The C.R.E.A.T.E. Cohort is supported by the Seminary’s Isaiah Partnership initiative, and housed in the Office of Continuing Education. The C.R.E.A.T.E. Cohort is a 6-month program with one on-campus event (May 19-21, 2024). Applications will be accepted from organizational leaders (this may include Lead/Senior pastors) who wish to pursue a project-driven process of change leadership in their context. Applicants will be expected to identify an additional team member from their organization during the application process. The cost of the program is $549 per participant, and two participants per organization should anticipate registering for the program and paying this fee, if accepted. (Note: Some scholarship opportunities are available, based on need).
This program seeks participation of organization leaders of faith-based and faith-related organizations and an organizational/staff partner that meet the following criteria:
- An Organization Leader and one (1) organizational leader of the same organization applying as a team for participation in this project
- Organization Leaders with at least 5-10 years total experience in top leadership, but relatively new to leading your current organization
- Organization Leaders who are enthusiastic about introducing innovation and change in their organization.
- Organization Leaders that value a wide diversity of persons, learnings, and theologies (i.e., your organization’s understanding of who God is, how we access God and how God moves among us, and/or how Christian people are called to engage their faith)
- Teams that are able and willing to commit to a 6-month project requiring involvement of an average of 5–10 hours/month in team interaction, learning activities, reflection, IP Team coaching and one in-person event at the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey in May, 2024
Benefits
As a part of the C.R.E.A.T.E. Cohort, your organization will receive:
- Cutting edge human centered design thinking and practical training from Princeton Seminary scholars, Ministry Practitioners and other subject matter experts, to assist you in unlocking your creativity and innovative ideas to address researched organizational and community needs
- Online and book resources to expand your church/organization’s capacity to think out of the box and CREATE something needed!
- An opportunity to participate in an in-person Design Lab at the Princeton Theological Seminary campus, with fellow cohort participants to further develop your innovation project to be activated after the training sessions. (Partial expenses covered by Princeton Theological Seminary)
Commitments
As a part of the C.R.E.A.T.E. Cohort, your organization will commit to:
- Engaging in an intensive 6-month digital training program to enhance your design and development tools for facilitating innovative and changemaking projects in your context
- Enlisting a Organizational Partner who is equipped with power and authority to assist the Pastor/Organizational Leader in developing new project ideas for your organization.
- Assembling a team of 3-5 members within your organization to design an innovative project to be executed at the conclusion of the 6-month digital training period.
- Committing to approximately 10 hours/month dedicated time to this project, with two (2) monthly touchpoints with the Isaiah Partnership C.R.E.A.T.E. Team for:
- Training – 2 hours/meeting – 1 meeting per month (February 8 – July 11, 2024)
- Consultation with IP Team/Staff – 1 hour/month
- Committing to Innovation Team Meetings at your site @ 1x/month at 2-3 hours/meeting
- Attending a 1.5 day in-person Design Lab on the Princeton Theological Seminary campus in May, 2024 for the purpose of further honing your skills in designing these projects (Note: Lodging and meals are covered by Princeton Theological Seminary. Travel cost is the responsibility of your organization for both attendees.)
- Paying the Program Cost of $549 per team member (2 member teams are required per organization) for the entire 6-month Cohort Training and IP Team Consultations for each church/organizational team. (Note: Some travel scholarship opportunities are available based on need.)
