Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary is seeking an inaugural cohort of participants for an online program called “Lead Change: A Certificate in Faith Community Formation.”

The ten-month program will address unique challenges of ministry leadership in our time and help participants become leaders in the Decolonizing the Church Movement by developing skills and practices that effectively counter systemic oppression and white supremacy.

Cohort participants will meet from 7 to 9:30 p.m. most Tuesdays from March 7 through late November.

Each of the five course units – theological formation, interculturality, community faith formation, worship leadership and community transformation – will be led by two learning guides chosen for their unique, non-traditional understandings and experiences of ministry. Each unit lasts six weeks. Five elective workshops will be offered on the Tuesday after each unit concludes.

The program costs $3,375 for the five units. Each elective workshop costs an additional $100.

The program may be particularly useful for lay people who desire to become Certified Lay Pastors or Certified Ruling Elders, or for those seeking to start New Worshiping Communities.

More information about the program – including an application to join the inaugural cohort – may be found here.