“If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. Be…
Category: Church Planting
Called to Preach, Called to Lead—Ministering For Such a Time as This
The Rev. Dr. Patrice Fowler-Searcy ’13/’24 is the first Black woman to chair Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Board of Directors. Prior to assuming this role, Patrice served the Board for 12 years in a number of capacities, including vice chair during Sandy Lamb’s leadership, chair of the governance committee, and member of the Executive and Student…
Sourcing and Sustaining Lay Leadership
Since graduating from seminary in 2011, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced as the pastor of a small, rural congregation is recruiting, retaining, and replacing leaders within the church. At Nixon United Methodist Church, we have a practice of rotating new leaders out of leadership after three years. This policy has been challenging to…


