Welcome to PresbyGrow! Thanks for stopping by our site.
Presbygrow is a ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and our Church Growth Network. Our goal is to make the best resources available — across denominational lines — for New Church Development, Church Transformation and Church Growth in general.
If you have something — a resource, website, or idea that you would like to see here, email me. We will make sure it gets posted. This site is for you so help us make it the best it can be.
The Office of Church Growth would like to make our staff, field staff and NCD coaches available to come and work with your Presbytery or church. Click here if you would like to send a request for a visit from a member of the Church Growth Staff or a NCD Coach. Or if you prefer to talk to a live person, give us a call at 888-728-7228 ext 5247.
Have a great day and happy exploring!
Philip Lotspeich, Coordinator for the Office of Church Growth
The latest news from PresbyGrow for the week of December 5, 2008
From the Blog-o-Sphere–Hello to the Newest additions to our Blogroll!
** Remember–send us a link if there is a blog you would like to see added to our list.
Brand Spankin’ New Links:
Upcoming Events:
- Ann Philbrick is leading a course in Congregational Transformation at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Click here for more information.
One of the significant issues in the failure of new church development centers on the selection of the Organizing Pastor. This is a critical decision that those tasked with hiring the Organizing Pastor often don’t know what skills and talents this specialized role should have and often end up calling a person who is not a capable church planter. This is a common misstep but a critical one.
So, a few years ago the PCUSA, along with some of our ecumenical partners, we began working with the Gallup organization to develop a simple but effective online tool to help determine if a person being considered for new church development work has the necessary gifts and skills to be an effective church planter.
The tool was launched last year and by our measure seems to be a very effective tool. The Office of Church Growth wants to make sure that you have access to this very useful tool. If you are on a Presbytery or church team that will be looking for an Organizing Pastor or are a Pastor who thinks he/she might be a church planter, this tool is a great way to begin your search.
The cost is $50 per use and is a very cost effective way to evaluate those Pastors you might want to interview.
We suggest that you use this tool BEFORE setting up any interview or face to face conversation and that you use this toll will all the applicants you are considering interviewing in order to have the capacity to evaluate them based on a common criteria.
For those who will be using this tool, we will be scheduling some training on how to interpret the results.
To start using this, please email Sherry Britton or you can contact her if you have any questions.
A Unique Opportunity for Service, Discernment, and Learning the Art of Ministry
“The Broad Street Ministry Seminarian Immersion Program offers an uncommon opportunity for vocational discernment and formation for ministies, a challenge to step outside of yourself and into a faith community in Philadelphia, and a taste of the possibilities for the future of God’s people.”
For more information about this program and for information on the application process, go to:
www.broadstreetministry.org/about/seminarian_immersion.php
“Cultivating Congregational Transformation”
a course led by
The Rev. Dr. Ann Philbrick
February 2-5, 2009
at Ghost Ranch in Santa Fe, NM
To see the brochure, and for registration information, click here.
PresbyGrow is pleased to announce its new page dedicated exclusively to Book Reviews. You can access the page directly through the “links” sidebar on the left side of the web page.
With so many books geared towards mission, evangelism, and congregational development/redevelopment, it’s hard to know which one’s are “keepers” and which ones should be relegated to the “sell-back-to-Half Price Books” pile. PresbyGrow will do its best to separate the wheat from the chaff, but we need your help! If you have a book you would like to see reviewed, or if you would like to submit a book review, contact us and we will do our darndest to fulfill your request.
