Business Mastermind
In its third year, the USCR Business Mastermind offers a combination of educational brainstorming, peer accountability, and support in a group setting that sharpens your spiritual business skills.
These sessions, hosted by Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten, follow a bi-monthly plan, with presentations on 1st Wednesdays and Q&As on 3rd Wednesdays to discuss what was learned and how it might be applied.
Meeting Information
Content Session: 1st Wednesdays, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. CT (recorded)
Q&A Session: 3rd Wednesdays, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. CT
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2026 invites us into the frontier of ministry, a landscape alive with possibility, shaped by shifting culture, spiritual hunger, and the courageous leaders willing to explore new forms of service. This year’s Business Mastermind is not a continuation of the past. It is a call to the next evolution.
We gather as ministers, mystics, makers, and stewards of community. We gather to imagine what spiritual leadership looks like when we lean toward tomorrow with open hearts. We gather to learn, to experiment, to collaborate, and to re-vision our sacred work with wisdom and joy.
This program becomes your creative sanctuary… a lab for spiritual innovation, a council for shared wisdom, and a hearth where new ideas arrive warm from the fire of inspiration.
You will leave 2026 more imaginative, more grounded, more skillful, and more attuned to what the Holy is whispering through changing times.
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Twelve Months. Twelve Expansions. One Bold New Era of Ministry.
January 7 (content) & 21 (Q&A)
Soul-Tech Communion: Digital Altar, Global Congregation
Digital ministry is no longer optional. It is a doorway. This month we explore how sacred presence translates through screen and sound, how to build digital rituals that feel intimate, and how ministers can cultivate spiritual community beyond physical walls.
New Enhancements
Creating “digital sacraments” with integrity and theological grounding
AI and ministry: ethical use, spiritual potential, community boundaries
Designing online experiences that feel alive, interactive, sensory, and relational
Cultivating global spiritual belonging
Technology as a tool of inclusion
February 4 (content) & 18 (Q&A)
Money: The Spiritual Science of Abundance & Sustainable Ministry
Money is energy. Ministry is circulation. This month reframes money as a sacred current and invites leaders to explore innovative, regenerative, joyful financial models.
New Enhancements
Reimagining stewardship as partnership rather than obligation
Pricing with purpose: when generosity and sustainability coexist
New revenue streams for 21st-century ministries
Ritualizing generosity as spiritual practice
Conscious economics & the ethics of receiving
March 4 (content) (March 18 Q&A: canceled)
Marketplace Mystics: Empowering Spiritual Entrepreneurs in Your Community
Your congregation is filled with mystics disguised as teachers, artists, accountants, nurses, parents, and creators. This class helps ministers discover and commission the spiritual gifts already present in their community.
New Enhancements
Training lay leaders as spiritual practitioners
Blessing people into their soul-work
Creating micro-ministries within the larger ministry
Marketplace mentorship models
Building a culture where “everyone is called”
April 1 (content) & 29 (Q&A)
Generations in Motion: Designing Ministry for Every Age, Stage, and Story
Modern spiritual communities are not linear. They are spirals of age, identity, culture, and experience. This class explores inclusive ministry that honors every generation as wisdom-bearers.
New Enhancements
Intergenerational ritual design
Life-stage ministries (young adults, midlife awakening, elderhood initiation)
Creating belonging for neurodivergent or differently-abled congregants
Intergenerational storytelling as community glue
Elders as anchors of collective consciousness
May 6 (content) & 20 (Q&A)
Shadow & Light: Trauma-Wise Ministry, Emotional Presence, and Sacred Self-Care (Improved)
Ministry meets people at the thresholds of grief, transformation, and vulnerability. We’ll explore how to lead with compassion without drowning in others’ pain.
New Enhancements
Trauma-sensitive communication
Somatic grounding for ministers
Preventing burnout through sacred boundaries
Congregation-wide trauma literacy
Creating community care systems that uplift everyone
June 3 (content) & 17 (Q&A)
Prophetic Engagement: Justice, Earth Wisdom, and Spiritual Courage in Action
Prophetic ministry is love with its sleeves rolled up. This month invites ministers to bring sacred principles into collective action.
