ABHMS Intercultural Ministries director begins season of discernment with Reflective Leadership Grant support
VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 12/12/2025)—Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri, director of Intercultural Ministries at American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), has received a Reflective Leadership Grant from Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, a non-degree-granting initiative of Duke Divinity School funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and located in Durham, North Carolina.
Rev. Dr. Mycal Brickhouse, director of programs and grants at Leadership Education, has described the Reflective Leadership Grant as “recognizing and supporting the faithful and innovative work of lay and ordained Christian leaders who find themselves at a pivotal moment in their ministry.”
Grant recipients can receive up to $15,000 to take structured time away from their usual responsibilities, enabling them to reflect on their work, broaden their perspectives, and discern next steps in ministry. In 2025, Leadership Education awarded 39 grants to leaders nationwide from diverse denominational, academic, congregational, and nonprofit backgrounds.
Brickhouse elaborated: “Using Harvard professor Ron Heifetz’s language, we want to help leaders experience ‘balcony time,’ which allows them to move from the dance floor to the balcony to gain a broader picture of the work, organization, community and trends. We want to encourage grantees to continue to develop their leadership capacities in ways specific to their work and context. For some, this might look like attending interdisciplinary conferences, and for others it might look like observing similar work in different settings. We are excited about the interest in this grant program from both traditional and non-traditional Christian leaders, and we look forward to learning alongside them and their communities.”
Onwubuariri’ s 18-month grant-supported project, spanning September 2025 through March 2027, will focus on “a season of strategic discernment” aimed at refreshing and deepening leadership development practices within intercultural ministry. Her work will include theological study, perspective-expanding experiences, and intentional reflection on the evolving needs of leaders committed to nurturing beloved community amid cultural division and injustice.
“I’m honored to be part of a cohort of dynamic faith leaders who recognize that pivotal seasons in ministry require dedicated time and space to tend to our holistic health, try on different perspectives, and discern God’s timely and fresh guidance,” said Onwubuariri. “This grant gives me the sacred room to reflect on the first quarter century of my engagement in intercultural ministry work and consider how the theologies and leadership approaches I have developed—together with ABHMS’ missiological lenses—can speak into the challenges facing the church and society today.”
In early fall, prior to starting grant-related work, Onwubuariri and her fellow grant recipients gathered at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, for a one-time, in-person event hosted by the grant funder. For the grantees, it was an enjoyable time of networking, receiving guidance and encouragement, and providing mutual support.
Shortly thereafter, Onwubuariri launched into activities aligned with her grant objectives. In November, she participated in a major multiethnic church conference, where national leaders, authors, practitioners, and scholars associated with the Multiethnic Church Movement in the United States reflected on the movement’s development since 2000 and cast vision for its next quarter century. In that environment, Onwubuariri found renewed clarity about the significance of ABHMS’ Intercultural Leadership Institute.
“At the conference, the efficacy of ABHMS’ Intercultural Leadership Institute became clear to me,” said Onwubuariri. “Our approach, rooted in intergenerational faith formation, dynamic leader cultivation, gospel-informed justice work, and equipping for equitable culture-specific and intercultural engagement, offers exactly the kinds of resources leaders are asking for to go deeper into God’s intercultural vision,”
November also saw Onwubuariri begin a second grant-funded activity, one that incorporates “balcony time.” Spanning eight months, the activity is a retreat consisting of four weekend sessions designed around Center for Courage and Renewal principles, such as Circles of Trust and the spiritual practice of Clearness Committees.
To learn more about the Reflective Leadership Grant program, visit Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
To learn more about Intercultural Ministries at ABHMS, visit the unit online.
American Baptist Home Mission Societies partners with American Baptists to promote Christian faith, cultivate Christ-centered leaders and disciples, and bring healing and transformation to communities across the United States and Puerto Rico.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.
