The Ecclesia Network

a missional church network

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Imperfect Community

In a recent blog post called “The Pleasure of an Imperfect Community” Bob Hyatt hit on something very simple, yet something very important about this thing we call “church.” He writes,

“Yeah- we’re going to annoy the crap out of each other. You are going to hear some bad sermons. Someone will say something stupid on the City or even to your face. People will forget your birthday and occasionally not show up when you need them. It’s how community works because it’s how life works. But what’s present in community that is so often missing from life is… Grace. The very thing that seems to flower and bloom not in our successes but in our failures.”

In Eugene Peterson’s newest book, Practicing Resurrection, he hits on some of these similar themes. It is well worth the read and so is Bob’s blog. Check out the rest of Bob’s blog post here.

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Denver 2010 – June 11-12

DATE
Friday, June 11 – 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 12 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

PLACE
New Denver Church

HOST
The Ecclesia Network

COST
Free

RSVP
Please RSVP for this event on facebook, so we have a sense of who is coming. Invite your friends through facebook and other means, especially those living in the Denver area.

NATURE OF EVENT
We will be thinking imaginatively about the future of the church with others in an open-source gift economy way. The next BIG idea is about giving time to interact about innovative ways to partner with God in the renewal of all things. UNconference is about freely sharing creative ideas with one another without putting anyone on a pedestal. It is more participant oriented than personality driven. You will hear from practitioners who are on the front lines. There is also no cost, because people are sharing their gifts and knowledge freely.

TOPIC
During our short time together, there will be 14 innovative speakers from 14 different churches each sharing for 14-minutes on innovative ways to think and live missionally. More details on the speakers and topics to come!

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αγγελος 2010

Download the brochure here: αγγελος Brochure

αγγελος is church planting training  that presents a theological and practical trajectory for missional church planting.

αγγελος is unique in comparison to other church planters training opportunities available.

First, there will not be hundreds of people here. More than likely, there will be somewhere between 20-30. This means plenty of room for dialog, conversation, and questions amidst all of the planned training.

Second, everyone stays, eats, and prays together for the week. Most people leave with better friendships, some of which will be life-long, because they started the church planting journey – in this way – together.

Third, there will be a host of different equippers with unique planting stories. This gathering (as in all we try to do) isn’t dominated by just a few individuals or models of church planting. You’ll hear from a variety of planters, both seasoned and new, and learn from their experiences and approaches.

Finally, we hope to provide a good balance of theology, theory, and practicality. Each component is vital
We hope you’ll join us in May!

Topics Covered:

  • Planting Missional Churches
  • Planting Equipping Churches
  • Staying Healthy While Planting
  • Developing a Philosophy of Discipleship
  • Incarnational Ecclessiology: Reading Your City
  • Developing Models & Approaches
  • Developing Your Team
  • Navigating Team Dynamics
  • Fundraising for Church Planting
  • Administrative & Legal Issues
  • Keeping Heart Till the End ….

General Information

Location
Richmond Hill Urban Retreat Center (www.richmondhillva.org).
Richmond Hillis a former monastery, located in the heart of the city of Richmond. Most people will be sharing a room with one other person throughout the week. All meals are all included as part of our stay and will take place on the grounds.

Registration
Email info@ecclesianet.org to confirm your spot followed by payment. A 20% deposit is required within two weeks of registration to qualify for rate and space. Full payment due May 1st, 2010.

Arrival/Departure
You should plan to arrive at the Richmond Hill Urban Retreat Center (www.richmondhillva.org) between 4.00 and 4.30 on Monday, May 17th. Please be prompt because we will start with an orientation to the week around 5.00 that evening. We plan to finish on Friday at approximately 4.00 pm.

What to Bring:
Richmond Hill provides sheets and towels for each guest. You will need to bring all other toiletries with you. In addition, please bring along any relevant documents and resources related to your particular church plant. This could include vision pieces, working budgets, drafts of values, demographic information, etc. Obviously, you should bring a copy of the scriptures with you.

Preparing to Come:
Spend some time in prayer, perhaps asking specific people to pray for you during this week. This will be a very “intense” week with a full schedule, but our hope is that it will launch God’s church planting efforts through you in an effective way.

Pricing

  • Super Earlybird – before Feb 1, 2010 – $499
  • Earlybird – before Mar 1, 2010 – $599
  • Regular – before May 1, 2010 – $699
  • Late – after May 1, 2010 – $799

A Word from a previous participant:

From the moment I arrived, I began to realize – this is a room of like-minded individuals intent on seeing the Gospel spread and healthy, missionally-minded communities planted. And in the lonely world of church planting, I can think of few things more valuable than having a handful of friends like that.

The boot camp itself was a great mix of the theoretical and the practical, the motivational and the devotional. Times of prayer, times of discussion, lots of learning and lots of dreaming. This was a healthy mix of seasoned practitioners and newer church planters all sharing what they’ve learned. And everyone was invited and expected to do the same.

The setting of the Richmond Hill community was wonderful with its rhythm of prayer and contemplative atmosphere. Hard to imagine a better setting for listening to God and seeing what it is He might be birthing through you.

–Bob Hyatt, Portland OR

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Blogger Reviews of the 2010 National Gathering

A number of those who participated in the Ecclesia National Gathering have blogged about the event since it ended:

(Clearly, many of us aren’t very creative in the Blog Titling department…) If you are aware of others that we have missed, please leave a comment on this post and we’ll add them to the list.

Ecclesia Social: