The New Church Leadership Institute
Sep 5, 2010
August 9-13 I attended a conference in Atlanta called the New Church Leadership Institute(NCLI) , put on by the Center for Progressive Renewal (CPR).
150ish people gathered who are passionate about growing the progressive Christian Church in the United States.
CPR is working to increase the number and vitality of progressive Christian churches throughout the United States. The Center is a covenanted ministry of the United Church of Christ, but they support people working in many denominations, as well as non-denominational churches.
Most mainline protestant denominations that have a significant progressive orientation have seen a steady decline in membership over the past half century. The United Church of Christ is currently closing 2-3 churches per week, and the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) has also experienced membership decline, although I don’t know the accurate numbers on that.
Meanwhile, in society at large, more people than ever espouse the values found in progressive churches – peace with justice, equality of all races, genders and sexual orientations, honorable treatment of the natural environment, and so on.
Progressive churches need to be revitalizing and multiplying! In Atlanta, the New Church Leadership Institute focused on the Seven Secrets of successful church revitalizations and new church starts. The ‘secrets’ the speakers addressed were:
There were also a variety of workshops through the week that followed three basic tracks: Tools for church revitalization teams, tools for new church planters and tools for denominational staff. I attended several workshops, including ones on asset-mapping, marketing, and church development trouble-shooting.
I have a personal desire to be involved with new church development, and am trying to cultivate a spirit of openness and discernment within myself as I wonder what specifically God might be calling me toward in this area. I also believe that First United Church, as a larger and a healthy congregation, should be a part of birthing new progressive churches in our area. What do you think?
Learn more about the Center for Progressive Renewal here:
Learn more about the New Church Leadership Institute here.