We asked participants in the 2025-2026 Helping Churches Thrive Shared Learning Cohort to share some insights about how the new initiative is helping their church. Read below what participants from Zebulon Baptist Church in Zebulon, NC had to say.
Why do you think the Helping Churches Thrive Shared Learning Cohort is right for your church?
The cohort has been a good process for our congregation, helping us exercise our leadership muscles. It is very easy for congregations to fall into complacency if leadership fails to invite it into discerning how God leads us toward opportunities for service and fellowship in our context. Our congregation is invested in its church, and so this process has helped provide the language and tools we need to establish vision according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
What do you hope will be the outcome of participating in the Helping Churches Thrive Shared Learning Cohort?
We live in a rapidly growing and changing context. That change sometimes creates tension between the past and present. I hope our congregation will be better equipped to encounter the change with joyful anticipation of how we might glorify Christ through our relationships and ministries.
How has the process been fruitful so far? What have you learned?
This process has helped identify the most invested core of our congregation and, in turn, has revealed how many others are less engaged—whether by choice or because they do not yet feel invited to lend their voice to our visioning. This presents opportunities for our congregation to consider how we might grow and connect in more meaningful ways, encouraging broader and deeper engagement.
