Discover a better way Innovate
Join our step-by-step live online course specifically designed to unleash churches and nonprofits to pioneer creative solutions to sustainable poverty alleviation.
Chalmers resources are trusted by:
If 2020 taught us anything, it's that the world is profoundly broken.
Things are definitely not the way they are supposed to be. Of course, none of this is news to people who are materially poor; they’ve been experiencing this brokenness for a very long time.
Fortunately, God is not surprised by any of this. In fact, two thousand years ago Jesus Christ launched a new creation to bring healing to this hurting world, a new heaven and earth in which all will be restored to the way it’s supposed to be. And He commissioned and empowered His people—you!—to live into His new creation, giving sneak previews of the world to come, a world you’ve never even seen before.
But how?
Enter, Innovate.
Five years ago we rolled up our sleeves and wrote two books: Becoming Whole unpacks the story of what God is doing to bring about His new creation, and the associated Field Guide outlines twenty ministry design principles to help you faithfully live into His story.
Building on this foundation, we created Innovate, a course that draws on Design Thinking and other innovation tools to help you improvise God’s story in the here and now, creatively anticipating the new creation one street, one neighborhood, and one city at a time.
Living out Jesus' kingdom today
Integrating the best practices of design thinking and God’s biblical story of change, Innovate helps motivated teams develop Kingdom-centered solutions that allow communities to truly flourish.
in this course you will:
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Address the broken relationships at the root of material poverty.
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Apply the design thinking process and principles to your ministry.
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Develop creative, sustainable solutions specific to the people you help.
"The design process led by The Chalmers Center gives me hope because it helps church leaders move from talking about issues to implementing solutions.
Over the past three years, I’ve seen this process dramatically increase the implementation and success rate of projects led by lay leaders in our congregation. This is a great tool if you desire to more deeply understand what it might mean for you to join Jesus in the process of making all things new here and now."
Blake Schwarz, Director of Fellows & PCPC at Work
Park Cities Presbyterian Church, Dallas, TX
Innovate teaches you the biblical framework, principles, and practical steps for developing effective poverty alleviation ministries.
Join us on Zoom!
March 11 – April 29, 2021
Thursdays, Noon – 2pm EST
You're gaining access to:
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7 live online classes that teach your team how to practically help without hurting.
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Chalmers' Field Guide to Becoming Whole and innovation tools to build your own effective poverty alleviation ministry.
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A community of like-minded church and nonprofit leaders learning to improvise the kingdom, together.
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When Helping Hurts and Becoming Whole co-author, Dr. Brian Fikkert.
meet your teachers
You’ll be learning from Design Thinking & Innovation Specialist, Tabitha Kapic along with Dr. Brian Fikkert, Co-author of When Helping Hurts, Becoming Whole & President of The Chalmers Center.
Brian Fikkert
Tabitha Kapic
Who is this course for?
Innovate is for teams
Designed to unleash churches and nonprofits to pioneer creative solutions that bring sustainable change as they improvise the kingdom in their context.
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Churches and Nonprofits
who are looking for guidance as you develop an effective poverty alleviation ministry.
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Established Ministries
who recognize there’s a better way to help, but aren’t sure how to adapt.
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Community Leaders
who see an unmet need but don’t know where or how to start.
Innovate is for you
"This process has really helped me believe that we can equip people to live out the kingdom... I'm more confident that we can help people use their influence to make substantial changes.”
Dr. Michael Rhodes
Lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College, New Zealand
"It made me personally think about ideas that are outside the realm of what I would have normally thought about. Trusting each of the steps has been really powerful and has allowed us to create something together."
Sarah Lockridge-Steckel
Co-Founder and CEO, The Collective Blueprint
“It's been really encouraging to see our team use this process to center the actual articulated needs of the communities we serve, as the focus of how we help.”
Laura Green
Executive Director, Tekton Career Training
Register your team
Register your team
$995 team of 3
Registration Closes March 5th
Additional seats are $149/person.
The Chalmers Center is committed to equipping churches and nonprofits that are financially challenged.
Learn more about scholarship opportunities in our FAQ’s.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Great question! You'll have the best experience by participating in all of the live classes. However, each session will be recorded and emailed weekly for the benefit of any participants who may have had an unexpected conflict.
Note: We will not meet live on Thursday, April 22 so your team can complete your solution testing over a two-week period.
One year! Each week you'll get a recording of the class that you're welcome to reference back to.
Each week you’ll spend 2 hours in class (online via Zoom) and around 2 hours outside of class working on your team homework.
For church and nonprofit teams of up to three people:
- $695 when you register Jan 12 - Feb 22 [Early Bird Discount of $300]
- $995 when you register Feb 23 - Mar 4
- Additional seats are $149/person for teams of more than 3 people.
Innovate is designed for teams of 3-7 people. The process works best with a diverse and committed group that includes team members from the community you are designing for.
For example: Trying to create a ministry for single moms? Be sure you have a single mom on the team.
More team members is a great idea! Teams work best with 3-7 people. If you have more than 7 people on your team, consider registering two teams.
- Additional seats are available for $149.
- There is no extra discount for additional seats purchased during Early Bird registration.
- Teams of two can save by registering before Feb 20, with our $695 Early Bird team pricing.
Our goal is to make Innovate accessible to all churches and nonprofits who are committed to effective poverty alleviation and community flourishing. For small and financially challenged teams we invite you to apply for an Innovate scholarship.
We’re so glad you asked! You can help make more Innovate scholarships available to financially challenged teams during checkout when you register. Scholarship a team for $695 or scholarship additional seats for $149.
Innovate is designed for teams of 3-7 people.
- If you’re a team of one reach out to us.
- For under resourced teams looking to subsidize cost you can apply for an Innovate scholarship.
Have more questions? Get in touch.
Get email updates about Innovate
You’ll be the first to hear about upcoming innovation opportunities and equipping resources.