C3I In the News
I remember the day in March 2013 when Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. As a young 20-something postulant, I lived in a convent cut off from the outside world—no phone, internet or newspapers. After a continuous prayer vigil during the conclave, we were granted rare permission to watch the momentous announcement of our new pope on the community room television.
In observance of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month this February, the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) is recognizing two individuals and one organization for their advocacy against teen dating violence in Texas. Following the release of TCFV’s 2023 Honoring Texas Victims Report, in which the deaths of 10 Texans 19 years old or younger are detailed, TCFV says educating young people about healthy relationships is more important than ever for the future of our state.
The Bridges to Belonging project is equipping congregations across Central Texas to more fully welcome youth and young adults (ages 13–25) facing disabilities, mental health challenges, and chronic illnesses. In its first year, the project has begun sparking dialogue and fostering new relationships among local churches, all aimed at making congregations more accessible, inclusive, and truly representative of the body of Christ.
“We don’t want those people at our church.”
When people from the community began to walk through the doors on Sunday morning, I heard this grumbling from church members who had just participated in outreach to them...
“Those people” were my friends, my community and as Jesus refers to them, my neighbors. Sadly, these grumblings continue in many churches.
"I listened from two perspectives–the social work researcher and the person who had grown up in and deeply loved this church. We learned a lot about collective trauma and how it impacts congregations through that study, but hearing from people I love about surrendering to death has stuck with me to this day."
Before she came to know Baylor as a student, Lucy Huh, a doctoral candidate in Baylor’s Garland School of Social Work, was first introduced to Baylor through the late Diana R. Garland – the namesake and inaugural dean of Baylor’s School of Social Work – and her pioneering research on clergy sexual abuse of adults.
Dr. Gaynor Yancey, with funding from Fellowship Southwest, selects and trains MSW students at Baylor to work with congregations, strengthening ministries, deepening faith, and fostering community transformation. The project enables students to conduct congregational research, raising awareness of resources available for congregational growth. Program Manager Erin Albin Hill highlights how students integrate faith with social work practice. Upon the project's completion in July 2024, 13 students will have participated, many now serving in roles supporting congregations and community development across the country.
Dr. Gaynor Yancey, leading the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I) at Baylor, collaborated with congregations on Accompaniment, Trauma Care, and LGBTQ+ Discernment through the Baugh Foundation’s Building Resilient Congregations initiative. This research pilot focuses on fostering belonging, resiliency, and strengths in spiritual communities using an evidence-based curriculum and peer-learning model. Early results from the 2023 mid-year evaluation indicate positive impacts, with congregations benefiting from humble curiosity, self-awareness, and strengths-based approaches in navigating challenging conversations.
Research and painful experience consistently demonstrate domestic violence is as prevalent in churchgoing families as it is in the general population, author and domestic abuse survivor Geneece Goertzen said.
GSSW PhD Student and Research Fellow Heather Deal alongside Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM), is working together with Dr. Yancey to build an assessment tool for congregations and, ultimately, a curriculum that can be used to work towards creating an environment within their congregation that is one in which women in ministry are not only accepted but thriving.
C3I intern Kennedy Garland writes about the importance of multi-generational ministry and gives churches the tools and steps for how to make that shift in their congregations.
"Generational ministries are common, but programs that include all generations are not always available. We know different generations can come together on more than Sundays, but we often don’t know how. To do so, we must be intentional."
C3I Program Manager Erin Albin Hill reflects on the childcare crisis that is impacting millennials in America right now.
"I’m a community social worker so my thoughts often go to policy and systems. When the Child Tax Credit was in place during Covid, child poverty decreased from 9.7% to 5.2%. Within a month of its removal, child poverty increased by 3%. Those extra funds were just enough to make a difference in the everyday financial situation of families."