It’s no secret that ministry leaders and the communities we serve have journeyed through the wilderness over the last few years. Many are fatigued, parched, and thirsting for new life in our ministries. In this season, talk of ministry innovation is all around us and commonly sold as a “quick fix” that relies on shiny, new ideas. But too often, attempts to innovate leave leaders feeling burned out, exhausted, overwhelmed, and frenetic. Innovation is not simply a problem-solving process or survival strategy. It can be a generative source of joy, growth, and transformation for faith communities when approached from the ground up. In this workshop, you’ll be introduced to the role your faith community’s organizational culture plays in fostering or hindering innovation. To borrow a metaphor from Jesus and gardening, a faith community’s organizational culture is the soil into which an innovative seed is planted. Your faith community must learn to tend the soil before you’ll be able to enact change effectively. Doing so greatly increases the likelihood innovative ministries will take root and lead to positive transformation in people’s lives. This workshop will equip you with language and a tangible process for exploring the impacts of your ministry setting’s organizational culture. You will learn how to discern appropriate next steps so innovation becomes increasingly possible in your unique context. This workshop is for any ministry leader – volunteers, staff, clergy, and lay-people.
