1001 New Worshiping Communities announces webinar schedule

Topics include grantwriting, Hispanic ministry and community evangelism

by Tammy Warren | Presbyterian News Service

Wild Goose Christian Community is a nontraditional new worshiping community in Virginia offering rocking chairs, bluegrass music and worship services on Tuesday evenings. Learn more in an upcoming webinar. (Photo courtesy Wild Goose)

LOUISVILLE – The Presbyterian Mission Agency’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities is offering a series of webinars to prepare and equip members of the church for ministry. All webinars are available at no cost, and up to 100 registrants can listen and learn to each live presentation.

“I found the webinar on social media extremely helpful,” says Jill Bolander Cohen, founder and executive director of the Lifeboat Project, a central Florida nonprofit that inspires and engages communities in a collaborative effort to end human trafficking. “One thing I took away was to tell ‘our stories,’ making an emotional connection.” She said the presenter also suggested keeping a weekly or monthly calendar of social media posts to coincide with recognition days or events.

Following is a partial schedule of upcoming free webinars offered by 1001 New Worshiping Communities, along with registration links for each presentation. All webinars begin at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

• Thursday, September 15
  Hispanic Ministry—Pablo Rivera Madera, pastor and U.S. Army chaplain.
  Join a PC(USA) pastor in an ongoing conversation on developing and sustaining a vital Hispanic ministry. Offer your suggestions for Hispanic ministry.
• Thursday, September 29
  Grants—Vera White and Tim McCallister, Presbyterian Mission Agency
  Learn about the 1001 New Worshiping Communities grant process.
• Wednesday, October 19
  Rural Ministry—Edwin Lacy, pastor, Wild Goose Christian Community.
  Learn from the experience of a pastor who felt God’s call to develop a new worshiping community in rural Appalachia. Consider what you can do in your community.
  Watch the Wild Goose video.
• Wednesday, November 2
  Evangelism in Your Community—Christopher James, assistant professor of Evangelism and Missional Christianity, University of Debuque.
  Christopher is the author of several articles on missional practice and church planting including “Practices for a Missional Church Planting Order” (Journal of Missional Practice, 2013) and “Some Fell on Good Soil: Church Planting in Religious Ecologies” (Witness, 2013).
• Wednesday, December 7
  Nones and Dones—Renee Roederer, ordained PC(USA) minister, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  Be inspired by a minister working alongside others to create new worshiping communities in the Presbytery of Detroit, communities that include those who are religiously unaffiliated (the Nones) and those who seek new, emerging visions for their faith expression (the Dones).

The first 25 registrants for each webinar can choose to participate via a computer webcam or by voice. And, up to 100 registrants can listen and learn without being active participants. Registrants will receive a reminder email prior to the webinar, which will include a link and directions.

If you have questions or suggestions for future webinar topics or presenters, contact Sean Chow at sean.chow@pcusa.org.