The CCR has developed the Equipping the Called Leadership Program to help Christian churches cultivate the spiritual formation of congregants and function as anchor institutions that strengthen their local communities. The primary aim and objectives of the program additionally include equipping congregations to extend hospitality to their neighbors, and to function as anchor institutions that strengthen their local communities. This program will address these aims and objectives by:

1. Providing training and support for ordained and lay leadership
2. Helping congregations to identify and respond to the challenges and opportunities within their congregations and in their local communities
3. Equipping rural and small-town churches to serve as anchor institutions and to build collaborations with other organizations in their communities.

The Equipping the Called Leadership Program is a six-month, self-paced, online course designed specifically for clergy and lay leaders serving in rural areas and small-town churches. Grounded in thinking and theological insights, the program equips leaders with the practical tools to nurture spiritual formation, strengthen key relationship, and foster lasting community impact. The content for this program has been developed in partnership with the Alabama Center for Pastoral Resilience.

The next course dates are 9/1/2026 - 2/1/2027. Registration will open in July of 2026, please refer back to this site for additional information.

A key feature of the Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative is the awarding of grants to a diverse group of denominational hubs, educational institutions, and other non-profit ministries who are positioned to support gospel ministry in rural and small-town congregations within their own networks.  Through the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc. whose funding provides for these sub-awards, the CCR’s key collaborating partners have developed individualized programs to either expand or begin Christian ministry efforts with rural and small-town churches.

Below are our current key collaborating partners.

Alabama Center for Pastoral Resilience 

The Alabama Center for Pastoral Resilence (ACPR) is committed to equipping pastors to lead with clarity by offering a Resilient Pastor Cohort program, consulting services, leadership coaching, seminars and workshops. The leadership tools, emotional resilience training, and strategic approaches to enhancing ministry have already proven transformational for those who have been engaged in the ACPR’s work. The CCR sub-grant award will provide twelve scholarships to support pastors from under-resourced rural and small-town congregations.

Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBC) 

The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions recognizes the importance of rural churches as well as the unique challenges which attend these congregations’ gospel efforts. ALSBOM is using sub-award funds to develop a targeted revitalization effort with the rural and small-town churches in their network.  The revitalization efforts include three main components: consulting, equipping, and resourcing local congregations. Through the partnership with the CCR, ALSBOM expects to strengthen up to 24 churches each year, with as many as 96 congregations receiving support throughout the grant period.

Catholic Diocese of Alabama

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham is deeply committed to serving the most vulnerable populations of central and northern Alabama. Through the grant award from the CCR the Diocese will be able to enhance and expand the efforts of their six Centers of Concern which provide critical assistance to individuals from rural, immigrant, senior, and disabled communities. The Centers of Concern assist individuals with food, rent, utility, and prescription aids, along with vital case management services which are intended to guide participants toward long-term self-sufficiency.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship  

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s new Small Town and Rural Initiative – STAR – uses a cohesive approach to strengthen, enhance, and amplify the current work of pastors and congregations in their network. Over the course of the partnership with the CCR, the STAR program will cultivate spiritual formation practices, develop traits related to thriving congregations, strengthen relationships between churches and local partners, help churches become anchor institutions in their communities, build relationships and connection among clergy, and develop context-specific resources for rural and small-town congregations.

Jefferson County District Missionary Baptist Association 

As a part of the Alabama State Missionary Baptist Convention since 1893, the Jefferson County District Missionary Baptist Association serves pastors, lay leaders, and congregations throughout a large network of rural and small-town churches. Through a new program A.C.T.S.-- Advancing Congregations Through Service -- the JCDMBA’s Training Center will become a central hub for statewide training sessions, workshops, and leadership clinics. Innovative digital literacy training is a distinctive feature of A.C.T.S.  This hands-on training in the use of LOGOS Bible Software will provide a premier digital study platform for sermon preparation, teaching and personal spiritual formation.

Mobile Baptist Network & the University of Mobile  

The Mobile Baptist Network consists of 47 rural churches, 42 of whom are served by bi-vocational pastors. Dr. Kevin Blackwell, Executive Director of the MBN, is also a faculty member and Special Assistant to the President of the University of Mobile. Through these dual roles, Dr. Blackwell is able to support the work of rural and small-town congregations in the Mobile Baptist Network. In cooperation with the faculty and staff of UM, the MBN is able to offer spiritual and professional growth events, ministry sabbaticals,  and grants to rural congregations.  Additionally, the MBN provides support for international church plants who minister to the 80 different ethnic groups represented in Mobile County.  

Selma University   

Selma University’s initiative Christian Service Ministry for Rural Areas and Small Towns aligns perfectly with the University’s mission “to prepare men and women to be servant leaders who inspire a spirit of generative servant leadership in the communities where they live and work.”  CSMRAST enhances SU’s efforts to provide community service opportunities for students and address ministry challenges in the rural congregations within about a 10-mile radius of the school. The program’s purpose is to equip rural and small-town participants to become Bible teachers, musical worship leaders, and eventually trainers within their own congregations. Training sessions will be led by Selma University students and faculty. Over a three-year period, CSMRAST hopes to equip congregants in a total of 40-50 different semester-long sessions.

Shelby Baptist Association 

The Shelby Baptist Association (SBA) partners with churches in Shelby County Alabama to share the gospel of Jesus Christ through missions and ministries. One expression of this mission is the SBA Mobile Dental Assistance ministry. Through SBA’s MDA, volunteer dental professionals provide free dental care on-site at rural churches in parts of the county with little to no access to affordable dental care. Grant funds from the CCR will  strengthen and expand the SBA Mobile Dental Assistance ministry to additional rural congregations and also provide orientation and training to additional church volunteers. During the three-year grant program period, the SBA estimates it will offer 15 MDA clinics while training between 90 and 100 new program volunteers.

Unforsaken Ministry 

Unforsaken Ministry fills a gap for individuals working to overcome addiction and their families. Founded and directed by the Rev. Glenn Sandifer Unforsaken Ministry helps people who have completed a rehabilitation program and need support transitioning from a rehab program into a productive life in society. Hundreds of men, women, and families have received “supportive accountability” from UM. With the additional grant funds, Unforsaken is now bringing its knowledge, processes and experience into rural areas of Alabama, utilizing churches as anchor institutions for the mental, emotional, spiritual, and financial support needed by individuals overcoming addiction.  

United Presbyterians of Wilcox County (Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley, PC-USA)  

The United Presbyterians of Wilcox County (UPWC) is a non-profit consortium of churches that are the legacy of six original Presbyterian schools and five churches that once operated in Wilcox County, Alabama. The schools and churches were founded as a mission of the Freedmen’s Board of the United Presbyterian Church of North America in 1894. UPWC continues to steward the historic mission of the Freedmen’s Board to provide education, spiritual care, and economic uplift to the Black community in Wilcox County. Through the Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative, the UPWC in coordination with the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley is working to restore the former Principal’s House on the Annemanie Mission School campus, the last remaining site of the six original mission schools. In addition to restoration of the Principal’s House, grant funding will help support programming such as expansion of the existing community garden, music and theatre events, Bible study retreats, and cultural festivals to benefit the Annemanie community and its congregations.  This project is much more than a restoration of brick and mortar.  It is a revival of a sacred space where generations of Black children learned, worshiped, and found belonging through their local churches.