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One Measure of a Flourishing Church: Our Mutual Spurring
By Rev. Dr. Dana Allin
ECO Synod Executive
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I have been alternating newsletter topics between ECO’s flourishing church measures and our values. In the normal sequence, this month is focused on the value of Our Mutual Spurring (which is also the value we will be focusing on at our 2020 National Gathering in February). However, I wanted to address this topic from a slightly different angle by focusing on some analysis of our annual statistics. I am pleased to say that we have had a record percentage of congregations complete their statistical reports. These reports are incredibly important because they help us to track trends and pinpoint needs in the denomination.
Let me first give some basic information. At the end of 2018, we had 383 churches. We had accepted or planted a total of 391, but since our inception, a few of those have closed, merged, and we have had one that has left ECO. We have a total of 129,765 covenant partners and average worship attendance of...
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Don’t miss out on the amazing early bird discount for your 2020 National Gathering registration! Grab your team and plan to join us in Dallas in February. All the details and registration can be found on our website:
www.econationalgathering.org
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One of our 2020 Keynote Speakers
Dr. Ruth Haley Barton
Our 2020 National Gathering keynote speaker, Ruth Haley Barton, is gifted to guide others into encounters with God that will connect us, transform us, and have ripple effects that will spur us on and transform our churches. She is theologically grounded, authentic, seasoned in ministry, and fun! In a world where it is so easy to neglect our souls and our relationship with Jesus, Ruth Haley Barton helps us to care about our souls and for the soul of our leadership.
If you want to know her and her ministry better - you can check out Lisa Johnson’s conversation with her on the Flourishing Church Podcast
here.
Also, Ruth has her own podcast called
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership
that will help you discover how forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God in the midst of leading is the best thing you bring to leadership!
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Northern California and Nevada Start Church Transformation!
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The Northern California and Nevada Cohort was an expression of mutual spurring one another on. It was a time of sharing, encouraging, and looking at how God might be calling us out of our comfort zones and into a flourishing witness.
Join the next Church Transformation Pastor Learning Community! (January 14 - 15 in Atlanta, GA) Click the button below to learn more about Church Transformation and Tier 1: Pastor Learning Community.
Prayerfully consider how The Lord might be moving you to be a dynamic, flourishing witness in your context.
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World Renew Relief Efforts - Hurricane Dorian
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World Renew is organizing efforts and accepting donations for relief in the Bahamas and communities on the East Coast following the devastation of Dorian (and preparing for any other fall hurricanes in 2019).
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IMPACT at the 2020 National Gathering
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ECO is excited to collaborate with Axis and Fuller Youth Institue to
offer a high school/college-aged young adults pathway at the 2020 National Gathering. Identify, bring and encourage ECO's next generation!
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Upcoming Transitional Pastor Trainings!
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We want to equip pastoral leaders so they can help churches navigate pastoral transitions and prepare them for their Flourishing Next Step.
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Upcoming Trainings:
Outreach and Equipping:
Led by Jim Singleton and Nate Dreesmann
October 15-17, 2019 at
White Clay Creek, Newark, DE.
This class will equip the CTP to help a church recommit itself to Reformed Christian Faith and equip the CTP with evangelistic and discipleship skills.
Structural Health:
February 6, 2020 at the
Gaylord Conference Center, Grapevine, TX (following NG20)
For details and registration, visit:
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Join the Conversation with Other Mission Leaders!
There are 2 more opportunities coming this Fall to connect in "LIVE" conversation with ECO mission leaders.
Global Engagement Live is an opportunity to hear a brief presentation, and then be added to a live chat room with 3-5 other mission leaders. You can connect by telephone, or even better with a video connection from your laptop, tablet, or smart phone using the Zoom app. Register for just one or each of them, and be sure to add it to your calendar now so you don't miss the opportunity to connect.
Catalyzing Gospel Movement: Church Engagement that Makes a Difference on the Field
Amy Delgado, Outreach Director at Memorial Drive in Houston, TX
Catching Fire: Lessons Learned from Starting and Spreading a New Mission Partnership
Tim Norton, Mission Pastor at FPC Winston-Salem, NC
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Ministry On The Border
A team of students from Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield, Minnesota traveled to the South Texas border on a service-learning trip in partnership with Border Perspective. From volunteering at a local immigrant center to serving alongside immigrant pastors, these opportunities gave this team an eye-opening and first-hand look at ministry alongside immigrants communities. Mia Franklin, Youth Ministries Director of Discipleship and trip leader describes her team’s service-learning experience in South Texas.
This past July I had the privilege to help lead a group of 16 high schoolers on a trip down the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The youth ministry team that I am a part of wanted to provide our students with the opportunity to learn and serve this summer in a relevant way and partnering with Border Perspective allowed us to step into serving at the border with a learning posture. We had a group of students that were diverse in race, ethnicity, and life experience, and we bonded deeply as we learned about the intricacies and elements of the border in the Rio Grande Valley.
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TEXAS PRESBYTERIAN FOUNDATION
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TPF Webinar
(October 16th, 11am CT)
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Webinar:
Transformational generosity is poised to help us shape the health and growth of our congregations as we strive to cultivate flourishing disciples of Christ. But how can we ensure that we nurture and encourage this type of generosity?
In this webinar, John Terech, ECO’s Executive Director of Operations, and Rev. Dr. Rick Young, TPF’s President, will address this question and many more as they discuss the three pillars of transformational generosity, along with how you can implement them in your church, today!
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Putting The Joy Back
In Generosity
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There is a distinct difference between HAVE TO and WANT TO, and the transition between the two is a common thread that weaves between all phases of our lives. Do we go to work because we HAVE TO? Or because we WANT TO?
When considering this attitude shift in relation to generosity and the members of our congregations, wouldn’t it be better if they should WANT TO be generous, instead of simply feeling like they HAVE TO? Often the church models HAVE TO generosity in its stewardship campaigns with an emphasis on bottom lines and budgets...
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Coach Training Certification!
Flourish is offering a Coach Training certification process through Coach Net International because of our commitment to equip leaders and provide resources that nurture flourishing ministry within ECO.
Having a coach can be a powerful asset in ministry and discipleship. More and more, pastors and ministers recognize the value of a quality coach to equip them to cultivate skills, lead staff, mentor young leaders, mobilize volunteers and teams more strategically, and improve as a counselor.
Session 1: Thursday, Feb 6, 2020 from 1:00pm to 6:00pm
Session 2: Friday, Feb 7, 2020 from 8:30am to 5:30pm
The first session will start directly following the 2020 National Gathering. Please extend your hotel stay for one or two additional nights after the gathering at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center (1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine, TX).
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Welcome New ECO Churches!
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Perch Church, Glendale, CA
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Living Word of Plum, Plum, PA
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ADDRESS
5638 Hollister Ave Ste 210
Goleta, CA 93117
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EMAIL
office@eco-pres.org
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WEBSITES
eco-pres.org
flourishmovement.org
econationalgathering.org
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© 2019 ECO A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians All rights reserved.
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