National Collaborative for Congregational Flourishing Fellows Program

In the fall of 2026, we are launching the National Collaborative Congregational Flourishing Fellows Program. The NCCF Fellows Program is a cohort-based scholarly community convened in partnership with the Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University. This Fellows program brings together 18 theologians, religious studies scholars, sociologists of religion, and related interdisciplinary scholars for sustained inquiry into congregational life and the future of public faith education.

Rooted in Baylor University’s commitment to intellectual work shaped by Christian faith, the Collaborative treats congregations as theologically significant sites of revelation, formation, and communal wisdom. The church is not only an object of analysis but a living partner in theological reflection shaping how scholars understand belonging, ecclesial life, resilience, and flourishing across diverse contexts.

Attentive to the lived realities of congregations across racial, cultural, geographic, and generational lines including multiracial, mono-racial, urban, rural, immigrant, and long-established communities, this Fellows program creates space for scholars to engage the complexity of contemporary ecclesial life. These congregations become sites of theological and practical insight, where questions of worship, witness, moral formation, and community life are deeply intertwined.

Program Design and Cohort Life

The National Collaborative for Congregational Flourishing Fellows Program is designed as a sustained scholarly community of practice, with regular rhythms of engagement that support deep reflection and collaborative intellectual work.

The cohort meets monthly throughout the academic year for structured engagement, supplemented by three focused phases:

• Phase I – Monthly Cohort Gatherings (Fall 2026/ Spring 2027): Ongoing interdisciplinary dialogue, shared reading, and interpretive reflection on congregational life
• Phase II – Common Retreat (Summer 2027): An immersive retreat for collaborative writing and pedagogical development
• Phase III – Synthesis Convening (Fall 2027): A final gathering focused on integration of insights and public-facing scholarship

Across these rhythms, fellows participate in sustained intellectual formation marked by rigorous engagement with questions of faith and practice, collegial exchange, and shared scholarly inquiry.

Tentative Schedule

We ask applicants to consider prioritizing these dates for participation in this Fellows Program

Interdisciplinary Learning Network

The National Collaborative Congregational Flourishing Fellows Program seeks to cultivate a durable scholarly community committed to strengthening congregational life and public faith education in a rapidly changing cultural context.

Ultimately, this Fellows program advances a vision of intellectual inquiry rooted in faith, ecclesial attentiveness, and communal formation where scholars and congregations together discern practices of care, resilience, and flourishing in congregational life and the wider world. 

Applications Now Open 

Application deadline: July 31, 2026.