The Ecclesia Network

a missional church network

Archives for February 2017

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New Churches

In a continued sign of momentum in Ecclesia, we are excited to welcome two new congregations to our family – The Neighborhood Church in Garland, TX and Koinonia House in Pottstown, PA.   Both of these churches have been journeying with Ecclesia the last year and it’s a joy to make them and official part of the community.

The Neighborhood Church is located in the suburbs of Dallas and is seeking to follow Jesus for the sake of God’s kingdom in Garland, Texas.  Garland is a large suburb that happens to be one of the most ethnically diverse cities of its size in the U.S.  Their hope is that The Neighborhood Church would look more and more like our Garland as they live into their name by walking alongside their neighbors in meaningful relationships.

Here is how Adam describes The Neighborhood Church …
“Our people are authentic, hospitable, and sacrificial. Some grew up in church, some were hurt by a church and have found healing, and others are completely new to church (even in the middle of the Bible belt). We try to live authentically with God and each other as a family. The church was planted by Mark Moore as Providence Community Church in a nearby city over a decade ago. We’ve changed our name and re-planted in Garland but the core practices of believing the gospel of the kingdom, belonging to one another, and blessing our city and world has been a constant through the years.

God has been so gracious to unite us together with a clear sense of who we’ve become and what we’re called to do. We want to be a faithful presence to those in need, to the marginalized, and to the de-churched. Since the Fall of 2015 we’ve partnered with a community center in one of the most economically disadvantaged areas of the city two miles from where we gather for worship. We’ve served in a variety of ways from after school programs, holiday parties, and VBS-style summer student weeks, but now we’re taking another step in our effort to be good neighbors for God’s kingdom by launching a Neighborhood Clothes Closet to meet needs and open more doors to relationships.

We are thrilled to be part of Ecclesia. After Pastor Bud Riddel and I (Adam) visited last year’s national gathering we were convinced we had found a nurturing and life-giving community that shared our heartbeat. Pastor Kathy Keasler (formerly of A New Community), Pastor Bud, and I can’t wait to develop new relationships within the network and to continue to grow our existing relationships. By God’s grace, we look forward to being God’s people together.”

Bob Hyatt, Director of Equipping and Spiritual Formation said, “I’ve always been impressed with the way the Neighborhood Church, planted in the heart of Church Country, has managed to be different. By living as a truly missional community they live out a real Kingdom alternative to the culture around them in a way that both challenges and inspires.”

In addition to TNC, Ecclesia is also enthusiastic to welcomeKoinonia House to our movement.  Koinonia was planted by Jessica Clemmer and her husband Todd over a decade ago with a desire to “do church differently.”  They envisioned a community that was relationally centered, and shared life together built around faith.  In discussing their origins Jessica relayed,

“We thought we wanted to create an atmosphere where people who typically wouldn’t feel comfortable showing up at a traditional church would feel welcome. We wanted to be intentional about making space for the arts in church life, and wanted to be a place of blessing to our local communities. What we were really desiring was a fuller realization and living out of the Gospel, though at that point we didn’t have a paradigm for understanding or living that well.”

Throughout the years, Koinonia has begun to develop and lean into a fuller understanding of the Gospel; in that it wasn’t JUST for saving from hell to heaven, but that it was a process of partnering with God in the reconciliation and restoration of all things.  As this settled deeper into their core, they began to get ahold of the concept of missional living, feeling released to build and enjoy genuine relationships with people that were not part of our faith, which they could see cultivating much more openness to the Gospel.  J.R. Briggs, Director of Leadership & Congregational Formation has been walking alongside Koinonia in this last year.  J.R. shares, “It’s been a pleasure to spend time with the Koinonia House community- and it’s been a joy to call Jessi and Todd Clemmer friends for the past few years. After talking about Ecclesia with the Clemmers and their leaders for some time, I’m thrilled that Koinonia House is now officially a part of the network.”

After many years of meeting in different locations, now they are seeking to put down roots, and be present and stable for the communities in which we live and are involved.  On behalf of Koinonia, Jessica says, “We are excited about the ways that God has been connecting us with the greater Body, both in our local region, as well as through like-minded networking, such as Ecclesia. We are moving into a new season with great expectation, not of what we will be able to do FOR God, but rather, what we will be blessed to be able to do WITH Him.”

Ecclesia is excited to walk along with you in Koinonia and Neighborhood Church!

