Showing posts with label Vitality. Show all posts

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Vitality: August 2024 Newsletter

I am inspired by Matthew 9:35–38.

Jesus is on the move — “teaching in their synagogues,” “proclaiming the good news,” and “healing every disease and sickness.” This is a beautiful, stirring portrayal of God’s reign and purpose. Immediately following this account of the ministry of Jesus, we encounter him calling and equipping the disciples for the same ministry: teaching, proclaiming the good news, and healing every disease and sickness. In other words, this is the purpose of the church; this is our work!

Ray Jones

As wonderful as the church can be, I believe we have lost our way. We do not look with the compassion of Jesus when seeing the people around us; the church has been sidetracked from its original purpose by pursuing the world’s power and engaging in activities that primarily support the church. Instead of teaching, proclaiming and healing, we have been consumed with membership loss and techniques to attract more people inside our doors. We have centered our attention on a person’s soul and have neglected people’s physical needs. We have been content to function as a club of people caring mostly for the needs of our own club members. And I am convinced that God is calling the church to change by reclaiming the way of Jesus.

Therefore, I’m excited to invite you to this year’s Evangelism Conference, Oct. 3–5, held in person in Louisville and online via Zoom. We’ll explore our theme, “A Lifestyle That Exudes Justice,” through dynamic and thoughtful worship and plenary sessions and learn from gifted workshop leaders focusing on five areas of Jesus’ ministry presented in Matthew 9:35–38. I am praying that this time together will inspire and help equip us to shift from operating in survival mode to truly experiencing and sharing renewal through gospel ministry. I hope you will join us as we seek to recover what it means to be a follower of Jesus!

Evangelism Conference -- Join Us! In Louisville or Online

Join us for this journey into a more expansive and authentic understanding and practice of evangelism. For too long, the focus of evangelism has been to grow our churches or convert people to a certain way of believing in God. This expression of evangelism has hurt many people and promoted injustice. Come explore how we are called to embody the good news of God’s healing and compassion through A Lifestyle That Exudes Justice!

In Person ($175): Presbyterian Center, Louisville
Virtual ($75): Join online to watch live Worship and Plenary Sessions

In Person and Virtual registrants will receive access to recordings of all sessions and workshops following the conference.

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and Korean will be available if requested in your online application.

Resources for Evangelism Sunday … and the rest of the year, too!

Evangelism Sunday is Sept. 15! These free downloadable PDFs offer a host of ideas to use with all ages and in a wide range of contexts, from personal devotion to community engagement to small groups or Sunday morning worship. Some of these resources directly address evangelism through the Matthew 25 vision focusing on racism, poverty and congregational vitality, and some resources are centered around other gospel texts.

Explore Resources

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Vitality: March 2024 Newsletter

The Springing Forth of a New Agency

I stuck my head out the window this morning and Spring kissed me, bang, in the face.

-Langston Hughes, “The Early Simple Stories”

Carlton Johnson

The poet Langston Hughes was most aware that spring had arrived when its warmth touched his skin. For others, it is when we see flowers begin to bloom. The celebration of Easter also marks this yearly season of rebirth and renewal.

The Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Office of the General Assembly are together witnessing God’s miraculous power to consistently renew and revitalize us. Since the 225th General Assembly (2022), a Unification Commission has been moving carefully through a well-defined process to combine the two agencies.

I have found extraordinary promise in one of the descriptions shared for our new structure: “It will not just be a Mash-Up, but a Start-Up.” A Start-Up. Something new and different. This description beams with hope. Like the forthcoming spring, I patiently await the opportunity to “feel” this new agency. Patience will be important; some changes will be immediate while others will take time … .

Save the Date for the 2024 Evangelism Conference!

Come join us for a journey into a more expansive and authentic understanding and practice of evangelism. For too long, evangelism has been used to grow our churches or convert people to a certain way of believing in God. This expression of evangelism has hurt many people and promoted injustice. During our gathering, we will explore how we are called to embody the good news of God’s healing and compassion — through A Lifestyle that Exudes Justice! More info to come: www.pcusa.org/evangelism.

Rest, Resist and Renew

Liberty Community Church in Minneapolis co-created a healing space with sex-trafficked neighbors. Read more about how patience and hope bring renewal in this ministry committed to healing its neighborhood over several decades.

Seeking Asylum, Staying to Worship

When New York State welcomed an influx of asylum seekers, First Spanish Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn responded with welcome and support and grew its community.

Ministry Can’t Be Done Alone

Aurora Presbyterian Church outside of Denver hosts multiple congregations and became a hub for worship and service that better reflects and responds to its neighbors than what only the original congregation could.