A Template to Impact Your Community/City...

[Network Creator / Coordinator]

To LOVE YOUR CITY you need (a) - -

 

• Linking Catalyst…

            who has the primary role to connect missional, unifying, Christ-serving leaders.

 

• Loving Congregations…

            (Love Your Neighbor congregations) that are filled with prayer-care-share lifestyle Christ followers.

            To transform a city, we must begin by loving and understanding it's people, our neighbors by making a  Love Commitment

 

• Lifestyle Christians…

            who are praying in faith, caring with hope, sharing the love of Christ.

 

• Leadership Core…

            of pastors and marketplace people (laity) discerning and coordinating macro / citywide strategies.

            Spiritual unity by strategic collaboration among leaders produces an impact through Leadership Connections

  

• Learning Community …

            Leaders who are stewarding the collaborative movement as a learning community (unity + humility X diversity = ministry!)

            City movements, networks and congregations need new concepts and new content for the new cultural context: new tools, new coaching models discovered in a Learning Community

 

• Lifetime Commitment…

            this is not a weekend event (Festival), 40 day emphasis (season of serving), or even a year-long theme

 

• Long-term Coaching…

            outside expertise helps you ask the right questions at the right time for the right reasons

 

[Network Creator / Coordinator]

From Our Friends @ Christ Together -

We've had an incredibly fruitful month here are at Christ Together and we'd love to share some of the things we're learning...in real time! Today, that learning will focus on 3 things: One story of a city who's been under the radar, but getting huge amounts of traction right now An overview of a tool we've developed for cities to increase their level of traction Some highlights and learning from the Traction Immersion we held in Austin, TX last month LEARNING FROM THE FRONT LINES: BOISE The city of Boise is a place in deep transition. Just in the last year, there's been a population BOOM as people from California and other surrounding states have poured into this northwestern city. But for years, there's been a steady ground game of pastors coming together to collaborate for the good of the city as they seek its' transformation through gospel saturation. And as these two things collide together, something beautiful is emerging. Here's what we're learning from Boise, as shared by Robert Frazier, one of their city leaders. Question: One of the things that’s most exciting about what’s happening in Boise is how many leaders, from different churches, are all working together. How did that happen? There are lots of reasons that there is exciting collaboration in Boise, here are two of the most important: First, we built the coalition around an idea and a vision, rather than a personality, an event or a strategy. We have worked to catalyze collaboration through shared ownership of our city, to see the gospel take root in every neighborhood. Second, the vision was built around data. We started with a clear audacious goal to plant 200 churches during a period of rapid expansion in our city and helped leaders understand tangible ways they could participate through multiplication, networks and supporting church planters. Question: You also have a really strong core team. What advice would you give to other cities looking to cultivate that team-based approach? We didn’t look for strategic leaders to join the team or important voices in the city, we started with our friends, the people we liked, where there was already high trust. Almost all of us have been collaborating in ministry for 20 years. It started as youth ministers doing outreaches on campuses and leading camps together. Now we’re all senior leaders still working together. Our relational trust and care has set a culture of celebration, fun and impact. Question: You all have been hard at work on some new initiatives in Boise. Give us a quick snapshot of some of the things you’re putting into the water. The City Network is the catalytic, convening network built on multiplication. They have hosted Exponential and Pastors events to change the scoreboard of the city from ‘how many are coming’ to ‘how many are you sending’. This includes 3 main initiatives: church revitalization(transitions, mergers, church health), Missional Culture(helping level 3 churches move to 4&5), and Planting (we want to be the best city in the world to come and plant a church, so we care for our parachute planters in pretty radical ways). As a part of that program we have coaching cohorts we are developing for pastors and potential planters. We are launching a partnership with Asbury Theological Seminary to host an MA program for church planters and leaders to grow our capacity to send in the city. We have partnered together a few networks to lead Christ Together, gospel saturation initiative in the city. We have a strong network of prayer gatherings among church leaders who meet regularly to pray for our valley. And there are a half-dozen churches partnering together to launch a micro-church movement called The Syndicate to see missionaries planted on every street in the metro area. Question: Obviously the last year has been pretty crazy. What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned at city-wide level? (as opposed to a local church level) Covid slowed down some of our plans but knit us together as we leaned on each other through the trials of Covid. We gathered thousands online for prayer, we met in smaller groups, we shared ideas and tech people as we learned new ways of connecting with people. At first it felt like a step back, but as we pressed in we saw relational dividends pay off. Question: Where do you need to God to show up right now because the vision is too big for what you can accomplish? We have audacious goals to see hundreds of churches planted and 800 micro-churches emerge. Over the last 5 years we planted 40 churches. We are falling behind the pace of growth and not making a dent yet...so to see these things happen, God is going to have to raise up leaders and disciple-makers in miraculous ways. There just aren’t another 160 church planters ready to plant right now. We’re going to have to call them, develop them, train them and fund them in record time. And that is really a function of the reality that our churches haven’t been making disciples and training leaders. We are going to be forced to do this vital work if we want to see our goals move forward. Question: What’s the most important thing for your city-wide collaborative to focus on in the next year? This year is all about capacity building. We are developing teams and coaching cohorts for a way of launching Disciple Making Movements, missional engagement, and leadership development. We need to train a group of trainers that can increase our capacity as the church in Boise. It feels like slow hard work but it is what will pay off in the end with impact, much more than events and speeches. ***Thanks to Robert and the other leaders of Boise for all the work they are investing as they seek the gospel saturation of their place. I mean...how encouraging is it to read what's happening there?!   OVERVIEW OF THE PRIMER TOOL Last month we introduced a new tool called the City Engagement Pathway. One of the key pieces of that pathway is around activating and training. While this isn't the only way to do it, we've found The Gospel Saturation Primer to be a massive help in assisting city leaders in that part of the pathway. In this 3 minute video, Todd Milby and Will Plitt give an overview of this tool and why it's so powerful. Is the Gospel Saturation Primer Tool right for your city? Is the process and timing going to fit? These three minutes will help you figure that out.   REVIEW: TRACTION IMMERSION   Last month, we had a group of 12 cities come together who have been piloting different elements of the City Engagement Pathway. And most importantly? They've have been gaining traction around it. They came together to share some key learnings, dream, and plan for the future.  (For those of you who spent time lifting up these leaders in your prayers, we are deeply grateful!) The time was marked by real energy, but we also all sensed how challenging the last year has been. For many of us, it was the first time we'd left our various cities for any kind of ministry work. While I think there was a collective sense that COVID, civil unrest and a brutal political season affected where each of our city collectives were, our team was impressed by the fervor and energy to not just begin planning for the future, but to act on those plans. Here are a few visual snapshots of that experience... If your city would like to participate in an event like this in the future, let us know! We are running another Traction Immersion this fall for cities who are leaning into this City Engagement Pathway. Now, if you’d like to hear more about the Primer or if the City Engagement Pathway fits with where your city is at, just reach out to us! We’d love to get you started and help you think through how God is at work in your city.  We'll talk soon! Blessings, Will and the National Team

