Each module of our new Matthew 25 curriculum consists of a biblical foundation, theological reflection and practical tools to help you adapt and apply the content to your own ministry. Courses will be available for each of the three Matthew 25 focuses: nurturing vital congregations and communities of faith, dismantling structural racism and working to end systemic poverty.
Each series consists of 4 two-hour, highly-participatory online classes. You may take the class in a small group or as a self-paced, individual study.
We have partnered with Stony Point Center and Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary to develop these courses.
Third course starts Nov. 9:
“Civil Initiative and the Engaged Church”
This course is designed to introduce basic principles for faith-based community formation that will help church communities to engage in a principled and theologically grounded way in civic life and grass-roots justice movements. This course is not designed to train participants in a specific organizing strategy, but instead offers foundational principles of community formation to nurture faith communities that have the capacity and resilience to respond to entrenched systems of oppression in creative and liberating ways. Built around the thinking of Quaker philosopher Jim Corbett (1933-2001), the course will foreground the experiences and voices of faith-based activists.
Second course starts Sept. 21:
“Underpinnings of Systemic Poverty”
This is an introductory course offering a basic overview of the implications of political and economic systems that enforce structures of poverty. This course explores the challenges of the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” philosophy rampant in our society. The course is designed for those for whom the concept of systemic poverty is relatively new and for those who would like to better understand the intersections between class and other forms of systematized oppression.
First course coming August 10:
“Awakening to Structural Racism”
This course is for people interested in learning more about structural racism and how to resist and deconstruct its destructive power in our own lives, our churches, our communities and the broader culture.