| WICHITA, Kan. - The Kansas Area United Methodist Church has received a $1.1 million grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to fund the Faith and Leadership Initiative, a multi-program initiative designed to provide leadership opportunities for members and leaders within the church and enhance the church's commitment to social justice and public health. The initiative was designed through a joint effort by the church, the Foundation and the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC). "Through this grant we see a significant opportunity to engage and revitalize the church through leadership training and public health issues," Bishop Scott Jones said. "This is a unique partnership, and the Kansas Area United Methodist Church looks forward to continuing to work with the Foundation and KLC to ensure its success. We anticipate our leaders and members improving their ability to become even more engaged in the important local and health issues facing their communities." Through the initiative, two different leadership training programs will be offered to select church members and leaders. The Congregation Teams program is designed to enhance the capacity of a pastor and congregation members from the same church to exercise leadership on their own and to consider what it would mean to do so collectively-both within their congregation and with the community at-large. It would be built around a health issue facing the congregation's community and an issue facing its church. The Train-the-Trainer program is intended to increase the capacity of congregations by training congregation members to be facilitators of a congregation-oriented leadership program. Individuals trained through this program would then have the skills necessary to conduct similar trainings in their congregations and communities. "This partnership really takes us back to our roots with the church, as the sale of Wesley Medical Center provided the initial endowment for the Foundation," said Steve Coen, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation. "We look at the faith community as key figures in community and public health projects, and this is an initiative that has tremendous potential." Both training programs will be administered by the Kansas Leadership Center, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing leadership opportunities and training to individuals and communities throughout Kansas. "Faith congregations are integral parts of the civic fabric of this state" said Ed O'Malley, KLC president and CEO. "Our aspiration is for these training programs to be a catalyst for increased civic engagement among the faith community." Trainings associated with the initiative are expected to begin in 2009. | 