New Enhancements
Earth-based spirituality & ecological ministry
Intersectional, inclusive social justice practices
Community healing as public witness
Interfaith coalition-building
Leading without polarization
July 1 (content) & 15 (Q&A)
Ritual Rewired: Embodied, Experiential, Celebration
Gatherings in 2026 must stir the body, ignite the imagination, and speak to the soul’s hunger for real encounter.
New Enhancements
Sensory-rich services
Story-based teaching
Ceremony as spiritual technology
Movement, breath, music, and archetype in worship
Rituals for times of upheaval or transition
August 5 (content) & 19 (Q&A)
Ethics in the Wild: Digital Integrity, Power, Influence & Sacred Transparency
An ethics class for a world where boundaries, influence, and public presence are fluid.
New Enhancements
Digital ethics for ministers
When spiritual authority meets online influence
AI-assisted content: transparency, care, and boundaries
Financial transparency that builds trust
Community agreements for a new era of ministry
September 2 (content) & 16 (Q&A)
Adaptive Governance & Agile Leadership (Improved)
Governance must be living, not rigid. Ministry must be responsive, not reactive.
New Enhancements
Polycentric leadership
Supervision models for modern ministries
Agile tools for boards
Congregation feedback as spiritual discernment
Structures that evolve with the needs of the people
October 7 (content) & 21 (Q&A)
StoryCraft & Sacred Narrative
Every ministry has a soul-story. When that story is told well, people feel its power and want to belong.
New Enhancements
Archetypal storytelling
Branding as spiritual identity
Message consistency across platforms
The minister as storyteller-in-chief
Collective storytelling rituals
November 4 (content) & 18 (Q&A)
Hybrid Ministry Labs: Innovate, Experiment, Evolve
This month becomes a living laboratory. Bring your ministry dreams, experiments, and prototypes.
New Enhancements
Launch-and-learn frameworks
Peer review for new ministry ideas
Evaluating success without harsh judgment
Experimentation through spiritual principle
Creating an ongoing culture of innovation
December 2 (content) & 16 (Q&A)
Harvest & Hearth: Reflection, Blessing, Gratitude, Renewal
We end as we began—with heart, imagination, and Spirit.
New Enhancements
A communal ritual of gratitude
Integration practices for sustained change
Evaluating your personal growth in 2026
Renewal blessings for the year ahead
Creating next-year vision maps
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Join Business Mastermind meetings on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8162871656. Please arrive early to check your technology.
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There is no set fee for any of the support calls. Love offerings for Business Mastermind are appreciated.
Host
Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten, Business Consultant
Now in her thirtieth year of ministry, Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten has spent decades inside sanctuaries, boardrooms, retreat centers, and moments of quiet pastoral crisis. She knows what it is to lead when times are uncertain and what it is to guide when the old rules no longer apply.
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A spiritual anthropologist by instinct and training, she studies what makes communities flourish and what quietly fractures them. Her work integrates neuroscience, systems thinking, ritual intelligence, and lived ministry experience. Not as theory. As practice.
Ahriana is a business consultant, connection programming specialist, best-selling author, and master ceremonialist. She has designed leadership immersions, sabbatical retreats, guided congregations through transition, and helped ministers build structures that protect both vision and vitality.
She teaches the way she leads: grounded, precise, and honest about the times we are living in.
Ahriana’s professional background is quite unique. She’s worked parallel career fields for more than thirty years, spending half her time as an entrepreneur and business consultant, and half her time in spiritual leadership. She has led international development teams in North American, South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.Ahriana’s professional background is quite unique. She’s worked parallel career fields for more than thirty years, spending half her time as an entrepreneur and business consultant, and half her time in spiritual leadership. She has led international development teams in North American, South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
A former Ambassador for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Ahriana is featured in the acclaimed international docuseries, “Time of the Sixth Sun.” She has traveled the world to explore its cultural differences and human similarities, speaking to religious and indigenous leaders from over 250 tribes and traditions, and her weekly newspaper column is seen by 120,000 readers each week.A former Ambassador for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Ahriana is featured in the acclaimed international docuseries, “Time of the Sixth Sun.” She has traveled the world to explore its cultural differences and human similarities, speaking to religious and indigenous leaders from over 250 tribes and traditions, and her weekly newspaper column is seen by 120,000 readers each week.
