(from the website)
“Glocalnet is a network of churches worldwide, clustered together regionally or in cities. These clusters pool their resources to produce T-Life disciples, multiply churches, transform local communities and impact the world.”
Emergent Village is one of the many websites involved in the Emerging Church Conversation.
(from their website)
“Emergent Village is a growing, generative friendship among missional Christians seeking to love our world in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
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:
Presbymergent is the online community for those who live in both the Presbyterian (PCUSA) and Emergent/emerging church worlds and want to try and find a balance between the two.
We are pastors, lay people, seminarians, theologians, youth directors and people who generally care about both the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Emergent and the emergent conversation.
Feel free to join and post articles, questions and thoughts to the community. Grab the RSS feed and stay updated with information about presbymergent news. Post, discuss, share and support those who are working in and thinking about ministry in the margins.
One of the challenges to us is to shift from a business model of doing ministry to having a more discernment oriented approach to planning and designing ministries. Follow this link to an article offered by the Alban Institute on “Planning as Holy Conversation”.
May we learn to discern.
Jim Collins, author of the book, Good to Great, did an interivew with the Leadership Journal. It’s a very interesting read.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2006/002/7.48.html
The Good to Great Pastor
An interview with Jim Collins.
Jim Collins’s book Good to Great has been a favorite among church leaders since it appeared in 2001. Six years of research resulted in a well-crafted and captivating account of what enables some companies to go from good to great and what prevents others from doing so. The popularity of the book, coupled with his ability to craft clear explanations for complex issues, has helped Collins become the dean of corporate advisers. (more…)
Check out this series of podcasts/netcasts from Allelon!
Who is Allelon?
“Allelon is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization located in Eagle Idaho. We are a multi-generational network of missional church leaders, schools and parachurch organizations which envisions, inspires, engages, resources, trains and educates leaders for the church and its mission in our culture. Said simply, together we are a movement of missional leaders.” (from their website).
Star Thrower Distribution offers the best training and development video and multimedia tools available. Star Thrower creates programs that develop people’s ability to think rather than react. Our programs help institute real change; individual change that can make a fundamental difference in the way an organization behaves.
When you view one of our films, you will find a thought provoking tool with clear training points and superior production quality. Additionally, most Star Thrower products come with a complete set of support materials to make training even easier.
Special pricing is available for the faith community. We offer complimentary previews of all our programs to allow you to view a program in its entirety. Please use this web link to view program suggestions, and to contact Eilene, 800-561-0291 or eilene@starthrower.com for pricing details. www.starthrower.com/faithbased.htm
Rocky Mountains
Lincoln Trails
Covenant
Sun
Trinity
Baltimore
Chicago
John Calvin
Northern Kansas
Southeastern Illinois
Ohio Valley
Central Washington
Heartland
Scioto Valley
Sierra Mission Partnership
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One of our own NCD Pastors, Jim Walker of Hot Metal Bridge in Pittsburgh, has written a book about their ministry at Hot Metal Bridge.
“Jesus said he came to heal the sick, not the well. Even so, some churches have a feeling about them that is vaguely antiseptic, where there seems to be an unspoken pressure to censor any unpleasantness. Jim Walker wanted to build a church that was honest and that lived out its mission down in the muck of life where Jesus calls us to get our hands dirty. In the rough and often unpleasant neighborhoods of the South Side of Pittsburgh, Jim began finding people who wanted to live in a new way - passionate, committed, and totally devoted to God. Be forewarned: Some of the stories and descriptions in DIRTY WORD might offend you, or run afoul of your expectations of the clergy. But if you are equally offended by watered-down theology and pallid discipleship, DIRTY WORD offers a bracing challenge and a fresh evocation of hope. DIRTY WORD is a raw, uncensored look at an unapologetic way of being the church.”
You can get Jim’s book on Amazon or Cokesbury.
Congrats Jim!
At our recent NCD conference we took some time to chronicle some of the NCD stories that are happening around the PC(USA). This video is about the journey of a church, Open Door, in Pittsburgh Presbytery.
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Allelon has a number of positive aspects to it. One area I want to draw your attention to is the “Reflect” button. Click it and take a look at the assessment tools. Their “360″ approach to identifying missional leaders and missional congregations may be a good place to start in identifying who to call in leadership and what congregations need. If anyone has used them, let us know what you think!
The Northumbria Community is organized along the lines of a monastic order - but engagement with the world as its aim. If you follow the links of who they are to the description of their “Rule” you will get a statement that is concise yet open (at the bottom of the overview is a link to “more about the “Rule”). The two major themes are availability and vulnerability. Into both of these fits the activity of the community. It’s a nice resource for developing the proposed character of any new church or transforming community.
From their website..
Allelon is a 501(C)3 non-profit foundation located in Eagle Idaho. We are a multi-generational network of missional church leaders, schools and parachurch organizations which envisions, inspires, engages, resources, trains and educates leaders for the church and its mission in our culture. Said simply, together we are a movement of missional leaders. (more…)
The 218th General Assembly made a significant step toward helping the church turn around decades of decline by making a commitment to evangelism and discipleship. These are the two critical ingredients to the future health and growth of the PC(USA). A website has also been created that will be dedicated to this initiative http://deepandwide.ning.com/ Check it out, join and we can be a part of what God is and will be doing through the PC(USA)!
