Q: What is the vision of NGLI?
A:  Empower younger local church pastors to lead and partner with congregations in imagining and cultivating God’s faithfulness and fruitfulness in the United Church of Christ.

Q:  What is the mission of NGLI?
A:  Next Generation Leadership Initiative (NGLI) equips and energizes younger UCC local church pastors to co-create vibrant congregations that change lives, engage their communities, and further God’s mission in the world.

NGLI seeks to honor and challenge younger clergy who demonstrate significant potential, who have accepted the high calling to parish ministry, who view parish ministry as a career path, and are willing to make a long-term commitment to service in congregational settings of the United Church of Christ.

Q:  What is a transformational leader?
A:  A transformational leader is one who manifests the capacity to:

• Live a faith that shows love of God, trust in Jesus, and openness to the Holy Spirit
• Practice self-reflection
• Embody a contagious faith and hopeful confidence in sharing the good news of the Gospel with believers and non-believers
• Develop an entrepreneurial spirit
• Exhibit a commitment to continuous improvement in their personal and professional life, welcoming feedback and integrating awareness and insights
• Participate in a network of mutual care and learning with colleagues
• Articulate a personal vision/mission/core values statement for their life
• Engage with the congregation to develop a vision/mission/core values statement that will shape the congregation’s life and vocation
• Create an environment in which effective engagement with peoples of diverse ethnicities and cultures is encouraged
• Recognize dysfunction and practice self-differentiated leadership in order to avoid becoming enmeshed in dysfunctional issues and behavior
• Apply adaptive leadership methods-- embrace experimentation, manage anxieties, learn from failures, and demonstrate resilience in order to move into the future
• Synthesize solutions within the congregational context
• Empower teams of persons to experience trust and achieve desired outcomes
• Pay attention to their holistic health and family relationships not only for themselves but also within the congregation they are called to serve
• Live out an appreciation of the United Church of Christ’s historical, cultural and missional identity

• Be 35 years of age or under at the point of admission to NGLI
• Be authorized for ministry in and on behalf of the UCC by an Association/Conference
• Have served a total of five years or less as an authorized minister in a parish
• Hold a called position of 20 hours per week or more in a parish setting
• Be committed to long-term ministry in local churches of the United Church of Christ

• The annual core curriculum course assists pastors in evolving their transformational ministry skills:
  
  • Year One: Navigating the Waters: Bowen Family Systems Theory as Foundation for Thriving Leadership is about understanding a congregation as an emotional system and identifying pathways of effective leadership that are responsive to real needs in a congregation. Pastors will start to see how their family of origin informs their leadership and learn the difference between feeling and thinking, as well as reacting and responding.
  • Year Two: Art of Adaptive Leadership is about co-creating with God and community an equitable, purposeful church that makes positive change in the world through a lens of love, even amid church and social conflicts.
  • Year Three: Relational Leadership: Strengthening Skills and Heart for Team Building and Community Engagement is about learning and practicing methodologies and frameworks that foster connection, wisdom, experimentation and purpose in diverse teams and communities.
  • Year Four: Next Faithful Step Leadership is about naming and claiming a theology of leadership that will be a guide for evolving and sustaining pastoral ministry.
• An annual field trip to experience God’s presence in and call upon the today’s world as well as opportunities to build on theories, methods, and practices learned in the core curriculum classes.

• Pastors engage in a guided reflection process that leads to the creation of learning goals and action plans that deepen and widen a pastor’s transformational leadership skills or spirituality.  Each pastor receives up to $2,000 per year to pursue their individual action plan.

• NGLI begins with an “Orientation” in Year 0 and ends with a celebratory event called “Benediction” in Year 7. These in-person gatherings offer pastors the space and time to form and grow relationships as a cohort, which are often relied upon and treasured for years to come.
• In support of pastors that are raising families during this time, each pastor is eligible for up to $1,000 per year for child-care/family expenses in Years 1-4.
• A formal assessment tool that is developmental, not judgmental about a pastor’s character, competence, and contribution in ministry is utilized three times throughout a pastor’s NGLI journey. Feedback is gathered from both the pastor and lay leaders in the congregation.
• A $6,000 contribution to the pastor’s Annuity Plan account occurs during Year 1 to help seed the pastor’s retirement savings. It is estimated that the contribution will be valued at $45,000 at the end of a 35-year career. The seed money is 50% vested in Year 5 and fully vested at the end of Year 6. (These figures are calculated based on an assumed growth rate of 6% per year over a 35-year period.)

• •Partner with their pastor as they ask new questions, offer new ideas, practice new skills in ministry, and co-create a congregational mission and vision.
• Provide the time and space for their pastor to attend NGLI events, which occur twice a year for approximately one week each in Years 1-4. Years 5 & 6 are more self-directed and may also need time away for study or renewal. It is important to note that NGLI time is considered continuing education time, not vacation since the pastor is hard at work learning and growing to serve the congregation more effectively.
• Provide for worship leadership, pastoral care coverage, and other critical ministerial duties while their pastor is away.
• Avoid the scheduling of in-person or Zoom meetings that require the pastor’s attendance during NGLI events.
• Have identified leaders complete a formal assessment of their pastor’s character, competence, and contribution 3x in six years.
• Complete the annual UCC Yearbook reports so that trends and patterns can be observed across the churches participating in NGLI.

The Rev. L. Krista Betz, Director, Leadership Initiatives
The Pension Boards–United Church of Christ, Inc.

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1.800.642.6543, ext. 2716