Hello, I'm
Kristen
Hanna
Pastor / Writer / Helpless Nerd
About
I'm an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church (North Carolina Annual Conference) with over 10 years of experience designing and leading leadership development, discipleship, and training programs for adults I have spent the greater part of the last 8 years building curriculum, equipping volunteer leaders, and creating on-ramps for people with no prior experience to grow into leading others. I've done this work across a wide range of settings, from small groups and new member classes to large-scale, multi-day conferences and national gatherings. No matter the format, what I care most about is connecting and equipping people for the journey ahead of them and building the kind of leadership pathways that help them get there.
Whether it's designing a lay leadership training grounded in collaborative decision-making, or helping shape a regional gathering for clergywomen, there's truly nothing greater than watching someone step into leadership they didn't know they had in them. Every person deserves the tools to grow as a leader, and in their own journey of faith.
Outside of program design and ministry work, I'm an avid crafter with a serious coffee addiction, and am owned by two corgis named Olive and Rory.
Published Writing Samples
Below is a sampling of some of my written work. Three are taken from Thinking Through Christianity (no longer active). TTC was comprised of ecumenical pastors, lay people, musicians, professors, and poets from a wide swath of the Christian tradition. Topics included Christian doctrine, discipleship, book reviews, Christian and church history, world events, politics, pop culture, spirituality- essentially anything the light of Christ can touch, we probably wrote on it!
The fourth article is one of two that I have written for NC COSROW'S "Encouragements" newsletter.
Curriculum & Training Samples
Below are some examples of curriculum, devotional materials, and training that I have organized for the local church. The New Members Curriculum and Lay Leader Training was aimed at adults ages 25+ and the Advent @ Home Devotionals were intended to be used either by adults or families with children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please note: for the sake of brevity, these are snippets and not the entirety of each work.
Vision & Strategy
Below is an example of strategic visioning and planning from a congregation where I served. This was a collaborative effort among the pastoral staff and ministry leaders in 2015, translating broad discipleship goals into a clear, communicable roadmap. It yielded strong fruit: increased small group participation, clarity of "where we're going," and a deeper understanding of church membership among the congregation.
While I might design it a bit differently now (graphically, it's a lot!), it reflects the visioning processes I've participated in and helped implement.
Graphic Design by Patty Anthony Mercer
