Leadership Academy Provides Training Opportunities for Social Entrepreneurs
When Rev. Sharyn Cosby came to Hope Partnership’s Leadership Academy last year, she came hopeful, but with a tired spirit.
“The work we are doing is needed,” said Cosby, president and director of the social justice organization Oklahoma Family Empowerment Center. “Yet, I was getting weary—not of the well-doing, but in trying to do well with little resources and support.”
Through the Social Entrepreneur Track, offered by the National Benevolent Association (NBA), Cosby received useful tools to lead her organization and the encouragement needed to continue her justice work.
“I experienced a turnaround in my spirit. My commitment strengthened,” said Cosby. “I knew I was now able to receive what I needed.”
Leadership Academy, held September 21-24 in Indianapolis, is an immersive, multi-day learning experience for leaders in new and transforming congregations, as well as social entrepreneurs of faith starting health and social service ministry projects. Open to Disciples clergy and lay leaders, this event will inspire, teach, and encourage people as they lead courageously in their local settings.
“All of the components of Leadership Academy are geared toward the passions, imaginations, hopes, and dreams of those who desire to lead God’s people and are committed to further development in their roles as bold innovators working as a part of the 21st-century church!” said Rev. Shernell Edney, minister of educational services at Hope Partnership.
For the second year, Hope Partnership and the NBA are collaborating to offer the Social Entrepreneur Track.
“This partnership honors the reality that there are many new and imaginative ways to do ministry today. Adding a new cohort helps to support those whose ministry is to attend to the physical, emotional, and social needs of the communities around us,” said Rev. Ayanna Johnson Watkins, director of the NBA Incubate Initiative. “Best of all, it allows these visionary leaders to gather and grow together.”
To learn more about Leadership Academy and resources related to congregational leadership and community transformation, contact Shernell Edney. For more information about the Social Entrepreneur Track, contact Ayanna Johnson Watkins.
