St. Stephens Evangelical Lutheran Church, an African descent congregation of a mainline denomination on a steep decline, hosted a Theological Leadership Incubator over the course of 18 months. The goal of the Theological Leadership Incubator was to transform this declining congregation into a thriving Afrocentric ministry operation that champions social justice and liberation theology, while embracing an ethic of excellence in worship production, and in ministry outreach to its neighboring community. This project evaluates St. Stephens' efforts to achieve that goal, highlighting integral measurements that qualify success towards that achievement. The purpose for the transformation was to shift the paradigm of outdated and ineffective worship, encompassed by denominational polity discouraging full and active member participation with church activities, as well as their desire for a life-long faith journey through Bible study and reflection, into a more relatable, Afrocentric liberation ethos. This project memorializes the collaboration of two like-minded congregations — one, well-funded, and the other, under-resourced — both of whom strive to produce five-star worship and establish effective, lay-centered ministries through servant leadership. Further, this project emphasizes the historical excellence of African descent ministries in mainline denominations through shared experiences and resources used to transform a Eurocentric paradigm into an African descent liberation ethos. The proposed methodology creates a meaningful partnership between thriving and declining mainline African descent congregations, whereby the sharing experiences encourage transformed leadership that sustains engaging prophetic preaching, culturally enriching worship, and outreach endeavors that meet the needs and empowers its neighboring community.
