Best Practices Powerhouse
Engstrom Institute will provide tools to maximize ministry effectiveness.
The Engstrom Institute, a new initiative committed to equip leaders in Christ-centered ministries throughout the world, debuts at the Christian Management Association's (now the Christian Leadership Alliance, CLA) annual meeting on April 23 in Dallas. The Institute, focused on excellence in governance, leadership, and management—all informed by Christian principles—is a collaborative venture of Christian leaders who want to extend the influence of Ted Engstrom, former leader of several major evangelical institutions, including World Vision and Youth for Christ. Engstrom died at the age of 90 in July 2006.
Bob Andringa, president emeritus of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, was one of many leaders mentored by "Dr. Ted." Shortly after Engstrom's death, Andringa shared his vision for a legacy to extend Engstrom's vision for excellence in ministry to Christ-centered organizations around the world.One leader he talked to was Frank Lofaro, who had just taken over as the president of the Christian Leadership Alliance. Lofaro, who had begun re-engineering CLA to focus on knowledge management, quickly embraced the vision. As Andringa and Lofaro talked about the idea with CEOs whose organizations benefited greatly from Engstrom's leadership, they found a ready willingness to move ahead.
While other organizations have become partners in certain phases of the Institute's early work, the CEOs of the CLA, World Vision, Azusa Pacific University, and the Evangelical Christian Credit Union were the first to invest in start-up costs and to form a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee encouraged Lofaro and CLA to organize staff, consultants, and volunteers around the start-up tasks. Leaders from Youth for Christ International and Focus on the Family soon added their support.
'Premier Destination'
"The Engstrom Institute (EI) is poised to become a premier destination for the 'best of the best,' in knowledge, high-level forums, and useful tools to serve the leaders of Christ-centered nonprofits," says Lofaro. "We are pleased CLA could serve as the Institute's founding host and be the first of hundreds of ministries to utilize its resources."
The Institute's expertise opens the door to 12 content themes, ranging from spiritual dimensions of effectiveness and board governance to revenue generation and people management. Since CLA had already launched a major partnership with Christianity Today International to overhaul its own website, EI's web resources are embedded on the ChristianLeadershipAlliance.com site. However, work has begun on a separate site for EI, to be launched later this year.
Thirty-plus experts have been enlisted to provide diagnostic tools, recommended books, and top sites. In addition, J. David Schmidt and Associates and David Gyertson, Distinguished Professor of Leadership at Regent University, have selected 200 articles for EI's site. New content will be added monthly.
Engstrom Fellows, Christian scholar/practitioners who have emerged as leaders in one or more of the Institute's 12 content themes, will help EI stay on top of new research and new sources of best practices.
EI will leverage other technologies to deliver additional best practices. Gyertson helped forge a partnership with RBC Ministries in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to offer free e-learning modules. Future e-learning courses and webinars will allow Christian leaders to learn from and interact with leading authorities on topics critical to ministry excellence.
"I hope these early, critical partnerships are only the beginning of what other major ministries, universities, consulting firms and individuals will bring to the mix," Andringa says. "Organizational excellence requires many disciplines, and no one entity can assume to have them all. Collaboration is the only formula for EI's success."
