At the heart of the Christian life, is the joy of sharing the good news of God with the world.
From the beginning, Jesus’ disciples lived out this joy by starting new churches.

In just a few weeks, 300 fellow Christians will join together to lift up and celebrate our common call to nurture new growth in God’s Kingdom.

Won’t you join us on March 3rd?

For some people, the world of New Church Development is new.  Beware, after March 3rd, you may be “hooked”!   It’s going to be an inspiring night of song, food, and worship, celebrating all the fast-growing forms the Body of Christ is taking within our denomination, right here in our midst!

In a time of angst about the future of the church, we can partner to make incredible new life spring forth!

Join us!

Here are the details:

• Dinner starts at 5:30 at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, featuring special dishes from new churches;
• Inspiring, multicultural worship follows with Rev. Dr. Joanna M. Adams preaching;
• We will offer our financial gifts during worship to support and start new churches right here in North Georgia;
• If you or your church would like to sponsor a table of 8 for $250, your gift will go directly to start new  churches;
• Please wear your traditional ethnic celebration clothing if you are able.

Space is limited –  reserve your spot(s) by February 20th by emailing Sara Hayden at sara.hayden@tpncdc.org

We hope that you and members of your congregation will make plans to attend this inspiring and uplifting night of worship and connection together.  You and our mission will be blessed by your presence.

We will meet at the church home of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church and Buen Pastor. We will be welcomed by pastors from both congregations, and will have an opportunity to learn more about these congregations and how they are carrying out our vision of growing Christ’s church.

Life is hard and people are bombarded and skeptical.
We simply don’t have the margin for more, but yearn to focus on what matters.
The church should make it easy for people to find that.
Too often, though, we only add to the confusion.

-featured speaker Kem Meyer

Refocus with your team on March 17th with best practices that enliven and simplify your ministry!

Join us for this special conference:

We’ll explore topics, like:

* Announcements during worship
* Practical tips to keep the church’s vision front-and-center
* Avoiding common mistakes that prevent people from connecting to Christ and His church

These communication strategies will equip your church for more effective and simplified ministry and will make a difference in your life, work, relationships, and discipleship.

About Kem: Kem Meyer is Communications Director of Granger Community Church, a thriving congregation of over 5000 people located in Granger, Indiana.  Kem used to view the church from the outside — looking in — and now she helps churches tailor their communication to be more engaging, invitational, and impacful to people looking for meaning and support in their lives, who wonder (or doubt) if the might be the catalyst for a more abundant life.  She is a widely sought-after speaker and coach, and author of one of the most useful books we’ve read on best practices in the church:  Less Clutter, Less Noise: Beyond Bulletins, Brochures, and Bake Sales.

This event is open to all.  So, invite your colleagues, neighbors, and friends!

$15 registration includes: breakfast, lunch, and the company of fellow Christians with the God-given gifts and passion to be disciples of Jesus Christ on the mission to renew the church, and in so doing, make the world a more faithful exhibition of the kingdom of God on earth.    We think you’ll have fun, too.  Kem is hilarious.

How can I register?

There are two ways to register for this event:

1) Click to Register for the event

Or,

2) Mail us the name, email, and $15 for each person attending from your group to:

NCDC at 1024 Ponce de Leon Ave NE/Atlanta, GA 30306

How many of us relate to (or are guilty of) this announcement?:

“The Christian Education Team needs 20 people to sign up for 45 minutes to be with the kids during Sunday School this Fall.

We’re asking all parents to take their turn. You don’t need to do anything beforehand since the lesson is already prepared. Once you complete your turn, you are done until next year.”

Not so inspiring.  What about this, instead?

“Sally, you know that the new vision of First Church is to proclaim, enjoy, and share the good news of God together as disciples of Jesus Christ.

This year, we are blessed with a class of 25 toddlers. We want to  nurture their formation as disciples of Jesus on Sunday mornings.

We believe you have unique gifts for this ministry. It’s an opportunity to live out our common calling, to nurture your own faith, and the discipleship of our young people. Would you prayerfully discern if you feel called to serve in this way for the next four months?”

Same topic, different approach. Vital churches start with the “why,” the big reason for which the church exists.  Every ministry and detail of the church should flow from and come back to that.

