About us
Leadership + Legacy
We're a movement of about 500 churches of various shapes & sizes committed to the practice and theology of the Kingdom of God.
The research on pastoral well-being and longevity is conclusive: Pastors who live well and finish well have many different kinds of mentors. The Well-Being of Pastors Initiative will initially serve 108 Vineyard pastors between 2019 and 2023 and help us better understand pastoral wellness for generations to come.
Read the press release about the Lilly Endowment grant.
Cohort C will kick off in January 2022. (Please note that is a new time, for any of you who have been following our progress!) Cohort C (2022-2023) will be accepting applications August 1-October 20, 2021. Check back August 1, 2021, for the link to the application.
Participants commit to join a 2-year cohort of 42 other pastors from specific affinity groups:
Each affinity group will ideally consist of 5 to 7 pastor participants and 1 assigned, highly qualified Vineyard mentor from the same affinity group.
Each cohort will journey together for two years in a transformational experience for their well-being. The journey includes mentoring, coaching, spiritual direction, retreats, and more. Simultaneously, we will conduct a study to discover how mentoring and care increases a senior leader’s overall well-being and fruitful longevity.
Over the course of the 2-year program, Well-being of Pastors participants will receive:
Your participation in this program is financially covered by the grant. However, all of the above benefits will cost you time, energy, and the work of growth as you go. You will be filling out assessments and surveys along the way about your experience, to contribute to the study and our learning of best practices.
The program will require teachability, a desire for mentoring, openness to honest relationships with those in your affinity group, time and space in your life schedule to fit in additional conversations and learning, and a passion for the Spirit’s deep, formative work in your life for God’s glory, your well-being, and the good of those you influence.
Orientation & Inaugural Retreat
Cohort C will start with a retreat on January 13-16, 2022, at a retreat center we’ve enjoyed before, the TBarM Retreat Center in New Braunfels, Texas, between Austin and San Antonio. The participants (7 affinity groups x 6 people each) will have a long weekend of formation, sharing, and training to begin their two-year journey together. Participants will have the opportunity to get to know the other cohort members, (especially those within their affinity group), their mentor, as well as some spiritual directors and coaches, in person and online.
Program Mentoring
After the Inaugural Retreat, over the next 23 months, each affinity group in Cohort C will meet 17 times online (Zoom video meetings) as a group for 60-90 minutes facilitated by their mentor to discuss topics that are both universal to all senior pastors (eg. conflict) and affinity group-specific (eg. time management and ministry focus for bi-vocational pastors). Each participant will also meet individually with the mentor for personalized mentoring in those months. You may have noticed that there are 23 months and only 17 meetings. This is so that you and your affinity group can schedule breaks that work within your annual ministry rhythm. The specific break months will be decided on by each individual affinity group during the Inaugural Retreat (so bring your calendar).
Program Spiritual Direction & Coaching
Besides the mentoring sessions with your affinity group mentor, participants will have 17 individual online appointments available to him or her with a Spiritual Director and a Coach. If you’re figuring the time commitment, that’s an average of 4 one-hour meetings per month in each month you meet; three meetings are private, one-on-one meetings with your helper, and one meeting is with your affinity group.
Program Completion
In late 2023, as the affinity group’s formal journey together is drawing to a close, there will be a day for the entire cohort to gather face-to-face again, share a couple of meals, and participate in a final day of formation and reflection. This special day is called The Beyond Retreat, and will help participants in moving beyond where there are, in actionable next steps.
Prior to the Inaugural Retreat (Jan 13-16, 2022) and after program completion (Dec 2023), two effectiveness measurement tools (in the form of online questionnaires) will be administered to each participant.
Answers to the initial questionnaire will help guide the program and help us learn about the well-being and longevity of pastors. Answers to the final questionnaire will help us measure growth and discover what practices increase well-being and improve fruitful longevity for Vineyard pastors.
Time Commitment At A Glance
Note: There is flexibility in the timing of the 17 meetings over the 23 months, and the grant provides for these total numbers of meetings per helper. The participant will determine with his or her Mentor, Coach, and Spiritual Director where the Holy Spirit is directing their growth track at that time. All participants are expected to log onto their affinity group meeting in a timely manner as this is a group-dynamic-driven meeting where participant pastors are learning and growing from each other and it cannot be “made up” later. In an extreme emergency and with the permission of the Mentor, Spiritual Director, or Coach, individual meetings may be re-scheduled.
Check out this five-minute video of Cohort A’s reflections from their program experience. “The Gifts I’ve Received” by VUSA’s Well-being of Pastors Cohort A – YouTube
Affinity Groups Offered In Cohort C
All Affinity Groups are open for application in Cohort C. You may notice that we name 8 affinity groups below, and have funding for 7, because all groups may not meet the threshold of 5 qualified applicants to form. These are the criteria we are looking for in each affinity group.
Baseline Participant Criteria For All Affinity Groups
All pastors who meet the inclusion criteria and descriptions above and are interested in being mentored are encouraged to apply. You may apply for more than one affinity group if you cross-qualify. [i.e, women & bi-vocational, etc.].