The Neighborhood Church in Garland, TX



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Ecclesia Online Learning Hangout w/ Dave Fitch

Join us March 10th as Dr. David Fitch, author of Faithful Presence: Seven Disciplines That Shape the Church for Mission, discusses what it means to live as a faithful presence in today’s world. Incredibly practical and deeply theological, Dr. Fitch is a master provocateur who will challenge you to think carefully about your life and the life of your community, and how we can see the presence of God all around us. If you are at all interested in what it means to live on mission in our culture, this event is for you.
Dr. Fitch will present for 30-45 minutes followed by 30-45 minutes of Q&A.
March 10, 11:30am-1pmPT/2:30pm-4pmET
This event will be limited to 40 participants. After you register, you will be sent the link for the event. Spaces are limited, so sign up now!

Other Online Learning Hangouts this year will include Mandy Smith, AJ Swoboda and Deb Hirsch- watch for details!

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From the National Director: Pentecost Offering

Do you want to make an impact outside your local community?  Perhaps in addition to the one your already making?  Or, had you hoped to plant a new congregation out of your current church but that opportunity hasn’t emerged, and yet you still want to support the formation of new faith communities?  If so, here is a great opportunity!

Last year we introduced the Pentecost Offering at the 2016 National Gathering.  This new initiative emerged out of a desire among certain Ecclesia Churches to work more collaboratively across the network in the supporting of new communities of faith.  Given our desire within Ecclesia to accentuate the PRIMACY of the local church, we determined that each participating Ecclesia Church had two options with the funds generated through their local Pentecost Offering efforts.  First, they could decide to retain the funds from the Pentecost Offering within their own reserves for either a future church plant out of their congregation or for a project they decided to support specifically.  Or, they could decide to send the funds to Ecclesia as a whole, which would then bundle, batch, and distribute the collective funds generated to a specific project or two.  (Of course, some churches decided to do a mixture of the two).

As a whole, nearly $50,000 was generated through the Pentecost Offering in 2016.  We were genuinely surprised by the receptivity to this new initiative.  Much of that was retained locally, but the portion that was sent to Ecclesia was ultimately given to a new congregation in New Jersey.  New Hights Christian Church in Hightstown, NJ is a new congregation emerging out of Next Gen Church in Princeton, NJ.  New Hights is pastored by Oscar Guerrero, a bi-vocational church planter, and is primarily focused on the Latino Community.  You can see a snapshot of God’s action among them in J.R. Briggs’ update in this edition of the news as well as the Ecclesia Annual Report.  With our collective support, New Hights has been able to purchase a van for their congregation to help the myriad of ministry they are engaged in on a weekly basis.  This is an incredible story that our Ecclesia Churches are happy to be part of, that they likely never would have, apart from being involved in Ecclesia.
We are collecting the names of churches within Ecclesia desiring to participate in the 2017 Pentecost Offering.  If you are interested, please reach out to Sarah Keasler (pentecost@ecclesianet.org) or myself (chris.backert@ecclesianet.org). We will be distributing information on the 2017 Pentecost Offering in the next month.

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Event w/ Darrell Guder POSTPONED

Pastors and Kingdom Leaders, 

We were scheduled to meet Tuesday in Plymouth Meeting, PA for an event featuring Dr. Darrell Guder. Unfortunately, Dr. Guder recently informed us that a medical emergency has occurred in his family and he will be unable to join us for the event. 

Therefore, we are postponing Tuesday’s event. We will find another date that suits Dr. Guder’s schedule in the near future and let you all know when the reschedule date is for this event. 

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Reaching New Hights

 

 

 

 

–J.R. Briggs

February 5 may have been Super Bowl Sunday, but Sunday afternoon many experienced something much more significant than the Patriots’ dramatic win. New Hights Christian Church, a brand new Spanish-speaking congregation in Hightstown, NJ, held their first baptism service that included their worship service, baptism, recognition of new members and dinner and cake afterward.

Pastored by Oscar Guerrero, New Hights was birthed through the support of several mission-oriented tribes that desire to see more churches birthed. Three years ago Oscar participated in a learning cohort with Fresh Expressions U.S., a sister organization of Ecclesia. At the encouragement of Mia Chang (Ecclesia board member and pastor of nearby Next Gen Church in West Windsor, NJ) – along with the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, Oscar attended the Fresh Expressions trainings and learned about joining with the Spirit in birthing new, creative expressions and extensions of church right where you are.

While the church started in Oscar’s living room just four months ago, services now include more than 50 people. That Sunday afternoon not only included 12 baptisms of new believers, but also included the recognition of 38 new members to the church! They serve the elderly and shut-ins, run after school tutoring for kids, started a youth ministry and host several Bibles studies each week. In that Sunday service, singing, praying and preaching in Spanish (which was then translated to English) reminded everyone in attendance of our big God who is worshiped and understood in various languages and cultures. Speaking of prayer, Oscar’s heart for and conviction of the importance of prayer is clear. “If we don’t pray,” he said, “our church will die. Prayer is how we depend upon God – for everything.”