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[Network Creator / Coordinator]

#ReimaginePRAYER...

A Template for Praying for Your Community/City.

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[Network Creator / Coordinator]

Across New England ...

Transforming New England with the love of Jesus, through disciples who do justice and share Jesus. May 2021 In this Issue: May Update Church in Action Podcast New England Spotlights Sermon Sampler Career Opportunities in New England Upcoming Events https://imgssl.constantcontact.com/letters/images/1101116784221/S.gif" class="CToWUd"/> Dear Friends, Our culture and context is rapidly changing. We see challenges and opportunities all around us.  Two key questions I keep hearing are “how can my church thrive in the ever changing landscape of ministry in New England?” and "how can I reach an uninterested community with the gospel?" “Thriving Congregations” offers free consulting and training, funded by a $1MM Lilly Endowment Grant, for churches to partner in supportive learning communities to position your congregation to reach your unique community with the Gospel, and grow people more like Christ. This isn’t one of those “do this and that and you’ll grow” things. It’s a multi-year collaboration between Vision New England, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, The Black Ministerial Alliance TenPoint, and The Fellowship of Hispanic Pastors of New England, providing experts, consultants, processes, tools and resources at no cost. You're invited to a one-hour Zoom gathering on June 5 at 11:00 am to learn about the training, consultants and resources we will provide, to help your church thrive and your community to flourish … and how to apply to be part of this exciting initiative. Click here to register. In Him, P.S. Vision New England is hiring a new Connection Manager, to plan, host and facilitate all our in-person and virtual gatherings, that enable sharing, learning and collaboration to accelerate evangelism … while fostering unity that is evangelistic. Here’s the job spec if you or someone you know is interested. The Church in Action Podcast Making Disciples, Who Do Justice and Share Jesus Check out May's episodes: New England Day of Prayer Sexual Harassment in the Church with Bonnie Gatchell, Route One Min... Spotlight on Evangelism: Sergio Perez Episodes premiere on FB Live and are available on:  Amazon, Apple, Google, Spotify and Youtube. Learn more on our Podcast page and subscribe today!