God through Scripture and formulate questions to listen to God in your community.

In this module, you will:

  • Gain insight into how God speaks to us through our lives and the lives of others.
  • Listen to others as a spiritual practice.
  • Face any discomfort and build a culture of sharing stories in order to listen with God in your community.

In this module, you will:

  • Discover the power of deeply listening outside of the walls of the congregation.
  • Experience a spiritual practice to connect with your neighborhood.
  • Use one of the included plans as a basis to start listening to your neighbors.

In this module, you will:

  • Be equipped with the knowledge of what a faithful action learning experiment is and how to do an experiment like this in your community.
  • Experience the presence and work of God in your community as you listen and share.
  • Get the tools to design an action learning experiment for your congregation.

In this module, you will:

  • Reflect on the experiment your community chose.
  • Be prepared to take your next faithful step.

Find out your next steps as you complete the course. You'll also be encouraged to submit feedback about your course.

You'll Learn How to Shift Ministry Models
A small group of people walking away from the camera in a sunny field of grass.

How can modern congregations be rejuvenated as they balance the challenges of adapting to cultural shifts and faithfully discerning God’s presence and direction? By shifting our ministry models to include faithful innovation, we can thrive in this changing spiritual landscape, leaning on innovative and ancient practices and connecting deeply with the community and with God in order to build sustainable, meaningful ministries.

What to Expect

  • Deep Listening Skills: Learn to discern God's movement in your life and community through reflective and active listening.
  • Action-Oriented Learning: Engage in practical experiments to explore and implement God’s guidance in your ministry.
  • Community Building: Develop biblical strategies to connect and grow with your congregation and neighborhood.
  • Guided Learning Journey: Benefit from expert instruction and a supportive network of peers and practitioners.
  • Flexible Learning Options: Tailor the course experience to fit your unique context, whether individually or with a team.
  • Sustainable Ministry Practices: Gain insights into leading your congregation in a way that is both innovative and rooted in spiritual traditions.

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Access to all workshops and their recordings

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Access to member-only live Q&A monthly interviews

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Looking for just in-time training resources?

Use this on-demand course as a complementary ready-made resource for small groups, Bible studies, discipleship growth, and equipping lay leaders in your specific ministry setting.

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Meet Your Instructor

  • Dr. Alicia Granholm

    Alicia Granholm is senior director of Faith+Lead and a leadership and church consultant based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She helps pastors and leaders engage culture to make a lasting impact. For nearly two decades, she has trained, equipped, and empowered followers of Jesus to engage their local communities by contextualizing the Gospel and its application. Alicia compassionately crosses cultural boundaries having lived, studied, traveled, and served in 25 countries on six continents. Alicia has a Doctor of Strategic Leadership, Global Consulting (Regent University), MDiv (Bethel Seminary), and MA in Teaching (University of St. Thomas).

Connect as you learn

Connect inside the Faith+Lead Learning Lab

Learning happens best when you do it together with folks who are on the same journey as you are.

That's why our private social network, the Faith+Lead Learning Lab, hosts conversations about course content with other learners, instructors, TAs, and community leaders.

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Study together with a small group or congregation

Want to bring Engaging Faithful Innovation in Your Congregation to your Bible study, small group, or even your entire congregation?

Choose "Enroll a Group" at checkout and select how many people you'd like to provide access to the course. You can go through the course together in-person, watch lessons together via Zoom, or even create a private group in the Learning Lab where participants can connect asynchronously.

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