Training

Current & Upcoming Classes | Customized Trainings | Testimonials

Churches, faith communities and regional associations can benefit from the wide range of training and topical presentations and discussions, as well as regular classes on-site at Samaritan, offered by Clergy and Congregation Care consultants.

Helpful topics include strategic thinking, leading change, stress management, mindful self-compassion, God-centered decision-making, resilience and the topics listed below.

Have questions about the different training options we provide? Contact us here.

Team Building

Understanding the stages of a team’s development; unpacking Myers-Briggs personality types and Strengthsfinder results.

Conflict Transformation

Training on best practices converting the energy of conflict into transformation.

Emotional Intelligence

How to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and how to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

Cultural Intelligence

Understanding cultural differences in communication and conflict, and how to find unity in diversity.

Leading Through Questions

An approach to leadership that helps equip and develop others.

Polarity Management

Learning how to live with spiritual paradox.

Mindful Self-Compassion

Basic mindfulness and compassion practices in a format compatible with spiritual growth. The 6-hour program is modular and can be customized for leaders or congregations.

Intersections Boundary Training

Both congregants, leaders and regional associations can benefit from half-day or full-day Intersections sessions that train individuals to better understand and set wise boundaries.

That’s because every individual within the leadership of a church — both regionally and locally — needs to understand, respect and set boundaries in order to cultivate a healthy community.

In many judicatory bodies such as presbyteries, dioceses or conferences require and provide this training to their members.

The boundary training provided by the Clergy & Congregation Care program is customized to meet association requirements and time frames. It is also designed to be highly interactive, fully engaging the participants.

Boundary training may also be offered as needed with a recommended group size of 10 or more to keep per person costs accessible.

Have questions? For more information, contact the Clergy & Congregation Care team, at info.ccc@scclanc.org.

Current & Upcoming Classes

Leading Your Congregation Through Conflict (Dates coming soon!)

In this 1 1/2-hour hybrid seminar on Thursday, November 17, Pastor David Woolverton presents principles from his book, “Mission Rift: Leading Your Church Through Conflict” to help clergy, pastors and congregation members better navigate conflict.

Click here to learn more about the seminar or to register.

The Congregational Life Cycle (Dates coming soon!)

Explore the phases of a congregation’s life cycle with this four-session workshop, and learn how to approach each phase with wisdom in order to create a healthy faith community. You can register for the full workshop or one session.

Session One: There is a natural process every congregation goes through and in this introductory overview of the life cycles, you’ll learn about the different stages of church growth, maturation, and decline.
Session Two: Explore the particular challenges facing each stage of the congregation, as well as an exploration of how to meet those needs with the care and empathy required for that stage.
Session Three: Discover the reality of your congregation’s health to understand where you are, who you are, and what changes need to be made for the health of the community.
Session Four: Dig into some of the attitudes and actions present in a church that can undo its mission and make new people feel unwelcome, as well as seeking biblical wisdom for treating these “cancers,” such as lack of accountability and oversight.

Youth Ministry for Today’s Teenagers (Dates coming soon!)

Learn how to better understand and serve the youth in your faith communities, as well as what to prioritize and how to best support them in this season of their lives. You can register for the full workshop or one session.

Session One: Nothing New Under the Sun: In this session, we will discuss the world in which adolescents are coming of age explore how our perception of the current context shapes our interactions with youths, as well as programming for them. We’ll also work on developing our empathy and remembering our own adolescence to enhance our ability to support the youths in our lives.
Session Two: Explore the biological changes teenagers undergo and think through ways to respond to the unique challenges present in this developmental stage. This, in turn, can inform your ministry programming to better align with holistic development of children, youths, and young adults.
Session Three: Dig into the factors that are most important in shaping faith and consider or reconsider what it may look like for youths to flourish. This conversation will also speak to how we can attend to all areas of congregational life in ways that contribute to faith development among children and youths.
Session Four: Learn how to focus on the key components that can form the essential core of programming and models for faith formation, including what it means to have a youth ministry program that is integrated into the life of the congregation.

Pastoral Resilience: Avoiding Burnout (Dates coming soon!)

Learn important self-care habits for clergy leaders and pastors, as well as warning signs of burnout and how to avoid it, in this four-session workshop.

Session One: Explores the emotional, physical and mental wear that often accompanies the sacred calling of ministers and offers ministers permission to disappoint people, pathways for resilience, and assurances that you are beloved — not for what you do for God, but for you who are to God.
Session Two: Examines how God has instilled each minister with individualized and human limitations, and what it looks like to minister within your personal imitations. This session also encourages ministers to pursue play and laughter, prioritize self-care, and build margin, silence and rest into your rhythms.
Session Three: Covers hiring and onboarding church staff, coaching employees to their highest potential, and redirecting them when struggling in their role, as well as discussing how pastors can develop essential employee policies, move from a shepherd to a rancher mindset, and grow in emotional intelligence as a leader.
Session Four: Provides insight for ministers on how to develop spiritual friendships and confidants both inside and outside your faith community, and includes an invitation to participate in an interdenominational cohort for ministers who may desire more relational connections.

Testimonial

“David Miron provided a knowledgeable and accessible boundary training program for Beaver Butler Presbytery. The content focused on the core needs of healthy leaders as a guard against poor choices in ministry. We received a clear presentation that invited conversation that highlighted many critical challenges to pastoral work. Our pastors were attentive to the material and complementary in their impressions of the event. We hope to engage the Samaritan Counseling Group in future training for an additional level of this type of training.”
Executive Presbyter of Beaver-Butler Presbytery

“David did an excellent job of keeping the presentation understandable and useful, and the group gathered was grateful that they had spent time on the subject.”
Presbytery of Donegal