Fifty percent of the people in your community do not experience the love of Jesus Christ through involvement in a faith-based community.
Rarely has there been a time when those 50% need to experience the love of Jesus Christ more as the global community wrestles with the devastating effects of a pandemic. At this writing, more than 346,000 of our neighbors worldwide have passed away from COVID-19, while millions more suffer economic hardships they never dreamed possible only three months ago. The world is crying out for a church that moves beyond its walls, sharing the love of Christ, and meeting people in relationship. This is truly the hospitality of the Body of Christ.
SHIFT is a process that helps congregations become more effective in hands-on ministry, more engaged in hospitality, and more intentional about developing followers of Jesus who understand the call to go and make disciples. This exciting and relevant training will provide concrete steps and a useful process that local churches can adapt and implement to their unique context and Spirit-led creativity.
SHIFT empowers congregations to show Christ’s love through:
• Authentic Relationships
• Radical Hospitality
• Passionate Worship
• Intentional Discipleship
• Impactful Service
• Extravagant Generosity
Forming authentic relationships, creating passionate worship experiences, exercising intentional discipleship: these actions flow from communion with Jesus and bind us more deeply as the Body of Christ, empowering us to engage in vital ministry that transforms our church and the world around us.
Congregational leadership teams, consisting of the pastor and five-to-ten key lay persons, will meet for training one Saturday each month for nine months in a community setting. Coaches will work with pastors and leadership teams to implement learned skills and disciple-making processes in ways that are relevant to the local church’s setting. Coaches will also gather periodically with pastors for further specific training.
The cost for the full training, including manuals, materials, and coaching, is $350 per congregational team. Scholarships are available. SHIFT meetings will begin September 2020.
Come and join with us in the journey, enmeshed in God’s Spirit and immersed in God’s love, increasing our congregational effectiveness to live deeply as disciples of Jesus for the hope of the world just beyond our church doors.
To register, please contact Beverly Elingburg at belingburg@nccumc.org or 919-779-6115 ext. 260 before July 31. For more information, or if you would like someone to come and speak with your congregational team, contact Steve Taylor at staylor@nccumc.org or 919.349-1831.