We partner with ministries like LeaderWise and Science for the Church to offer a wide variety of opportunities to equip leaders, including Adaptive Leadership; Journey Groups; Race, Science, and the Church; and Boundaries Training.

The Synod is working with presbyteries to train and equip preachers, both those exploring whether they might want to be added to a supply preaching list, and those who offer their sermons every week. Courses of various lengths as well as monthly workshops will be offered.

Higher Education Scholarships for Christian Leaders are available for students in undergraduate, associates, or vocational programs or pursuing their first masters degree in theology. Candidates will be asked to discuss their work to strengthen congregational vitality, dismantle structural racism, and/or eradicate systemic poverty. Applications should be available by March 2022 and will be due later in the spring.  Note:  This scholarship program replaces the Higher Education Scholarship program.

Matthew 25 Grants support churches and ministries which work toward the three Matthew 25 goals. Note: This grants program replaces the New Covenant and Racial Ethnic Grants Programs.

During the pandemic, the virtual worship services created by presbyteries and distributed by the Synod have been well received and popular, with some being viewed as often as 2,000 times on YouTube.  The Synod will continue to offer these services periodically as long as virtual worship remains a prominent means of connecting with Christ.

The Synod’s Interim Executive, Chip Hardwick, preaches, teaches, and keynotes regularly for churches throughout the presbyteries. You can watch recent presentations on the Synod’s YouTube channel.

Invite Chip to speak by emailing him at chip@synodofthecovenant.org.

The Synod will be hiring community organizers to work within communities of color throughout our presbyteries to rebuild and reimagine the racial equity caucuses and the Cabinet on Ethnic Church Affairs, which have been such an important part of the history of the Synod.  Each caucus will determine its own scope and ministry.

In 2022, the Synod is continuing to support Campus Ministries at public universities and colleges throughout Ohio and Michigan through two endowments. This year almost $50,000 will be distributed among twenty-two ministries in nine presbyteries. A cohort of campus ministry leaders has been meeting quarterly by zoom; contact chip@synodofthecovenant.org for more information.

The Synod supports presbytery staff leadership by hosting monthly zooms to connect with each other, as well as individually with Interim Executive Chip Hardwick. Additionally, the Synod will begin to host biannual retreats for Executive, General, and Associate Presbyters once public health conditions permit. The Synod also subsidizes the coaching new presbyters receive through the Presbytery Leadership Formation program.

Self-Development of People is a national ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA) funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing special offering. This grants program is designed to eradicate systemic poverty by investing in marginalized communities with programs of their own design.  The Synod is working to re-establish this ministry in 2021.

In 2022 the Synod looks to coordinate cross-presbytery cohorts so that church leaders in similar contexts and with similar ministries can learn from and support each other.