Many, if not most, church congregations today find themselves in the strange position of being culturally bound to a somewhat defunct ministry model while isolated from their cultural space. Yet, both theologically and practically, congregations seek to remain the foundational building blocks of Christian community, central carriers of faith, and providers of spiritual health. This proposal aims to address this gap between the current reality and the mission of the Church.

Although the church was once viewed as sitting at the center of society, providing all the essentials of life, that is no longer the case today. Congregations face a multitude of challenges in today’s culture, from understanding why the church has lost its place at the center of communities to the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, to all the challenges in between. These challenges should spur pastors and churches to proactively face the cultural issues and social shifts they have been avoiding and ask the questions they have been afraid to ask.

TRC seeks to better understand the challenges that churches and their leaders face (specifically Black Churches and Small Churches) so that they can be supported and more adequately equipped to extend the Kingdom of God in today’s ever-changing culture.