The Foundry

03/31/2026

The Foundry is so thankful for Jeff, his scholarship and his love for his colleagues. Today we celebrated the festschrift he helped to edit honoring Scott Manetsch, a beloved professor of Jeff’s!

10/11/2025

Coopersville Reformed Church hosted our training for Michigan Catalyst Network leaders.

What a great time of being reminded what our purpose is as leaders of Jesus’ church!

10/02/2025

Hello Year 5! 🔥🎉

Friends! We are grateful to be kicking off our fifth year of ministry this fall and wanted to give you
a brief update. Our Institute of Ministry Leadership - a 10-course sequence of Bible, theology,
and ministry courses - is running in three different location hubs: Grand Rapids (Remembrance
Church), Portage (The Bridge), and Hopkins (Hopkins Community Church). These hubs have
around 65 learners from 18 different congregations in west Michigan! It’s a joy to engage these
learners who are hungry to be equipped to serve the church on mission.
In addition to the IML courses, we are also facilitating Ministry Formation cohorts designed for
learners who have already completed 2 years of training with us, leading workshops for church
leaders, and providing Spiritual Direction and Ministry Coaching as one-on-one opportunities to
strengthen and support church leaders.
And here’s one of my favorite numbers that represents what God has been doing through our
first four years: 48. That’s how many partner churches have been involved in one or more of our
learning communities. From the beginning, God has called us to be laser-focused on the local
church. Our training happens with the church, in the church, for the church, and for the sake of
the church on mission in the world. It’s amazing to see the way that God is raising up people
from all kinds of churches who are passionate about Jesus and eager to be equipped to serve!
Please pray that God continues to raise up people from every age and stage of faith who are
hungry to learn and eager to serve!
Blessings,
Branson

08/26/2025

Great night kicking off The Missional Story of Scripture course at our new Institute of Ministry Leadership hub at Hopkins Community Church!

05/21/2025

We wrapped up our pastors learning cohort yesterday. We had great discussions generated by engaging Matthew Kim’s book “Preaching to People in Pain.” Highly recommended!

05/09/2025

On Thursday, Jeff Fisher kicked off our Foundations of Christian Theology course at Remembrance Church with people from a great mix of west Michigan churches!

04/04/2025

free lunch! - https://mailchi.mp/755243b3fa1e/ordination-celebration-10593092

03/07/2025

In a culture that often seeks to avoid or minimize pain, how do we preach to people who face suffering of all kinds? How should we wisely and vulnerably share elements of our own suffering in our preaching? And how can we preach for healing and transformation as we embrace the reality of suffering?

If you want to dig into these questions and more, join us for this upcoming 3-session learning cohort! More details at the link.

Learn with The Foundry

02/21/2025

Two years done! We wrapped up our Pastoral Care course yesterday and many of these learners from Kingdom Network Michigan completed the full two-year cycle of courses in our Institute of Ministry Leadership! We are so proud of their hard work and dedication! It is a joy to see how leaders at every age and stage of faith and life are answering God’s call to serve the church on mission!

01/24/2025

“Discipleship spaces where active learning is the highest stated value are indispensable to deep discipleship.” - JT English

11/26/2024

Thanks and Giving - https://mailchi.mp/5173cd4a4f8a/ordination-celebration-10591291

10/24/2024

Ordination Celebration!
https://mailchi.mp/3c4f8543e74d/ordination-celebration