The Church Landscape Review reconnected with church planters interviewed 10 years ago to examine trends in their development and better understand congregational thriving in Greater Boston.

Jeff Bass retired and Stacie Mickelson was installed as the new Executive Director.

EGC built a recording studio and launched its “Curious City” podcast, which currently has 400+ downloads.

Intercultural Ministries convened 20+ leaders, representing nine countries, for a Diaspora Missions Sustainability Summit.

The Boston Education Collaborative partnered with 13 churches and four faith-based organizations to support 12 public schools in Boston, Cambridge and Brockton.

The Race & Christian Community Initiative convened 90+ leaders to build shalom across racial lines.

Over 20,000 unique visitors have engaged EGC content and resources this year.

The Black Church Vitality Project partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and the City of Boston’s Environment Department to produce an original play that retold the story of a Dorchester pastor working with local residents to advocate for sustainable development in their neighborhood. Dorchester Weather: a play about climate and change created space for dialogue about environmental and social issues Dorchester residents are facing and modeled how art can begin to repair and build relationships between local government, churches, business owners and residents in communities where development decisions are being made.

Sarah Blumenshine (director of EGC’s Intercultural Ministries) and Liza Cagua-McAllister (EGC’s systems consultant) were a key part of the planning, fundraising, and film team for our longtime ministry partner Agencia ALPHA’s “Immigrants Make Massachusetts Stronger” initiative. Over the course of a year, participants attended workshops that helped them think more deeply about their personal stories and the contributions they make to their families and community. Congregación León de Judá hosted the culminating event on Oct. 28, where the participants’ stories were told through the premiere of a short film, portrait exhibit, and participant panel.

EGC’s content and production team helped share the story of what God is doing in Greater Boston. We produced dozens of articles, ministry and music videos, and short-form content seen by thousands of Christian leaders across the region. Our investment in producing a diverse selection of resources across different media platforms ensures that Christians from different generations can consume content in the ways that most resonate with them. You can view content here!

The Haitian community in the Boston area is facing multiple challenges, including the ongoing crisis in Haiti, the related influx of migrants from Haiti, and the need to strengthen intergenerational leadership in the Haitian Christian community. EGC is partnering with the Fellowship of Haitian Evangelical Pastors of New England and key Haitian leaders to respond to these needs.

The Race & Christian Community Initiative (RCCI) continued its work of equipping Christians in Greater Boston to engage issues of race by supporting white evangelical communities to experience — and contribute to — healing from the sin of racism. RCCI convened over 25 local leaders of different generations and races to explore how white evangelicals move from an ideological commitment to addressing racism to ongoing action. We are continuing to process and distribute our learnings to help white evangelicals move toward anti-racist action. Our work with pastors and ministry leaders have challenged them to make significant changes in their organizations to be more racially equitable.

The Fellowship of Haitian Evangelical Pastors of New England partnered with EGC to launch the Rising Voices Initiative (RVI) and won a Lilly Endowment compelling preaching grant. The RVI cohort launched with 24 Haitian pastors.

"My journey with RCCI has been central to my journey with Jesus here in Boston these last six years. In my various RCCI spaces and roles, I have drawn closer to the heart of God, my role in the world's repair toward wholeness, and God's deep love for me and others."

Shelton Oakley Hersey is a spiritual director, non-profit program director, and community builder who has experience living across cultures at home and abroad. She was a member of RCCI's inaugural cohort and helped vision their support and accountability groups. Now, she uses her skills as a facilitator to lead RCCI cohorts that help White evangelicals respond to racism as an outworking of their faith.

"Intercultural Ministries has been such a blessing to us in our experience with our Afghan friends. From working with the refugee population to navigating cultural differences, Sarah Blumenshine has walked closely with us in this journey, and has given us invaluable guidance each step of the way. She has made the road much smoother than it would have been without her help. She has taught us so much about working with refugees and we are so grateful!"

Loretta Chou is a pediatrician and member of Grace Chapel, a church community she has been a part of for 25 years. She was a key volunteer with Agencia ALPHA’s COVID vaccine initiative, where she utilized her capacity as a physician. In 2022, Loretta and her husband Don volunteered as family team leads with Intercultural Ministries (IM) to provide ongoing support to an Afghan family in Lynn.

“The volunteers have been the best. Each has been consistently there and made volunteering a priority simply because we emphasized the value of creating strong, lasting connections with the boys.”

Daniel Skerritt is the director of the Pacesetters Boys Afterschool Program as well as the family liaison and a member of the Administrative Leadership Team at the Fletcher Maynard Academy in Cambridge. The Pacesetters program serves Black and brown boys in grades 2-5, providing academic and social-emotional support to meet the mental health and identity-formation needs of students. Daniel was a long-term resident of Cambridge before moving to Everett, where he now resides. He is a member of St. Paul AME Church in Cambridge.

“Being able to participate in a cohort where we can discuss the needs and goals of our churches has been a very valuable experience. I’ve been able to learn from our church neighbors and collaborate together to grow.”

Fania Alvarez is a member of Haitian Church of the Nazarene - Friends of the Humble. She is a member of the church's team that is participating in the Thriving Initiative cohort of the Boston Black Church Vitality Project. In addition, she is a youth minister at her church and serves in her church's social ministry, the Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center (GBNCC). GBNCC provides sustainable resources and relief to underprivileged, underserved, under-represented groups, especially in Dorchester and Mattapan. Fania is blessed to see so many lives being relieved with the support her church is giving to the community.

“Because of my monthly coaching sessions with Megan (RCCI), I see the impacts of racism everywhere. In order to nurture the unity that God wants, I now understand that we must not only strive for diversity, but also dismantle sinful systemic power structures that are hindering this unity, such as white supremacy. This understanding has changed everything: who we hire, the programs we run, how we allocate money, and more."

Kelly has served as the executive director for UniteBoston since 2012. She has a certificate in Christian Foundations from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

"I am so thankful I had the opportunity to collaborate with EGC on the creation of a music video for my song 'Into the Light!' As a local musician, it was exciting to work with such a creative, talented, and devoted team of people who love Jesus and are dedicated to serving the Boston-wide area. Boston is blessed to have EGC!"

Joel LeMaire is a singer-songwriter, father to three lively little boys, and currently pursuing a master's in counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Besides music-making, he enjoys hiking in the mountains, surfing the coast, and exploring the Boston area with his family. His vision is to offer clinical care to people in ministry who need rest, support, healing, and hope.

"We have been blessed with partnerships from organizations like the Emmanuel Gospel Center. Ruth Wong has been supporting us for many years, networking on our behalf and helping to improve our program. When we had to find a temporary space during our renovation, Ruth made the connection with Second Church for us to move there."

Jeanette Merren is a longtime resident of Dorchester and active member of Greenwood Memorial United Methodist Church. Her contributions include spearheading the church's Greenwood Shalom Tutoring Zone and Summer Enrichment. This program serves at-risk children with academic challenges who live in Dorchester, Roxbury and surrounding communities.

"Performing and participating in EGC’s fundraiser event was an incredible blessing! As a Boston-based artist, it was special to see my work come to life in a new way by creating an acoustic version of my song “Trust in You” — a song about trusting in God through every season, with EGC’s vision. They stand true to their mission by incorporating the arts and empowering and uplifting others. . . It was truly a blessing to take part in.”

Jen Aldana is a singer-songwriter, worship leader, and teaching artist. She graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Songwriting. After graduating, Jen became the Season 5 Winner of The Voice on Snapchat, a social media extension of the live television show. In her career in Christian music, some highlights include singing with Leeland, opening for Kari Jobe, and performing with Paul Baloche.