Information concerning Leadership Beargrass is also available on beargrass.org
The first cohort of Leadership Beargrass concluded in mid-2025. That group consisted of:
- Patti Barron
- Chelsea Bennett
- Grant Conliffe
- Kevin DeCoste
- Sarah Gold
- Denise Hatfield
- Debbie Heuser
- Kim Mercker
- Ryan Roling
- Mills Sublett
As a new cohort goes through the program each year, in time Beargrass will have a wide network of people who have come out with a stronger sense of spiritual giftedness and new ideas for how to make Beargrass an even better place to call home.
The goal of this new one-year program is to gather a group of between 8-12 people every fall to be in a peer cohort that will meet together once each week over the course of a year in addition an overnight retreat. The Leadership Beargrass experience will equip participants with:
• an understanding of biblical leadership and the role of a servant/leader,
• an inventory of personal spiritual gifts and types,
• a nurturing routine of spiritual practice,
• experience in discerning God’s call for oneself and one’s congregation,
• and the development of a personal plan for ministry in the church.
This nine-month program will meet on Wednesday evenings from September through May and will be led by Merillat Flowers and Dr. Gary Straub. Merillat is an alumnus of the “Leadership Woodmont” class in our previous congregation and has led leadership programs for hundreds of community leaders in various cities around the country. Gary is a Disciples minister who has spent years coaching clergy and lay leaders and has written several leadership books about developing church leaders. Together, they have spent over a year planning and developing this program and will co-facilitate the sessions with this first cohort each week.