John R. Wimmer is a United Methodist minister who served as a local church pastor for 18 years and founded the Center for Congregations, now a network whose model of working with c...view moreJohn R. Wimmer is a United Methodist minister who served as a local church pastor for 18 years and founded the Center for Congregations, now a network whose model of working with churches has been adopted by many organizations nationwide. Since 2002 he has been program director at Lilly Endowment, where he has sought to enhance pastoral leadership and congregational vitality through more than $700 million in grants to denominations, seminaries, and a wide variety of other church agencies.view less