In Support of Pastoral Excellence

The Institute of Pastoral Studies fosters the Lilly Endowment Inc. ideal that “The quality of pastoral leadership is key to vital congregational life.” Since 2004, through its support of the INSPIRE project, IPS has placed skilled consultants in over 50 parishes to work with pastoral leadership teams as they built collaborative expressions of mission-focused ministry.

To share our work widely, we have developed a set of five pastoral team learning modules. They are available to all parishes. Pastoral Leadership Teams across the country are invited to inquire about professional consultation and access to tested, research-based, pastoral team development.

Current Offerings
Breaking Silos, Building Bridges	Identifying organizational silos that limit effectiveness (4.5 Hours)
Deepening One’s Spiritual Health	Reflecting on one’s own and the group’s spirituality and its influence on ministry (1 day)
Discovering a Parish’s Vision, Values and Mission	Identifying a parish’s gifts and challenges, and exploring what God is calling the parish to be (2 half-day sessions or 2 months)
Transitions	Support and guidance for parishes experiencing a pastor transition (2 hours)
When Task and Ministry Collide	Exploring recent research on task orientation versus building community within parish staffs (4 hours)

To learn more or to inquire about other services, please contact Mark Bersano, Coordinator of Parish Leadership and Management Programs, at 312.915.7428.