“The 218th General Assembly (2008) strives to help Christ’s Church Grow Deep and Wide under the guidance of the Holy Spirit by: (more…)
During the most recent NCD conference, “People over Programs”, planned by Zionesville Presbyterian Church and sponsored by the Office of Church Growth of the GAC, we took time to hear some of the stories of NCD’s around the country. This is a bit of that story…
(11 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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The mission of the Small Group Network at SmallGroups.com is “to build a network of individuals, churches, publishers, and other resources to provide ongoing training and support for small group leaders and small group directors. We want to equip small group leadership to make disciples and strengthen disciples into disciplemakers.”
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For years, we have struggled with how to provide Presbyteries and Churches a helpful resource that walks-through the process of starting new churches. We believe we have found a way to help! The link below will allow you to download a 16-gathering study that will take you from “zero” to “calling a Pastor.” Please feel free to use and modify it as much as you want. If you would like to share your modifications with us, please leave them in the comment section.
(to download the accompanying booklet, click on the Scribd logo at the top left of the reading panel)
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As promised, here is the powerpoint, “Beyond the ABC’s,” that I used during my pre-conference. Please remember that I drew heavily from George Bullard’s work, especially his book, Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation. I highly recommend this book to anyone doing work in the church. The second file is a graphic of the Life stages and Cycle of a congregation from George’s book.
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This is a great website because it provides a ton of resources. As with any resources, it may not fit everyone’s theological perspective, but the information is good nonetheless. It’s a “must visit” for every new church pastor.
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From the Evangelism Coach Website…
“It is our desire to see the Church in the Americas (North and South) ignited in the power of the Holy Spirit to passionately fulfill God’s call to reach the nations.
EvangelismCoach.org is
You can also see Chris’ blog at our blog page www.presbygrow.net/blogs
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“Share writings, images, videos and other resources. Engage in webcasts, join communities, make friends, video chat, video mail. Point your blog from elsewhere through an RSS feed, embed videos, share bookmarks. Our mission is to unite the multitude of worldwide efforts, giving you a place to start.”
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Providing demographic, leadership development and coaching solutions for
new church developments and transforming churches
Picking the right consulting firm can be challenging. You want a firm that has experience, knowledge, and, of course, innovative ideas.
Our firm has the background and knowledge to help new churches meet expectations. We can also assist existing congregations to meet their transformational goals.
This site will provide in-depth information about our background and describe the different services we offer.
Please get in touch for more information, including references and fee schedule. We look forward to working for you.
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The Presbyterian Church (USA) and MissionInsite to Provide Discounted Rate for Churches to Access Demographics Via the Web
(June 16, 2008) - The Evangelism and Church Growth (ECG) Office today announced a new strategic alliance that has been formed between the Presbyterian Church (USA) and California-based MissionInsite, LLC.
As a result of the partnership with MissionInsite (www.missioninsite.com), Synods, Presbyteries, and local churches in the U. S. will have real-time access to community demographic information via the web at a discounted rate.
“I am excited how this tool would significantly aid the work of our field staff and coaches. Congregations and middle governing will be able to know with great precision the specific context that God has called them to serve.” said the Rev. Eric Hoey, Director of Evangelism and Church Growth for the PC(USA).
“Relevant ministry will no longer be like fishing in the dark, but with MissionInsite, we will know exactly where the fish are and what they look like,” he said.
The partnership is one piece in the agency’s overall new church growth strategy. (more…)
This resource was developed in 2002 by The Advisory Committee of Hispanic Ministries and The Office of Hispanic Congregational Enhancement of the Racial Ethnic Ministries Area of the National Ministries Division
This site has some great resources for new church planting and muti-site planting as well as helping churches grow in general. The have good, free downloads of theor resources.
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Capitol Hill Presbyterian New Church Development Chartering Weekend- Seattle PresbyteryCapitol Hill Presbyterian New Church Development charters the weekend of June 13th -15th. On behalf of the Administrative Commission, I invite you all to this celebration where we thank God for this new beginning to a ministry that in part stretches back to 1896. Easter, two years ago, Westminster PC and CATC merged. They dissolved both congregations in order to response to God’s call to begin a new work. Now, after two years of prayer, study, discussion, many hellos and good byes, the leadership has discerned the time is ripe to charter. God has used the cross to undo the old church systems, and by that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, has raised up a new baby church.
You have two events to choose from. The official chartering service will be June 13th at 7 pm. This is a meeting of Presbytery, represented by the Administrative Commission and the moderator of the Seattle Presbytery. Call to reserve childcare-206-285-2282 x 10.
CHP is hosting an Open House June 15th from 12:30-4:30 pm. They are closing down the street, bringing out the band, grilling up the food and inviting the neighbors. There will be activities for kids and adults, tours of the building, music, food and lots of conversation.
http://seattle.synodnw.org/Resources/News/PresbyterianEvents/tabid/1917/newsid3835/1289/Default.aspx
Again, this may not be from our theoligical tradition but it may provide some useful tips and other resources that might be helpful
http://www.churchplantingvillage.net/
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