People are generous and exceedingly gifted by God. Is it not true that we — ministers, staff, and laity — want to share our gifts toward something whose purpose we understand and believe in?

To do this effectively, a church needs a good vision.  Some people call this a vision statement.  Others recommend that a church have a vision and a mission statement.  I use the terms interchangeably.  The goal is to identify the purpose for which your church exists.  A few key points:

• It should come from God’s story.
• It should connect to scripture.
• It should be concise, and easy to remember.
• It should be relevant to all people in all their diverse incarnations.
• Finally, It should be really important.  Something you want to base your life – not just the church’s ministry – around.

Even if you haven’t thought about your church’s vision in a while, or if it’s number nine on a list of ten things to tackle with the church board during its spring retreat, attention to this matter among the body of Christ is time very well spent:

A church that lacks a clear vision sets itself up for unnecessary conflict, malaise, and apathy.

A church that knows, believes in, and lives out a great vision is a church empowered to effectively share and enjoy the promises of God.

It will take some time and some faithful people to spiritually discern or reform your church’s vision. Once you have it, make sure you repeat it.  People have a lot going on.  They may not hear or “take in” the vision the first fifteen times it’s announced. The vision should be present enough so anyone walking in the door will know what the church is about:

• Each Sunday, have someone share aloud the vision of the church in worship. Print it everywhere.
• Start each gathering and meeting by reflecting on how the activity relates to the church’s vision.
• Teach it to your children, talk about it when you are out and when you are at home (Deut. 6:4-9)
• Here is a good litmus test: If the church doesn’t consider a vision important enough to occupy that much space in people’s lives, then the vision it has is probably not important enough.

People become a part of congregations whose actions and behaviors match the values and vision they set for themselves.  Make sure new and long-time members, staff, and ministers are good stewards of the vision.

In a rule, people trust, and open themselves up to those who “walk the talk.”  Of course, a bunch of humans, however Christian we are, will not always get this right.  That’s okay.  People outside of the church are not looking to join a bunch of “perfect people,” either.   But a statement that acknowledges our authentic attempts to live into something that makes all the difference in our world and in our lives — and honest confession when we fall short – provides a model pattern for the Christian life.

I have a colleague whose church asks new members to sign a covenant promising two things:

1. “I will deal with conflict God’s way,” and,
2. “I will be a steward of the vision of my church.”

The church is growing, my colleague says, because those within and around the church have rejoiced to see the consistency between what the church says it believes, and what it actually does.

Atlanta new church development focuses on the journey, not the institution

Special to Presbyterian News Service

by Erin Dunigan

BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico

Editor’s note: this is the latest in a series of stories about experimental ministries that typify the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s effort to establish 1,001 new worshiping communities in the next 10 years. ― Jerry L. Van Marter

Kairos Church, a ministry experiment of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta, is located in downtown Atlanta. But it was born out of a small rural village in Japan.

Beth and Thomas Daniel, co-pastors of Kairos since it began in their living room in 2007, first met in that Japanese village when they were both part of a teaching program.

“I had not been inside a church for probably 10 to 12 years,” Thomas said. “But one of the other teachers … was getting baptized in a house church run by two Norwegian women and invited us both to come.”

It was his first time seeing an adult get baptized. “It was a wonderful experience,” he said, and started both he and now-wife Beth on the journey of marriage and ministry.

After the two returned from Japan, they were married and attended Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. Subsequently, while serving as a co-pastor in Illinois, Daniel was invited to preach at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

“After the service I had lunch with some of the folks from Greater Atlanta Presbytery and they told me they had funding from a private source to start a new Presbyterian church,” he said.

The funding was from a family foundation and was born out of a concern about the lack of young adults in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

“They wanted to see if a Presbyterian church could get started and have the freedom to think creatively about itself and its mission without the laser light show and the multi-million dollar budget — could there be young adults who would get involved with that?”

The name, Kairos Church, came early on as part of that sense of call.

“Kairos is this idea of a God-given moment or opportunity. Unlike a lot of church planters, Beth and I didn’t have a five-year dream to do this — it felt like the Lord brought it about, a kairos moment rather than a long drawn out process,” Daniel said. “The name seemed to fit the crazy nature of what we were doing.”

Because the funding came from a foundation, Beth and Daniel had the freedom to stray from the playbook of standard new church development. So, in September 2007, the couple started meeting with seven others in their living room.

