Practical Church Leadership

• The PCL program begins in July and runs a full calendar year. 
• The first session is a 2-day in-person orientation in July, on campus at DWU, followed by three weeks of onboarding and getting to know your coach, the learning management system, and more.
• The first 7-week course begins in August. 
• Classes have live guest lectures with experts at noon (Central Time) on 4-5 Mondays throughout each term. 
• Students will have access to the applied project in our Canvas learning management system from start to finish.
• DWU will host an in-person event with live speakers for 2 days in mid-January, in regional locations, and one additional in-person event at DWU in mid-July at the conclusion of the program in order to engage in additional learning, worship together, and celebrate.

To be eligible you must currently be working as a Pastor or an Associate Pastor. 

Scholarships may be available through denominational continuing education grants, foundation support, local church funding, DWU financial aid or payment plans.

Benefits for YOU and the ministry you serve:

• Financial Resource Development 
  Grow the current state of giving within your church, examine the underlying tenets of giving from a scriptural and a human perspective, and explore different approaches for cultivating giving that will enable short and long-term sustainable resource development. 
• Financial Management 
  Develop fundamental knowledge about processes and procedures for financial planning and financial management and strengthen skills through analysis of financial documents and practical application of contemporary financial management tools and techniques. 
• Governance, Personnel, and Volunteer Management 
  Evaluate different leadership and governance structures for nonprofit and church oversight. Assess best practices for human resource development and management, and your capacity for volunteer recruitment, development, engagement, and retention.
• Vision, Strategy and Evaluation 
  Compose or refresh vision, mission, values, and purpose statements while you develop competency for strategic planning, program design and evaluation. 
• Communications and Community Outreach 
  Explore a variety of mediums and communication strategies to design or modify methods of internal and external communication, develop skills in marketing for your church, and evaluate strategies for effective outreach. 
• Applied Project 
  Make measurable and positive impacts on administrative functions of your organization with a comprehensive applied project. You’ll be coached by a qualified and trained applied professional who will also provide instruction and support in principles and practices of project management. 

The average amount of time participants devote to the program each week is 4-6 hours. This varies by week, and the program is very sensitive to needed flexibility during important seasons such as Advent and Lent. 

Three in-person gatherings will be held, and include two days of worship, learning, and connecting. In-person gatherings help form relationships with peers, learning from one another and from guests, and connecting with coaches.

Live class sessions are typically held from 12-1 (CST) on Mondays during the 7-week, online classes. The 7-week classes are full of content in respective subject matter areas and will require some reading, discussion and/or applied assignments.

Coaches are matched with students through a process that engages discerning mutual interest areas, professional experience, personality and strengths assessments.

Each coach completes training and development to become a professional coach. Many of our coaches have endorsements from the international association of professional coaches or international coach federation.  

Coaches meet with students bi-weekly, during normally scheduled work weeks, for 45 minutes to talk through applied project and more. 

The return on investment is distinct.

Participants in the PCL program have: