New leadership course takes students off campus and into communities
College of Bible & Ministry course intended to foster congregational leadership within faith communities.
By Savannah Brouwer ('23) |
The College of Bible & Ministry launched a new Community Leadership travel course this fall funded by a grant from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). This grant is intended to equip institutions to foster congregational leadership within faith communities.
Although students meet weekly in class on campus, the heart of the course is its five learning excursions.
“[Our] mission is to prepare students for gospel leadership in a pluralistic world," said J.P. Conway, chair of undergraduate Bible and professor of the course. He plans to accomplish this mission through four areas of focus: civic space, poverty and homelessness, racism and prejudice, and interfaith relations.
To learn about Gospel leadership in a civic space, students will met with the mayor of Franklin, Tennessee, Ken Moore, about how he has facilitated cooperation between different houses of worship and how he handles sensitive subjects for the community, such as city actions regarding historic Confederate monuments.
In another off-campus experience, students spend an afternoon learning from those of Nashville’s community who are experiencing homelessness, as well as representatives from local ministries and advocates who work alongside them.
Getting outside the city limits, students take day trips to both Memphis and Birmingham to study the intersection of racial prejudice and faith leaders. They are able to not only tour civil rights museums but also meet with local church leaders to explore how they have navigated conversations surrounding racial reconciliation in their contexts.
Finally, the class will spend an afternoon with a Jewish Rabbi. Conway hopes students will walk away from this encounter inspired to foster relationships and activities with other faith communities while remaining true to the grounding principles of the Gospel. "It's all about how to come together with the people we disagree with," said Conway. "Regardless of disagreements, how can we be [Christian] leaders in the communal spaces we all share?"
This course is available to all undergraduate College of Bible & Ministry students, whether they hope to go into congregational leadership or bring together faith communities in other ways.
A program of the Council of Independent Colleges, NetVUE is supported by the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc. and member dues.