Six months later they moved out of the living room and into space given to them by First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. A group of about 80 met in a classroom there until the presbytery invited them to move into an abandoned church building downtown, where they’ve been for the past two years.

“We normally have about 200-220 people on a given Sunday, and probably two thirds of them are under 40. While we are still very young by most church standards, we’ve actually gotten a bit older as we’ve grown,” Daniel said.

He attributed the church’s growth to its mission.

“I think that what is drawing people is that this is an encouraging place, not a rule-based, guilt-laden Christianity. We don’t spend a lot of time on who is outside the circle — we try to be welcoming and encouraging for all people. At the same time, it is clear that we are following Jesus. We are inclusive but unapologetically trying to follow Jesus.”

A lot of traditional churches make a mistake in assuming that younger people want a watered-down version of the gospel, Daniel said.

“When you look at Jesus, what he is calling us to is revolutionary. They are saying, ‘Don’t hold back — hit us with it,’” he said.

As Kairos studied aspects of the early church, what struck them was that it didn’t form an institution but instead gathered around values that shaped their lives. It’s important for churches to build on what they stand for rather than simply defining what they are not, Daniel said.

One of the images that Kairos Church has used to define who they are is that of an airport. “We are an airport, not the destination,” said Daniel. “Kairos itself is not the point.

“We lose our focus and create an idol of our churches so easily. But the reality is that Kairos might not be around in 50 years, or five years. It is wonderfully freeing but also wonderfully frightening because I want to be the point.”

It is not that the airport is not important — it is critically important in its ability to connect people with where they want to go.

In many ways Kairos reminds Daniel of that house church in rural Japan.

“I didn’t walk away from that house church talking about the church — I walked away talking about the message and the community. In many ways, Kairos has allowed me to get back to some of that.”

Erin Dunigan is a freelance writer, photographer, and pastor who lives in a small coastal community in Baja California, Mexico when she is not following her wanderlust out into the world.

Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks–we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.

— Keynote Speaker Parker Palmer

Do you believe the church has a unique call to form, shape and nurture all people as they discover who they are called to be?

Join an intergenerational calling community of people from across denominations, ethnic backgrounds, geographic locales and ministry settings seeking to unleash the life that is already in you to make a difference in the life of the church.

Participants will experience the power of new practices for re-shaping Christian culture in congregations as places for listening, dialogue, inquiry and understanding that support the call of the next generation to receive and respond to God’s gift of abundant life.  By practicing them together, we will create our own unique expression of church. We will reflect on the implications of our experience and leave awakened and equipped to lead positive change in our faith communities at home.

Register now at: The Fund for Theological Education.

Have you ever wondered: …how your church can claim its power to convene for worship in new and creative ways?

…how can disciples join in a meaningful prayer and worship with the community at large, especially those who do not have a church home?

Join fellow pastors, worship team leaders and keynote speakers as we identify and share ideas on creating dynamic, invitation worship in your congregation — and for the community looking for a place to call home.

Registration and additional info are forthcoming – mark the date for your church to attend!

Let me just say this. I’m a city guy. And in the book of Zachariah, the 8th chapter, it says this: when justice comes to the city, once again, old people will come out of their houses, sit on their front steps, lean on their canes, watching the children playing safely in the streets. The image of the kingdom, a just society where there’s safety and well-being for everyone. It’s the will of God. Pray today: Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

– Keynote speaker Tony Campolo

This First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta is excited to continue our Taking Your Ministry/Hospitality/Leadership/Generosity to the Next Level series by offering this seminar on ministry in the city. The conference will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Our  keynote speaker is Tony Campolo – noted author, sociologist, pastor, social activist and passionate follower of Jesus!

Over his many years of Christian service, Tony has boldly challenged millions of people all over the world to respond to God’s boundless love by combining personal discipleship, evangelism and social justice. Come to this exciting and challenging seminar to explore how your church can grow its light in the city!

Invite your friends and colleagues. All are welcome to this inspiring and challenging day.

Mark your calendar and make plans now for your church to attend. Registration information is forthcoming.

– Tom Tewell and Sara Hayden

Vision Frame

In September 2007, a group of eight lay people and two co-pastors began meeting together as part of a launch team for a new church development of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  Three and a half years later, Kairos Church is a vibrant congregation with an average attendance of over 200 adults in our Sunday worship, more than half of whom are under age 35, as well as an average attendance of 40 children under the age of 10 . . .

Seven of the eight lay people in our core group had either not been involved in a congregation since their youth or had never been in a church at all, and there was a mixture of excitement and skepticism about exactly what we were doing in this mission.  At our first gathering, one couple actually asked that we not call ourselves a “church” because the word had so many negative connotations for them: They stated that the word reeked of lifeless institutionalism and meaningless ritual, and they desired instead to be a part of something that was far more dynamic and life-giving, both to them and to the world.

Church participation is declining throughout the United States, particularly among younger generations.  Research by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons suggests that when asked about the church, a rapidly growing number of Americans, including 49% of 16-29 year olds, “admit they have a hard time actually seeing Jesus because of all the negative baggage that now surrounds him;”[1] more than 40% of these young people do not have any active association with a congregation. In describing the state of the church in North America, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay write, “the world around us is growing increasingly disinterested in our Christian story.  Statistically they respect us less and less every year.”[2]

The desire to call ourselves something other than a “church” gave the group our first issue to discern as a community.  Thus during the first few months of our existence, we gathered in one another’s homes to sing, pray, and look to the scriptures for the  meaning of the word “church.”  We discussed how the book of Acts depicts the church as the gathered community of Jesus followers rather than an institution or denomination.  We saw that the word “church” was primarily about people committing themselves to a Kingdom-oriented relationship of reconciliation with God and neighbor.  The group was invigorated to watch the word transform before our eyes and to imagine capturing scripture meaning in each of our lives.

It is important for any congregation to understand why so many young adults are not involved in a Christian faith community.  Research of young adults in the book unChristian discovered that even though the church is incredibly unpopular, these young adults often distinguish between their feelings about Christian spirituality and about organized Christian religion. Kinnaman and Lyons write, “Jesus draws an interesting set of reactions as he receives much more favorable ratings from outsiders.”[3] On the other hand, many see Christians as “antihomosexual (an image held by 91 percent of young outsiders), judgmental (87 percent), and hypocritical (85 percent).  These ‘big three’ are followed by the following negative perceptions, embraced by a majority of young adults: old-fashioned, too political, insensitive to others, boring, and not accepting of other faiths.”[4] Kinnaman and Lyons come to the conclusion that the institutional church has become known for what it is stands against rather than what it stands for.  These sentiments were prevalent among the young adults in our core group.  However, in examining the biblical narrative of church as a community dedicated to a redemptive relationship between God and neighbor, our group quit focusing on what they did not like about the modern institutional church and instead started dreaming about what the biblical definition of church might look like today.

As 2008 dawned, we began to feel that it was time to formalize our values, to record them, and to consider opening our gathering to others who might feel led to explore our community.  There were different ways that we talked about doing this and in the end we decided on an approach known as a Vision Frame described by Will Mancini in his book Church Unique.  We appreciated Mancini’s emphasis on congregations clearly articulating both their mission and their values.  In addition, our group believed in formalizing Kairos’ definition of “success.”  While many Christians do not believe it is possible to quantify when a church is “successful” Mancini disagrees and so did our core group.  We decided to follow the process of writing a Vision Frame as outlined in Mancini’s book.  This consists of coming to a consensus on four basic questions:

• Mission- What are we doing?
• Values- Why are we doing it?
• Strategy- How are we doing it?
• Mission Measure- When are we successful?

For weeks we talked through his questions, and eventually we unanimously adopted the Kairos Vision Frame.  The mission of Kairos Church is encouraging one another daily to follow in the way of Jesus. This answers the question, “what are we doing?”  It is a statement that is inherently relational with both God and our neighbor.  Every one of our ministries seeks to draw us closer into relationship with God, one another, and our global neighbors.  Thus, discipleship is as much about building relationships as the transfer of information from teacher to student.

The Kairos Vision Frame shapes everything that the community is and does – it is not a finalized document stored on a shelf and forgotten.  The Kairos church and Vision Frame can be reviewed at www.KairosAtlanta.org.

Thomas and Beth Daniel, Co-Pastors of Kairos Church, serve together in ministry in Atlanta, GA.