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The Vision: Mutual Thriving

All systems that sustain life on this planet have a cycle—from the water cycle to the seasons to the phases of the moon. There is a process that builds on itself, impacts the environment around it, and produces mutual thriving.

The Church was meant to be a vital part of the neighborhood ecosystem, woven relationally into the community in ways that draw life and give life symbiotically. Standing in Augsburg’s Lutheran tradition, we believe that when we accompany and listen with our neighbors, we can join God in mending the world toward justice and belonging.

Our Why: The Antidote is Communities of Care

We cultivate care by building relationships and a shared commitment to mutual thriving as a direct response to isolation and threats to our neighbors’ well-being. Guided by an ethic of love and a theology of neighborliness, we orient curiosity toward the vision of flourishing for all, understood through the specific realities of the local community.

How We Work: Cultivating Change Through Connection

Culture Change: Navigating and leading congregations through the complexities of a rapidly shifting cultural landscape through specialized consulting and coaching.

Learning in Community: Fostering growth through structured cohorts, collaborative networks, and hosting communal events.

Creative Partnerships: Achieving the “impossible” by doing together what we cannot do alone.

Collaborative Action: Moving beyond theory into shared practice and collective impact.

Who We Work With: A Multigenerational Ecosystem Rooted in Place

• 21st-Century Leaders: Empowering both emerging voices (young adults/students) and established leaders (congregational folks) currently navigating the shifting reality of these challenging times.
• Place-based & Relationship-based: Deep engagement within our Augsburg and local church communities toward deep impact in our Twin Cities ecosystem. We work to activate the institutions we are a part of to center the thriving of the local neighborhood.
• National Ecology: Enriching the wider landscape by investing deeply as a faithful contributor to neighborhood movement work, specifically with our emerging Thriving Neighborhoods movement, ELCA synod partners, colleges and universities.

Building Essential Community “Muscles”

Relationship: Developing the skills and capacity for deep, trustworthy relationship building.
Resistance: Developing skills and capacity for standing firm against forces that hinder community thriving.
Resilience: Creating practices that build endurance and prioritize experiencing joy, comfort, gratitude, healing, and rest.

Our Holistic Curriculum

Our goal is to give congregational teams and leaders a well-rounded learning experience that enables you to be who God is calling you to be in this place, in this time, for the common good. We combine:

• Embodied practice & spiritual practices of listening
• Antiracism work & asset mapping
• Relationship skill building & community organizing
• Discernment & shared leadership

The Impact: What Congregations Experience

Churches that have partnered with us in previous cycles have experienced:

• A Shift in Focus: A welcomed transition from being anxious about their own survival to curiosity about how God is calling them to refocus on the thriving of their larger community.
• Deepened Connection: A deeper relational connection with their neighborhood and a new network of community partners.
• A Renewed Sense of Purpose: A deeper understanding of communities experiencing marginalization and a renewed hope, energy, and passion to do the next right thing.

Upcoming Learning Opportunities

In the wake of major threats to community thriving and the call to mending needed in the wake of Metro Surge, RIH is currently developing new ways to walk with congregations. New program details will be announced in Summer 2026.

 

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Previous Learning Communities

Class of 2025

• Christ on Capitol Hill:
• Christ the King-Bloomington:
• Easter:
• Immanuel:
• Moscow Lutheran:
• Roseville Lutheran:
• St. Barnabas:
• St. Stephen’s:
• Wesley UMC:

To read more about what the RIH Class of 2025 learning community experienced, check out the RIH Blog.

RIH BLOG

 

To learn more about the faith communities in the Class of 2021, read the summarizing learning report.