CANCELLED-Five Practices Kick-off Event

Reconnect with God’s Purpose!

Five Practices will help you take practical steps to strengthen the quality of your church’s essential ministries and to reconnect with God’s purpose for your congregation. These are two important components of making a small but significant Shift from Maintenance to Mission.

This work is based on the book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations, which focuses on the five essential activities of vital, healthy churches. The Five Practices are:

• Radical hospitality
• Passionate worship
• Intentional faith development
• Risk-taking mission and service
• Extravagant generosity

The next conference-wide offering of this program will launch on February 3, 2018.

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Your team will assess your church in these areas and create an action plan for strengthening your ministries.

How does this work?

• Each church recruits a leadership team made up of the pastor and at least three lay members.
• Everyone attends the Kick-off Event on Saturday, February 3, 2018, for orientation to Five Practices.
• Each leadership team will meet back home six times. The group works the Five Practices themes plus a planning session guided by a trained facilitator.
• Some pastors have benefited from working with a coach for this program. We can provide a coach for the pastor for six sessions for an additional $100.

Your church will benefit from the Church Renewal Program if it:

• Isn’t sure where or how to begin with a SHIFT;
• Has resources of faith, leadership, and finances that make it possible to devote time to a new project;
• Is not experiencing serious conflict and has a pattern of healthy communication among members and leaders;
• Can put together a team of lay leaders who can envision a different future;
• Can commit to full participation in all six back home sessions and the gathering at the Conference Center.

To get started on Five Practices:

• Register online at this link. The deadline for registrations is Sunday, January 7, 2018.
• Recruit a team and work on preparation assignments before the February 3, 2018, Kick-off Event. These assignments will be sent to you after you have registered.

Please contact Tisha Brown with program content questions

Please contact Nola Risse-Connolly with logistical questions

Details: The cost is $225 for up to 8 people per church, which includes the pastor (or $325 if the pastor would also like to work with a coach). This includes the kick-off event and a back home facilitator. The facilitator’s travel costs to your church and the cost of the workbooks your team will need to complete the program are extra. Workbooks will cost approximately $40 per person (or less if you can find used copies).

The text and workbooks include:

• Five Practices of Fruitful Living book by Robert Schnase
• Five Practices: Radical Hospitality workbook
• Five Practices: Passionate Worship workbook
• Five Practices: Intentional Faith Development workbook
• Five Practices: Risk-taking Mission and Service workbook
• Five Practices: Extravagant Hospitality workbook

Overnight lodging costs for the February gathering are not included. For lodging on Friday evening, February 2, call the Holiday Inn Express at 608-846-8686 and request the Wisconsin Conference UCC room block. Rooms are not guaranteed after January 7.

Register your team online by the January 7, 2018, registration deadline. In the online registration form, please provide the name and email address for each of your team members.