Leadership Development

Leadership Education Grounded in Faith and Values 

As the role of church life continues to evolve in the United States and internationally, church leaders require new forms of education and training to effectively serve their communities. Trinity supports church leadership in building the skills necessary for present-day ministry, such as nonprofit administration, social entrepreneurship, conflict transformation, and adaptive leadership.  

With a primary focus on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, Trinity’s Leadership Development initiative contributes a mixture of grantmaking and original programming to catalyze new approaches to degree and non-degree ministry education.  

Where We Work 

In the United States and internationally, we work with existing institutions including seminaries, schools of theology and diocesan education programs, closely associated non-profit organizations, and secular leadership education programs.

2024 Impact

Our Strategies 

Expand Leadership Access: To reach a wide variety of leaders, we support organizations who create digital resources that blend faith with practical leadership skills. Many of these resources are available via Trinity’s own Faith Leadership Campus. 

[Access Faith Leadership Campus] 

Enhance Theological Education: A significant portion of our grantmaking focuses on enhancing seminary degree and non-degree curricula with practical leadership offerings for new faith leaders. These grants generally focus on supporting established theological institutions. 

Cultivate Continuous Learning: In addition to our Trinity Leadership Fellows program, we also work to expand continuing education, funding programs that provide established faith leaders with practical leadership and management skills as they continue their careers. 

Trinity Leadership Fellows 

The Trinity Leadership Fellows program educates, inspires, and connects emerging faith, professional, and community leaders seeking to make a difference. Over the course of this two-year fellowship, participants sharpen their leadership skills, learn from experts in the field, and build lifelong supportive peer and mentoring relationships. They graduate from the program equipped with tools to heal divides, disrupt injustice, and strengthen their communities. This non-residential, fully funded program is open to lay and ordained people of faith across various denominations and religious traditions.  
Learn more about the 2025 Fellowship Cohort here. 

Impact Stories  

Acceptance for All: Pride in the Pews

Pride in the Pews mobilizes historically Black congregations to advocate for the holistic health and wellness of the Black LGBTQ+ communities. Through education and advocacy, Pride in the Pews works across the United States to help Black Protestant congregations move from avoidance to acceptance of all people. With a $450,000 investment, Trinity supported Pride in the Pews to create a new Black Church Equality Fellowship, expanding the nonprofit’s network of trusted mentors and culturally competent advocates.  
Learn more about this transformative work: “Pride in the Pews Empowers Black Churches to Care for Queer Christians”

Social Innovation Through Ministry: Princeton Theological Seminary

Princeton Theological Seminary serves as an established seminary that equips students for leadership worldwide in congregations and the larger church, in classrooms and the academy, and in the public arena. With grant funding from Trinity, Princeton launched the Teaching Spiritual Entrepreneurship in Seminaries Initiative. In this work, Princeton leads a collaborative of nine partner seminaries to better address gaps in seminary education and find ways to creatively implement social innovation and entrepreneurship curricula.