ART OF TRANSITIONAL MINISTRY
Dates:
April 16-21, 2023
As part of the Transitional Ministry Educational Consortium, The Art of Transitional Ministry Week One at Calvin Center is church leadership training designed for Clergy and other church staff sensing a call to transitional or interim ministry. Every vibrant church or ministry is or should be transition right now if they hope to not only survive but thrive moving forward.
Churches/ministries in transitional times, Committee on Ministry members, seminary students and presbytery staff members will also find this 5-day conference helpful. It is also a good course for ministers in the midst of their ministry to hone skills such as how to say hello and goodbye in healthy ways, to help congregations heal and gain tools for understanding their congregation, congregational life cycles and leading the process of change. Program begins with breakfast on Monday and ends with lunch on Friday, January. Training sessions at the conference include 30 hours of classroom instruction with plenty of time for personal attention.
LEVEL 1 COURSE CONTENT
Participants will be introduced to and reflect on:
- Leading Change
- The Transitional Ministry Tasks
- The Church as a Family System
- The Congregation as a Living Organism
- Asset Mapping and Community Partnerships
- Dealing with Difficulty and Conflict
- Transitional Themes in Preaching and Worship
- Church & Personal Finances in Transition
- Care of Self as a Transitional Minister
- Leaving Well: Beginning with the End in Mind
FACULTY
Brady Radford
Lead Teacher
The Reverend Brady “Brother Brady” Radford is an Ordained Minister in the Presbyterian Church, USA and a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia. He has served in diverse educational, clinical and congregational settings from Greenville, SC to Atlanta, GA. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at The Interdenominational Theological Center and a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling from Georgia State University. Brady is also a trained conflict mediator with experience consulting local and national ecclesiastical entities. His deepest joy in life comes from family and the relationships he shares with his wife, Celestine and their three children, Aniyah, Brayden and Kalia.
Rev. Jessica Dixon
Teacher
Rev. Jessica Dixon is the Interim Pastor of Old Tennent Presbyterian Church. She began her service with Old Tennent Presbyterian Church in Manalapan, NJ on September 8, 2021.
Rev. Dixon is a professional Interim/Transitional Pastor and served churches in Oak Park IL (near Chicago) and Norman, Oklahoma prior to coming to New Jersey. She is a graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL and St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM. She is a Colorado native and loves her work in caring for her congregation and helping others navigate the complex work of transitional ministry.
Rev. Julie Thompson-Barrier
Teacher
In 34 years of ministry, Julie has served in a variety of roles in congregations in urban, suburban, and rural communities in the northeast (CT), mid Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) and southeast (SC and GA) in congregations ranging from 80 to 2700 members. She is a graduate of Miami University (Ohio) and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, with credits earned from Gordon-Conwell, New York, and Union (NY) seminaries.
Julie and her husband John Barrier live near the New Jersey shore, where she is the Designated Pastor at The Presbyterian Church on the Hill in Ocean, NJ. Their blended family includes
five adult children, a son-in-law and a new granddaughter.
Guests Presenters: TBA
Accommodations
Participants will be staying with us Calvin Center in the 24-bedroom Conference Center. Each hotel-style room is nicely appointed with private bath and a queen and twin-size bed in each room.
Food Service
Amenities
- 536 beautiful acres to explore
- Private Lake
- Hiking
- Kayaking or Canoeing
- Fishing
- Free Wifi
- 40 minutes from Atlanta Airport
COST
- Single Occupancy $850
- Double Occupancy $690
- Commuter Option $450
