Since 2008, we have refined the vision for bridging faith and supportive ecosystems for greater social impact.

In 2008, we had a vision…

Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams brought 30 congregational leaders together at the Wharton Business School to have a conversation about how to bridge their faith with finance to produce a positive social impact in their communities.
In 2010, we practiced models…
We sought to better understand the cultural and organizational challenges of congregations that prevented them from bridging their faith with the necessary financial tools to effect real change. Our founder Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams had the privilege of exploring these challenges while pastoring congregations in South Africa and the United States.

In 2018, we published “Fishing Differently®”…

Co-authored by our founder Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams, Fishing Differently shares a revolutionary approach to building healthy and successful congregations that are able to tap into a myriad resources within and around them.
In 2019, the design of the Oikos Institute began…
Together, with Dr. Reginald Blount, Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership and Culture and advisor of the Strategic Leadership in Black Congregations Doctor of Ministry Cohort at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, we began designing a leadership capacity building model to guide faith communities in discerning their current situation, discover their vocational identity, creatively dream of ways to missionally engage their community, and help faith communities to design ways, with supportive partner organizations, to translate their dream into positive social impact in the communities they serve.
In 2020, we officially launched…
The Oikos Institute for Social Impact is committed to a revolutionary movement that will help faith communities harness the power of their assets in order to be a catalyst for communal transformation and economic renewal.
2022 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report

Social Impact

is a significant, positive change that addresses a pressing social challenge. Creating social impact is the result of a deliberate set of activities with a goal matching this definition.

Our Priorities

  • Providing relief for distressed communities
  • Alieviating human suffering
  • Maximizing human potential
  • Solving social problems via social reform
  • Building community via civic engagement

We are creating ecosystems for social impact

We tie congregations and communities to the ecosystem that allows that to maximize social impact. Many communities struggle to have social impact as a result of environmental and economic shifts in the communities and ecosystems they serve. Indicators of these threats frequently appear in the form of changing local demographics, gentrification, aging physical facilities, and resource challenges.

Ecosystems are in development in Atlanta/Southeast, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Raleigh-Durham, NC.

Interested in learning more about these initiatives, or starting one in your region?

Contact us!