Mia Chang and J.R. Briggs both present, where Mia assisted with the baptisms. She and J.R. gave a brief word of encouragement to the baptism candidates and laid hands on the candidates in prayer at the end of the service. When Ecclesia envisioned initiating a Pentecost Offering in 2016 we were praying faithfully that we could bless a congregation in a way that birthed fruit for the kingdom. What a privilege it is to partner with New Hights  – in prayer, finances and relationships – in order to see new congregations bring God’s hope-filled mission to a world in need.

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Sermon Feedback: 5 Ways to Discern When it’s Legit (and When People are Just Being Nice)

As pastors we have all experienced it.

We’ve studied, prayed and prepared a sermon all week – and now we’ve just gotten done preaching our heart out. As the service ends and people begin to leave, some look us in the eyes and say, “Nice job. Good sermon.”

“Thanks,” we say with a bit of timidity and an awkward grin.

But inside we think, Really? Do they mean it or are they just saying that? If so, I wonder what did they like about it?

The truth is we don’t think they’re downright lying to us, but we’re tempted to wonder is that the whole story – and how honest were they being – really?

Feedback, as they say, is the breakfast of champions. As a feedback junky myself, I want to improve and grow in communicating God’s Word to others. But over the years I’ve struggled with this drive-by encouragement on the way out the door. How am I to know what is legitimate feedback and when are people just being pleasant, kind, nervous – or maybe unsure what else to say but “good job”? I’ve learned to listen for five specific forms of feedback that are legitimate and credible:

(1) Specificity

When people give specific feedback to a sermon I see that they were really listening, careful to take in something of importance and then articulate that to me. Instead of “Nice job, pastor,” when I hear “You know, that second point you made about God’s patience with Israel reminded me of just how patient he is with me in my own life.” Or, “That verse you read – the one about being a living sacrifice – is going to impact the way I love my wife and kids this week. I haven’t been eager to do the simple things – change diapers, unload the dishwasher or pick up the toys on the floor after a long day. But I realized today that’s a part of what Paul is talking about.”

(2) Time passed

It’s easy to hear encouragement minutes after preaching, but I listen well when someone says, “Six months ago you taught on God’s goodness, even in times of suffering. I can’t get that concept out of my head. I think about it often and it encourages me when things are difficult.” The Spirit seems to have pierced their heart in such a way that it remains within them.

(3) People’s posture and body language

Outward appearance, of course, isn’t everything; but posture and body language can be beneficial and legitimate real-time feedback of what is happening to people internally. While we preach, we can look out and notice people to get a pulse of the room. Are people are leaning in and paying attention? Are people nodding or smiling? Were tears present during that story I told about my interaction with my neighbor? Are people leaning back with their arms crossed looking bored? Are people looking down, reading and re-reading – maybe underlining – something in their Bibles? Or – unfortunately – are people sleeping?

(4) The specific, intentional and solicited feedback of trustworthy people.

I’m a feedback junky. I always want to improve and grow. Part of my rhythm in teaching and preaching is to proactively seek out spiritually mature people who I know will be both honest and honoring with feedback a day or two after I’ve preached. I find that if I ask generic questions (“So, how was it?” I will always get generic answers (“It was good”). But if I ask more specific questions, (“How helpful was the opening story during the introduction?” or “If you could summarize my sermon in a thesis statement what would it be?”) I find I get very helpful and meaningful feedback. (I’ve even developed a one-page Teaching Feedback Form that I give to people and kindly ask them to fill it out and return it to me). At times what I hear is encouraging and affirming; other times it’s pointed areas that didn’t work and how I could improve upon them. Admittedly, sometimes some of the feedback stings, but from a trusted friend or congregant, I know they mean well and desire me to sharpen my gifts – and, for that, I am grateful.

(5) The Spirit’s affirmation.

Despite what people think, the most important affirmation we could ever receive is from the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it’s not a popularity contest and we aren’t trying to tickle the ears of our people. We are trying to serve the Lord. So, in the quiet moments in our office before heading home or when we drive home in the car, what is the Lord whispering to us? Do we sense affirmation of faithfulness to the preparation, to our motivations and to the text throughout the week – and this morning? Do we sense the affirmation of our faithfulness to the opportunity to present God’s Word? Listen to these quiet moments of affirmation or correction from the Spirit. It’s ultimately this feedback that we should pay attention to the most.

Certainly, we want to thank and express our gratitude for those who offer brief encouragement as we leave our gatherings. But lean in and pay attention most notably to the feedback given in these five forms.