Together with partners also engaged in church planting and revitalization, 1001 New Worshiping Communities of the Presbyterian Mission Agency is sponsoring an upcoming Hopeful Economics UnConference on March 3-5.
Ecumenical Partners in Outreach, a network of mainline denominational leaders engaged in church planting and revitalization, hosted its first ever “Founders’ Festival” via Zoom in early December.
During the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)’s #GivingTuesday 12-hour telethon on Dec. 1, the Rev. Nikki Collins, national coordinator for 1001 New Worshiping Communities, will visit with two ‘1001’ leaders who started new churches among people and in places where traditional PC(USA) mainstream churches haven’t been.
In 2000, eight retirees led an effort to plant a new Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation in the mountains of north Georgia. Today, Faith Presbyterian Church – Blue Ridge has 159 members and is one of the fastest-growing congregations in Cherokee Presbytery and the Synod of the South Atlantic. Last year, Sunday morning worship attendance averaged 109.
The Rev. Sean Chow, associate for training and leadership cohorts for 1001 New Worshiping Communities, is thrilled that the first cohort of leaders of 100 1NWC startups are being trained online.
When Jaime Lázaro was looking for Commissioned Ruling Elder (CRE) education in Spanish so that he could become a commissioned new worshiping community leader in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), he couldn’t find the polity course he needed for ordination. Knowing it was a need for several candidates in Southern California — and in all likelihood around the country — he and Martín García believed that God was calling them to do something about it.
The Rev. Nikki Collins has been aware of the concept of empowering servant leadership since her high school days, when a teacher brought in a prominent community leader to speak to Collins and her classmates about what it means to be a servant leader.
Leaders of worshiping communities may be hesitant as they seek to bolster funding during a pandemic. But there are ways to do that by inviting people to do what they want to do anyway, the Revs. Jon Moore and Princeton Abaraoha told about 40 people participating in a Thursday webinar “Funding your Ministry in a Time of Crisis,” put on by 1001 New Worshiping Communities.
