C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church

FTE Cultures of Call Grant Recipient C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C. is a predominately African-American church aligned with the Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA). African-Americans make up only 3.2 percent of the total PCUSA population, and church leaders who are African-American are scarce. C.N. Jenkins has made a special commitment to nurture young leaders in their congregation to ensure a vibrant future.

This commitment runs deep. In the last 18 years under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Jerry L. Cannon, 13 church members have entered the vocation of parish ministry. “Our members are proud of this commitment, and have supported our seminary students with great joy,” said Rev. Eustacia Marshall, associate pastor at C.N. Jenkins.

When Marshall graduated with her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in May 2006, she did so with the support of a Ministry Fellowship from The Fund for Theological Education (FTE), among other awards and distinctions.  She is also one of the young pastors affiliated with Project Rising Sun, a leadership development program for gifted young pastoral leaders with a particular focus on African-American and Hispanic pastors.  After Marshall came to serve as Associate Pastor at C.N. Jenkins and saw the need to develop future leaders, she knew she could once again turn to FTE. The daughter of a female pastor, Marshall understood the value of nurturing new generations in their search for vocational calling. In 2007, she attended an FTE “Notice, Name and Nurture” workshop, where she learned about the Fund’s Cultures of Call grants. The church applied for a grant and created the Catalyst Project.

“The project began with naming a ‘discernment circle’ of lay members who work to create a space where vocational discovery is possible,” Marshall said. This year the Catalyst Project will launch “Sacred Conversations.” Members of the congregation will record videos to help the collective membership discuss and determine what it means to be a calling congregation. “Our hope is that by continuing to ask questions, reviewing the conversations and exploring common themes that emerge, we will better understand the values and characteristics of our congregation that make us most effective in this work,” Marshall said.

Conversations in and around the discernment circle have sparked several other individuals to explore vocational calling – one student is exploring a call toward counseling, while another is allowing herself to feel her call toward ministry despite hardships her own father, who is a pastor, has endured.

“We are still working to name what is happening in our congregation,” said Marshall.  “Like a seed slowly germinating, it’s a gradual process and an incredible journey.”