| | | | | | | | | | | | PRACTICAL WISDOM FOR LEADING CONGREGATIONS |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | We pastored urban congregations that managed to grow again, reversing decades of decline. For the past eleven years, Donna has been the pastor of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. Roger, with his wife Ginger Thomas, were the copastors of Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina, for five years. Over these periods of time, each of these congregations learned to let go of their nostalgic dreams and tired habits and walk with God into a new day of vibrancy, mission, and ministry.
In A New Day in the City, we share the stories of these two churches and many more, and the lessons we ourselves have learned from experience and from studying the leadership of others, in order to help fellow pastors and congregations escape the whirlpool of decline and join God in the deep and wide mission of embodying the kingdom. Along the way, we challenge some of the typical clichés about church leadership, offering a fresh perspective on what congregational renewal can look like and how it can become a reality.
This book doesn't offer easy answers, because churches that need to adapt and change to thrive can't simply replicate what someone else has done or is doing. Rather, we offer the framework for seven crucial conversations urban churches need to have to find their own way to renewal:The process of pruning or letting goAn invitation to rethink visionWays to rethink strategyHow to overcome the divide that's created between mission and evangelismHow excellence can and should be embodied in a few key waysThoughts on worshipHow the pastor, staff, and laity can more effectively work together Read more from Donna Claycomb Sokol and L. Roger Owens» |
| IDEAS THAT IMPACT: URBAN MINISTRY
|
| Today, Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa is a growing, missional church -- but it wasn't always that way. Under the leadership of its former pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jim Harnish, the congregation pursued its vision in serving the community. Read more » |
| Urban congregations have a unique opportunity to be flexible. From a theological standpoint, we follow an ever-creating God whose Spirit came to the first church and blew like a mighty wind through their little preconceived ideas, but the reality of how we do church in many established, urban congregations is rather, well, staid. Read more » |
| Ministry in the city begins the same way New York's High Line did, say leaders from City Seminary of New York. It begins with how we see, hear, taste, smell and touch the city. Read more » |
New Life through Shared Ministry by Judith Urban
In New Life through Shared Ministry, Judith Urban creates a pathway for building a shared ministry system. She assists readers in transforming their congregation into one where members are invited into volunteer ministry; people are matched according to their gifts and interests with ministry opportunities; volunteers are offered support, training, and appreciation; and all grow to spiritual maturity through that ministry.
This comprehensive guide is based on Urban's consulting, training, and planning with shared ministry directors and teams the past 12 years, her experience building a shared ministry system in a congregation, and her own studies in the field of volunteer management. Urban observes that shared ministry is a way of being church together that creates a distinctive congregational culture. It encompasses the many ways members of a congregation serve their faith community and the wider community. It is based on the concept that all are called to participate in the work of the church bringing the good news of God s saving grace to the world. It is also a system of interrelated parts that work together to bring the concept into reality. Congregations that grow a shared ministry culture are able to facilitate the unique work God gives each member and the community as a whole, creating a system that supports the people of God as they carry out excellent, effective ministry.
Learn more and order the book » |
Follow us on social media:
|
| | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| |
|
