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Living the Hope One Day Events (aka "Minis")

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living the Hope One Day Events are an additional congregational learning option offered by Emerging Spirit. Based on Emerging Spirit's two-day learning event, Living the Hope, these one-day events offer a streamlined version of the more in-depth information encountered at a full Living the Hope event. Living the Hope One Day Events are extended to regions of the church that will not have access to the full Living the Hope events.

LIVING THE HOPE ONE DAY EVENT REQUIREMENTS:

  • All local arrangements and registration handled by the regional group (congregation or presbytery)
  • A minimum of 50 participants, a maximum of 80.
  • The cost of The Living the Hope Journal for each participant (all staff and travel costs are covered by Emerging Spirit)
  • The selection of the overall outline for the day (3 elements of 11 below) in conjunction with the Co-ordinator of Welcoming Ministries, Lesley Harrison

SCHEDULE
9:00 - 9:30 a.m. - Morning refreshments

9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Plenary

12:00 - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch

1:00 - 2:15 p.m. - Workshops (Round 1)

2:15 - 2:30 p.m. - Break

2:30 - 3:45 p.m. - Workshops (Round 2)

3:45 - 4:00 p.m. - Concluding Remarks / Questions / Review

4:00 - 4:10 p.m. - Closing Worship

COST
Those issuing the invitation bear all responsibility for venue, advertising, snacks, meals, and any honorarium for musicians (if required). Each participant requires a Living the Hope Journal (available to participants at the special price of $30.00 ea.). Living the Hope One Day Events must have a minimum of 50 people and a maximum of 80.

Emerging Spirit will cover the travel and honorarium costs for Emerging Spirit staff and presenters.

DESIGN YOUR OWN LIVING THE HOPE ONE DAY EVENT
You can design your own Living the Hope One Day Event by selecting from the 11 elements of the full training event - 2 plenary times plus 9 workshops.

Living the Hope workshops follow three levels of change that a congregation may encounter when seeking to increase the effectiveness of its welcoming ministries:

  • Developmental change focuses of congregational "welcoming etiquette," including skills, knowledge, and acts of welcoming newcomers.
  • Transitional change focuses on redesigning strategies and programs.
  • Transformational change is a change in organizational culture involving an overhaul of strategies, systems, behaviours, and mindsets.

Plenaries
To design your Living the Hope One Day Event, please choose one of the two plenary sessions outlined below. This fills the morning time slot: 9:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

Plenary #1: Examining Multigenerational Issues

This session involves work as a plenary and in table groups to examine the call for multigenerational dialogue and community within a biblical and theological framework. The group will be challenged to identify various pressure points where generational differences arise within congregational life and to identify theological differences that underlie the worldviews associated with particular generations.

Plenary #2: Pressure Points of Change

This session involves work as a plenary and in table groups to consider God's hope for the church and congregational response in the midst of the current cultural context. The group will engage with stories and experiences from congregations and individuals to identify and address pressure points in the practice of change. This content will be viewed through the lens of three types of organizational and congregational change used by Living the Hope.

Workshops
Please select two of the nine workshops outlined below. Each of these workshops will be offered twice during the Living the Hope One Day Event, allowing all participants to attend both. These fill the 1:00 - 2:15 p.m. and 2:30- 3:45 p.m. timeslots.

Stream One - Reimaging Sunday Morning

1. Before the Call to Worship

Through a focus on practical tools and techniques this workshop provides a review of best practices of welcoming ministries. Participants will evaluate and design the practical components of a welcoming ministry, including effective signage and other forms of communication, child-friendly sanctuaries and more.

2. Worship Possibilities

What makes worship an integral and gospel part of welcoming ministry to 30/45 year olds? This workshop explores the welcoming, liturgical and technical components of emergent church worship. Make your worship gathering a key part of welcoming people to your church.

3. A New Vision of Sunday Morning

This workshop considers the place of worship in the life of a postmodern faith community. Participants will be challenged to re-imagine worship, preaching and prayer as a means of congregational transformation and faithful witness.

Stream Two - Building Community Connections

4. Getting Ready to Reach Out

A critical part of being a welcoming, relevant Christian community is the ability to develop healthy and vital relationships with those within the surrounding community. This workshop introduces tools, techniques, and resources to help congregations identify their strengths and gifts and to discern opportunities for partnership within the larger community.

5. Reaching New Connections & Partnerships

Option 5.a

In this workshop you will explore the best practices of congregations that have arisen as they address the following questions:

  • Where have all the young people gone?
  • What are young people looking for these days when it comes to church and faith?
  • How can the church connect with young adults?  And
  • When are we going to stop complaining and do something (an examination of practices and program resources that will help make new connections with young adults and partner with them in their life of faith as it grows in discipleship to Christ?)  

Option 5.b

When we form communities in ways we never expected, this is when we are transformed! What are some congregational strategies and systems that provide avenues of spiritual growth toward active partnerships in mission?  This workshop provides an opportunity to examine best practices and program resources, and to share experiences of community partnerships, cultural/ethnic partnerships, and justice work in community.

6. A New Chapter

This workshop explores ways to influence the culture of a congregation in order to increase its missional orientation and openness for thinking beyond itself. Participants explore strategies for developing a new congregational vision that includes community connections.

Stream Three - Leadership

7. Leaders Gifted and Called

One characteristic excellent leaders share is a high degree of self-knowledge. This workshop explores practical tools and techniques to assist leader's self-awareness of their gifts, passions and spiritual practices.

8. The Practice of Effective Leaders

Congregational leadership requires a unique set of skills. This workshop focuses on essential behaviours and practices of leaders in our current ministry context and looks at ways these skills can be developed, nurtured, and maintained.

9. Change Management

Option 9.a

This workshop explores ways leaders and leadership teams can guide congregations through the challenging times of change and transformation. Leaders will prepare for the conflict that accompanies change by examining resources, techniques, and leadership styles in times of transformation.

Option 9.b

"Bridging the Gap": The practice of leadership entails identifying the deep purpose of the congregation and closing or narrowing the gap between living towards the purpose and the current reality. In this workshop we will consider how to identify deep purpose and explore practices in mobilizing congregations towards narrowing the gap. We will also learn how to hold steady and healthy in the predictable turmoil of change and growth.

 

More more information on Living the Hope One Day Events, please contact Emerging Spirit.