Jesse Sudirgo
The Pulse of Urban Ministry in the Greater Toronto Area
2022-23: The Pulse of Urban Ministry in the Greater Toronto Area project sought to capture a snapshot of the lived experiences of urban ministry practitioners and organizations in order to better understand the formative influences that contribute to their well-being and the flourishing of their ministries. The six-month project involved the formation of a team of researchers, an event gathering 26 community leaders, a video series documenting four sessions concerning the recovery of hospitality in our city, and the completion of a research project involving urban ministry practitioners and educators. They identified the precariousness of commitment from institutions in hosting urban formation programs, which in some cases, lead to program closures. They hope to address the bigger picture need to figure out how to design a model for urban formation that is both innovative and sustainable for the institutions and the programs they host.
Reimagining Urban Ministry Formation in the Greater Toronto Area
2023-24: Through The Pulse of Urban Ministry in the Greater Toronto Area, Tyndale University will conduct a meta-pedagogical inquiry to reimagine urban ministry formation in the Greater Toronto Area. They desire to see what currently is a highly theoretical educational model become a more place-centric, contextual, and immersive pedagogy that reflects the cyclical nature of seasons of growth and change. They seek to identify and capacitate emerging collaborative initiatives in the work of urban ministry formation. By regularly gathering practitioner-educators in a time of fellowship, equipping and affirmation through this project, they seek to foster a space where collaborations and affinity groups can take shape.
Sustainable Ministry Side Hustles: Balancing Vocation, Ministry, and Well-being
2025-26: Sustainable Ministry Side Hustles: Balancing Vocation, Ministry, and Well-being. The primary goal of this affinity group is to explore how theological educators, ministers, and professionals can effectively balance full-time occupations with ministry side hustles in a sustainable and life-giving way. Central questions guiding this inquiry include:
- How can individuals effectively balance full-time vocational roles with ministry-related side hustles?
- Should ministry initiatives be monetized to ensure sustainability, and if so, what models work best?
- What rhythms and practices support long-term sustainability in balancing ministry and professional commitments?
- How can individuals maintain personal, family, and mental well-being while engaging in multiple ministry endeavors?
- What structures or networks of support are necessary to sustain ministry side hustles without burnout?
- How can different expressions of ministry—such as workshops, speaking engagements, research, and community development—be integrated into a coherent vocational approach?
- How can digital content be created in a way that is both contextual to local ministry needs and accessible to a global audience?
Social Transformation Education Initiative
2025-26: Tyndale University seeks this grant to strengthen the Social Transformation City Ecology project and to support the development of a Social Transformation Education Stream through Tyndale University. Funding over two years will enable Tyndale University to strengthen and renew the larger ecosystem from which this program emerges—the growing Social Transformation City Ecology—by intentionally engaging a younger generation of emerging leaders across Toronto. This will help cultivate future practitioners who can carry forward collaborative approaches to care, justice, and community healing. The Social Transformation Educational Stream is designed to provide various on-ramps for education in Social Transformation in the Greater Toronto Area, equipping students for transformative leadership in churches, social agencies, and community organizations. The stream involves community-based training and degree/certificate programs designed to form leaders who unite theological depth, professional excellence, and community-based service.
An assistant professor in Contextual Ministry at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Jesse also has extensive experience in church and non-profit ministry. He consults with churches on urban poverty and focuses on interdisciplinary theological reflection, particularly concerning marginalized communities. His background in church planting in Boston informs his passion for missional lay leadership, community development, and urban poverty.
The Strengthening Pastoral Formation for Ministry in the City initiative involves seminaries, theological institutions, and churches and intends to help communities and institutions explore and assess their own urban context and church life; gain clarity about their mission and programmatic offerings; and strengthen and support the design and implementation of plans to address key challenges and opportunities for pastoral formation and flourishing congregations in urban settings.
The Strengthening Pastoral Formation for Ministry in the City initiative involves seminaries, theological institutions, and churches and intends to help communities and institutions explore and assess their own urban context and church life; gain clarity about their mission and programmatic offerings; and strengthen and support the design and implementation of plans to address key challenges and opportunities for pastoral formation and flourishing congregations in urban settings.
The Affinity Working Group initiative aims to provide time and space for HUB learning network members to engage in focused ways with others interested in a similar topic and questions around ministry in the city. We anticipate working group members to explore, deepen, and assess their own vocation, urban context, and church life; gain clarity about vital questions and issues in a particular focus area (eg. youth, arts, etc), and learn from group members’ lived experiences and other sources of knowledge and wisdom.
The Strengthening Pastoral Formation for Ministry in the City initiative involves seminaries, theological institutions, and churches and intends to help communities and institutions explore and assess their own urban context and church life; gain clarity about their mission and programmatic offerings; and strengthen and support the design and implementation of plans to address key challenges and opportunities for pastoral formation and flourishing congregations in urban settings.
The Affinity Working Group initiative aims to provide time and space for HUB learning network members to engage in focused ways with others interested in a similar topic and questions around ministry in the city. We anticipate working group members to explore, deepen, and assess their own vocation, urban context, and church life; gain clarity about vital questions and issues in a particular focus area (eg. youth, arts, etc), and learn from group members’ lived experiences and other sources of knowledge and wisdom.
The Strengthening Pastoral Formation for Ministry in the City initiative involves seminaries, theological institutions, and churches and intends to help communities and institutions explore and assess their own urban context and church life; gain clarity about their mission and programmatic offerings; and strengthen and support the design and implementation of plans to address key challenges and opportunities for pastoral formation and flourishing congregations in urban settings.
