As part of our work with Grand Rapids Theological Seminary on their 2020 Talking Points conference, we developed a series of studies to promote resilience among current and future pastors and ministry leaders.
One popular curriculum format is the video-driven curriculum. Videos featuring prominent speakers serve as the foundation, and curriculum developers write discussion or reflection questions so that participants can engage the content further. We opted against the video-driven format because we believe other curriculum designs can facilitate learning better.
We began with research and wisdom on what contributes to resilience for pastors and ministry leaders to identify the topics and audience for each study. Then, we developed student learning outcomes and selected elements of the conference resources such as video clips and excerpts from blog posts to facilitate learning relative to those outcomes. We designed each lesson to walk participants through a learning cycle that would help them not only engage the topics but also practice new habits and skills during the study.
For each study, we developed a downloadable Facilitator’s Guide and Participant’s Guide. You can see a sample here.
The seven studies that make up The Resilience Curriculum are available fully online. You can see a list of the seven studies below.
- Study 1: Preparing for Resilient Ministry
- Study 2: Burnout and Resilience
- Study 3: Self-Care in Ministry
- Study 4: Pursuing Wholeness in Community
- Study 5: Wholeness by Way of the Cross
- Study 6: Wellbeing for Leadership Teams
- Study 7: Caring for Your Pastor