With more than 30 years of metaphysical training, Ahriana is a certified Transpersonal Hypnotherapist, an ordained Unity Minister, a Reiki Master/Teacher in the Usui lineage, a 3rd-degree Priestess in two esoteric religious traditions, and has studied with indigenous teachers and medicine people. Her doctoral focus on Pastoral Counseling Psychology supports her bridge building efforts.
Ahriana lives from a blend of Eastern and Western ideologies that includes the concepts of universal consciousness, interconnection, and relational accountability. She currently serves as a US liaison for Feed14K, a nonprofit program addressing food scarcity in South Africa, and she is the board president for Citizens-Powered Media.
You can connect with Ahriana at businessmastermind@unitysouthcentral.org or asoulfullworld.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms.
Publications
The Changing Story by Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten
Rites and Rituals—Harnessing the Power of Sacred Ceremony by Rev. Dr. Ahriana Platten
FAQs
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Yes! Unity Worldwide Ministries (UWM) will accept any hour attending our support calls as CEU credits. The recording and reporting of such hours to UWM remain the responsibility of each individual. Ethics and Inclusivity CEUs are earned as the topics are specifically offered. For any questions, please contact UWM directly.
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The first meeting addresses a specific topic of interest to introduce common business practices and what works well in ministry. The intent is to inspire the immediate practical application to get some personal experience.
Then, the second meeting, is an opportunity to engage in a Q&A, which allows participants to reflect on their experience and get some valuable feedback from the host.
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Primarily, these meetings are designed to address the business challenges in ministry for ministry leaders, such as the leading minister, the board president, treasurer, administrative manager, etc.
You can ask yourself the question who in your ministry could benefit from learning more about the business aspects of ministry?
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Yes and no. The first meeting, focusing on presenting a particular topic will be recorded for later use while the second meeting (Q&A) will not be recorded to ensure a safe space to discuss real-world challenges and opportunities.
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Yes, you will find the recordings above under the section titled Business Mastermind Topics. You can also find all support call videos under Resources.
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Yes, USCR offers several calls and meetings to provide specific support in various areas. Check out our calendar to learn more about those regular events.
Business Mastermind Recordings
Social Action
Empowering people to engage in social action gives them the opportunity to act as the living expression of the Holy. How do you choose your social action direction? What projects will be meaningful to your city? Can you build a tradition of service, inside your building and out? These questions and more will be answered in this video.
What Are You Teaching Next Year?
When planning your next year’s teachings, do you ever consider what YOU would like to learn? Your passion is contagious. Think about what will challenge your community and grow your own soul!
A Plan for the “Holidaze”
The holiday season is at least six months long (Halloween to Easter). How do you create a cohesive journey for your community that begins with the underworld, death, loss and grief and ends in resurrection? Ahriana gives you pointers on designing this path for your community.
The Big Marketing Picture
Target demographics. Strategy. Tools. Talents. Objectives. Impact. Analysis and Branding. There are so many words to apply to your marketing process. Ahriana explains what they mean and how to use them to design a long-term marketing plan that works.
Volunteer Participation
Why do people volunteer? What makes them commit to helping? How do you avoid losing volunteers, and how is volunteering one of the ways we help our congregants grow spirituality? All this and more in this session.
Powerful Employee Retention
What is your staff’s experience working for you? How do you attract and keep great employees, and gracefully release those who don’t perform? What is the character and personality of your work-related culture? Find out in this session!
Budgets and Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is the process of analyzing what makes you unique in your marketing. Strategy is about being unique — not being “the best”. How are you different? What do you emphasize in order to attract the people who fit well in your community? How do you strategically measure your impact using financial business outcomes, attendance outcomes, social action outcomes and others? Ahriana discusses all this in this session.
Conflict Resolution
We reward outrage with attention. The silent majority often goes unheard. Conflict is inevitable. In this session, we learn to:
Set boundaries
Be curious about conflict
Deal with Blame
Create connection
Core Values
Not the core values of your organization… but YOUR core values! What do you want people to know about your personal core values? How do your core values, and good communication around those values, build trust in your community? How do you both evolve and maintain tradition within your community? Why is your evolution strongly linked to the trust factor? This and more will be covered in this session.
What is Leadership?
In the first session of our business mastermind, we discuss agreements and confidentiality, expectations, and why working with others is so powerful when it comes to growing your leadership skills.