ECO Newsletter | May 2018

Your Next Flourishing Step, Part ll

One of my favorite promises of hope is found in Philippians 1:6. Paul writes, I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. I often hear this passage applied to individuals - that God has done a good work in each of us and will continue His mighty work in us. While this is certainly true, the context of the passage reminds us that Paul is giving this promise to the whole church of Philippi. As I have taught and used this passage in multiple venues, I have often been struck by two important truths that come from it. Read More

- ECO Synod Executive, Dana Allin

Unleashing the Laity

New training curriculum and certification program being developed for 2019!

New Resources for Officer Training and Commissioned Lay Pastor Certification

From it's inception, ECO defined one of our five shifts as moving from "clergy centered" churches to "unleashing the laity." If we want to unleash the laity, we realize that we must provide quality training for any and all lay leaders who are seeking to grow in their leadership skills and spiritual maturity for the sa ke of the Kingdom. In this way, we want to begin to shift the culture in our ECO churches away from clergy and staff monopolizing the bulk of what God calls the body of Christ to do. We have realized that there should be several different levels of training in order to meet the needs of our leaders and our local churches.

ECO's three newest resources to help unleash the laity are found in a new training curriculum and certification program being developed for 2019, based upon ECO's Ten Core Leadership Competencies. Read More

- Director of Lay Leadership Development, Lisa Johnson

National Gathering

Thank You to All Our Presbytery Leaders!

The Presbytery Leader's Conference, hosted in Springfield, MO by First and Calvary at the end of April, was a wonderful time of fellowship, worshipping together and equipping our volunteer presbytery leaders, who do so much to care for our ECO churches and pastors.

We appreciate all our leaders who traveled to attend, and missed those who couldn't make it. A special thanks to former Attorney General John Ashcroft for leading the group in a hymn sing!

ECO now has 22 presbyteries across the United States, including Alaska, which is too big to fit on our map!

The Importance of Missional Communities

By Chloe Johnson, member of an ECO Church Plant

My name is Chloe and I am a part of Goodland Church, a church plant in Santa Barbara, California. I teach English and lead Young Life at Santa Barbara High School, and spend as much time as possible hanging out with my pastor, Becky, gleaning whatever I can from her about church planting.

I came to Santa Barbara about five years ago, the same way that many people come to Santa Barbara - running away from hard things and hard people, attracted to cotton-candy sunsets and bougie coffee and the anonymity of a new city. Over the next four years at Westmont College (a teeny Christian, liberal-arts college in the hills in Santa Barbara) I studied a ton, met my best friends, and failed again and again to find satisfaction in the definition of "Christian community" I was hearing. Read More

Global Engagement

In March, Pastor Jack McClelland of Fredericksburg Presbyterian, an ECO Church in Fredericksburg, Ohio,

volunteered with 14 other men in Port Arthur, Texas through ECO's disaster relief partner, World Renew. Pastor McClelland recently reflected on his experience with World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS).

DRS: Tell us about the people on whose homes you worked.

Pastor Jack: We primarily worked on the homes of

Miss Mae, Miss Eileen, and Miss Etta. We completed the repairs on Miss Mae's house and participated in a "blessing ceremony" led by Henrietta, the World Renew Site Coordinator. Miss Mae received a blanket to bless her new home during the ceremony, and she started to move back in the next day. She was in her sixties, and this was the second time she had lost her home to a disaster.

In 2005, Miss Mae's home was damaged by wind from Hurricane Rita. She and 13 other family members

had to move out of their flooded homes and stay with Miss Mae's daughter. Read More

The Second Church Transformation Cohort Has Officially Launched!

Welcome New ECO Churches!

Badin Presbyterian Church, Mt. Gilead, NC

We are delighted to be part of ECO, and enjoyed our first presbytery meeting here in North Carolina. - Pastor, Dan Wray

Sunny Hills Presbyterian Church, Chipley, FL

We at Sunny Hills Presbyterian Church view our acceptance into the ECO family as a new beginning. We are looking forward with appreciation and excitement to our future with ECO. It is truly our desire to minister to our community in a manner that will please and honor God. We believe ECO will be a "like-minded" partner as together we seek God's will: as individuals, as a local church, and as members of His universal Church. With thanksgiving and anticipation we say, "lead on ECO!" - Pastor, Jack Homoney

Mountain View Presbyterian Church, Scottsdale, AZ
mtviewpres.org

We are so honored to join the ECO family and we are looking forward to partnering with good friends here in the newly formed Hope Presbytery of Arizona. God has blessed our church in many ways and we pray that we will be able to be a blessing to our new denominational home.

- Senior Pastor, Stephen E. Beard

TPF Webinar

Join TPF on Wednesday, May 23rd, at 11am CDT/12pm ET for "Intentional Grace: A Simple Plan to Inspire Generosity," a webinar to learn how to consistently communicate an effective message of generosity. In this session you will learn best practices for:

· Creating a viable generosity vision

· Defining customized generosity strategies

· Executing marketing tactics that don't feel like marketing

· Making the most of your best with celebrations

· Ensuring future growth and success

This is your chance to define your entire approach to generosity and legacy giving.