Drawing from his ministry at Saint Paul’s Carroll Street and Christ Church Cobble Hill—two distinct Episcopal parishes located just blocks apart—Durango Jenkins designed a project to strengthen intergenerational evangelism by helping communities articulate and share the Christian story. Working in neighborhoods marked by deep curiosity, dense residential life, and a wide diversity of Anglican expression, Durango sought to create formation experiences that empowered parishioners of all ages to engage the Gospel with clarity and confidence.
Durango’s work unfolded across three primary initiatives, each aimed at building capacity for evangelism within and beyond his congregations.
1. Children’s Formation Training Day for the Diocese of Long Island
Drawing on collaborative conversations with clergy colleagues and diocesan leadership, Durango organized a diocesan-wide formation day for volunteers, lay leaders, and clergy. The training brought together twenty participants from parishes across Brooklyn and Queens and featured The Rev. Dr. Lisa Barrowclough as keynote speaker. Grant funds supported her travel and accommodations. Dr. Barrowclough offered insight into the spiritual and developmental needs of children born in the last decade, equipping participants with best practices for welcoming children, supporting their faith life, and providing safe, nurturing environments for Christian formation. The day received strong engagement, and the Diocese of Long Island intends to replicate the program in suburban contexts in 2026.
2. Intergenerational Evangelism Sessions
In October and early November, Durango led a five-week series designed to help parishioners explore the story of Scripture, the history of the Church, and their own experiences of faith. Attendance across the sessions was steady, with eighteen individuals participating overall. While the final session of the series faced low turnout, the program demonstrated an ongoing hunger for conversations about the Christian story, and offered parishioners foundational tools for further exploration. Durango plans to revisit and strengthen this component in the future.
3. Joint Sunday School for Christ Church and Saint Paul’s
What emerged most clearly from parish conversations was a deep and widespread desire to invest in children’s formation. Building on that energy, Durango launched a joint Sunday School shared by both parishes, overcoming the challenge of each congregation having too few children to sustain programs on their own. The collaboration created a critical mass and generated new momentum. Since beginning this work, Sunday School attendance has averaged seven children each week, representing fourteen children from nine families, including several new families drawn to the parishes specifically because of the program.
Grant funding provided curriculum (StoryMakers), children’s Bibles, teaching materials, and resources for a growing children’s library, allowing families to extend formation into the home.
Impact and Learnings
Across all components of the project, Durango found that evangelism flourishes most naturally where there is authentic energy and shared passion. While the adult formation series was moderately successful, the children’s ministry rapidly became a central point of vitality—offering parishioners a new avenue to deepen their own faith, support neighborhood families, and welcome new members.
Through the joint Sunday School, inter-parish collaboration strengthened relationships, nurtured common identity, and affirmed that both congregations benefit when they work together. The project also demonstrated that evangelism is most compelling when it arises organically from the gifts, interests, and needs of the community.
Durango’s leadership created new pathways for sharing the Christian story in Brooklyn, empowered lay leaders to serve with confidence, and laid a foundation for long-term formation for children and adults alike. His work continues to inform how Saint Paul’s and Christ Church support families, engage new members, and foster a culture of storytelling rooted in the Gospel.
