Hood Theological Seminary News Service

Seven students from Hood Theological Seminary, along with Dr. Vincent Howell, associate dean of Hood’s doctorate in ministry program, flew to Princeton, New Jersey, on Jan. 8. There, they joined students and faculty from Brite Divinity School (Texas) and Princeton Theological Seminary (N.J.) on a bus trip that forever changed how they will look at ministry.  

Hood received a grant in 2023 through Princeton, funded by Trinity Church Wall Street, to help theological education prepare faith leaders as “spiritual entrepreneurs” — people who inspire, equip and lead congregations to become crucibles for “change-making” in their communities. At Hood, the educational experience includes course work, participating in the Princeton Startup Bus Tour, and will include future experiences. This journey took these students from the frigid winds of New Jersey to the monuments of D.C. and the hills of Tennessee to the hollers of Alabama, making stops at various churches, non-profits and community organizations to learn about ministries that impacted communities and congregations outside the church building. The bus trip ended in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bus stopped, but the adventure continued.  

This trip was the brainchild of Kenda Creasy Dean, the Mary D. Synnott Professor of Youth, Church and Culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. Christian innovation is among her many specializations, which is what this trip was about. Spiritual innovation and social entrepreneurship were the focus of the experience. To prepare for the experience, students from Hood Theological Seminary participated in a class of the same name taught by Dr. Joseph Daniels, senior pastor of Emory Fellowship, noted author, in the Washington, D.C., area. In this class, Daniels introduced the students to the concept of social entrepreneurship. Hood students completed the class during the summer of 2024. Fredrick Bellamy, Wanda Chavis, Sheresa Ingram, Maya Feemster-Jones, Rayvon Moore, Andrea Solomon and Dierdre’ Parker were the students who accompanied Howell.

Commenting on the Hood experience, Howell said, “Many people are aware of the concept of innovation. But they don’t necessarily put innovation in a church or spiritual context. Teaching Spiritual Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in seminaries and experiencing it like our students did on this trip, helps to make this idea a more intentional component of theological education and practical ministry in local churches.”

This was not a “wheels on the bus go round and round” trip. This was an adult version of the Magic School Bus.

Students were constantly in classroom mode, with learning modules filling every moment of their time. The modules addressed things like identifying the problem you want to solve, the person affected by the problem and the project that will address that problem. The purpose of the trip was twofold. Firstly, to introduce the students to spiritual innovation in a concrete way. The bus stopped at amazingly innovative ministry sites that proved that our God is truly creative beyond all that we can ask or imagine. 

The Princeton bus was not the only bus traveling to New Orleans. There was a bus departing from Chicago and a bus departing from Denver. These other buses had a very similar action-packed agenda to the Princeton bus. They also traveled from their starting point to various historic and ministry sites. All buses converged in New Orleans so that the students could pitch their social entrepreneur project ideas in a “shark tank” format. 

The students arrived with their own ideas for a spiritual innovation project. As the bus traveled from site to site, the modules engaged the students in honing the skills of identifying the person, project and problem. The students were broken into teams based on the “who” of their non-profit idea. The students were learning what makes a good pitch. Once they reached New Orleans, they would put their learning to the test by participating in “Pitch Fest.” While the bus tour was innovative and informative, the real work began with putting all the learning modules together and presenting a dynamic pitch encompassing the reason the non-profit exists, the people you exist to impact, and the project you will use to facilitate the impact. Student teams had four minutes to pitch their non-profit idea to potential funders and backers.

The teams were made up of members of the same bus. The Hood students were on teams that pitched ideas that promoted transportation ministries for senior citizens, self-care spaces for Black professionals, retreat spaces for working mothers suffering from burnout, using theatrical performance and senior volunteers to support youth who had experienced trauma, and a card game that facilitates difficult conversations. 

The Hood students represented the seminary well by participating in the final round showcase (top 10). Overall, “the Hood team came away with a great experience and new learning that will help us make a strong ministry impact where we serve,” said the students.  

President Dr. Vergel Lattimore was able to join the students for the final showcase. He had this to say:

“It was most gratifying to be present in New Orleans as the eight Hood Seminary students held their own against the likes of Princeton and Garrett. In fact, the director of Church and Black Experience of Garrett commented about the impressiveness of the Hood students and the vital contributions that they made in sharing their gifts, thoughts, and enthusiasm. Again, I was most proud to be able to witness it all.”

This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create nationwide connections in the world of Spiritual Innovation. As a student who was fortunate enough to attend, I can safely say that I came back another way.