What is our Congregational Development Coordinator up to these days? Revive, Beyond the Plate & Pew & Beyond

Neil’s Latest Blog…

Resources … Resources … Resources …

When my children were young, one time we found a cocoon. It was so exciting so we watched and waited to see what butterfly emerged. We never did find out, but it was fun to wait and watch. In a way, COVID-19 has forced our churches into a kind of cocoon-like state. Many of our ministries have had to be placed on hold, and continued uncertainty about reopening and the course of the pandemic means we still do not exactly know when we will emerge into the world again. But that does not mean that this time needs to be wasted or seen as lost. Indeed it can be used as a creative opportunity to use the resources available to help our churches face the future and prepare to reopen.

As your congregational development coordinator, I have been actively working to bring together resources that you can use in your faith community in different ways

Here are a few…

Revive: The purpose of the Revive programme is to equip lay leaders to be spiritual leaders. Spread out over three short modules, it looks at prayer, scripture and calling. We currently have three groups meeting and are taking names for a Thursday evening group to start in November. I love, love, love participating in Revive groups and invite you to join. Why? Because at our core, we are spiritual communities centered on our Lord Jesus Christ. Revive helps us deepen that central relationship both individually in our lives and corporately as a people. It does so in a gentle and non-threatening way. This is a vital foundation for our faith communities. We can use all the techniques we want, have all the right social media or beautiful music and the latest resources. If we are not alive as spiritual communities willing to share life and faith and prayer and God and Jesus, then others will sense that. But if we are willing to allow Holy Spirit to breathe through us other will sense that and be drawn to Jesus Christ through us. This is what will encourage your church to flourish. If you are looking for a key resource for your community, begin with Revive.

Beyond the Plate: During the Spring I launched a series of interviews with key practitioners in the whole area of stewardship and fundraising. These are available for you to see and use and I am always here to consulted. This fall I am doing a monthly Zoom conversation on stewardship. In October I will be looking at different ways people can give to your church, to help parishes choose which platform is right for them. In November I will be looking at planned giving. There are many excellent resources available to us in this area, which we have brought together under the Beyond the Plate umbrella.  Even in this time of uncertainly and even fear for the future, there are important building blocks we can put into place to help churches flourish financially. If we ask people in a helpful way and provide opportunities for them to give, any church can encourage financial generosity. One of the core convictions is that financial support tends to follow ministry and mission. In the future, Churches that flourish financially will be those able link their invitation for support to ministry and mission that impacts the community in some way. Which leads me to…

 I am launching a new arena for resources and discussion called Pew and Beyond: Rediscovering Discipleship. In collaboration with my colleague the Rev Lisa Vaughn from the Diocese of Nova Scotia and PEI, Pew and Beyond will bring together resources from across Canada in the form of practitioners and programs to encourage us all to think more and get proactive in the whole area of discipleship and disciple-making; touching the lives of the people in our pews and reaching out to those who are not. In the future, flourishing churches will be those that have discipleship at their core and are willing to reach out beyond themselves. But that does not have to seem daunting. There are many small things we can do that can make a huge difference. So join the conversation: Pew and Beyond.

This is a difficult time for us all. But we do not need to be perplexed.  We can take action, small steps that set us in the direction of flourishing. And who know what that butterfly will look like, when we emerge into the sunlight again.