TFE Director Ray Jones III and colleagues to discuss ‘intentional, authentic evangelism,’ a mark of a vital congregation
Vital Congregations Coordinator the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Threadgill and Theology, Formation & Evangelism Director the Rev. Dr. Ray Jones III are among the hosts for a Wednesday afternoon videoconference on “intentional, authentic evangelism.” (Contributed photo)
LOUISVILLE — At 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, the Office of Vital Congregations will continue its weekly Zoom conversations around “The Seven Marks of a Vital Congregation: For Such a Time as This.”
The Rev. Dr. Ray Jones III, the director of Theology, Formation & Evangelism, will join three Presbyterian Mission Agency colleagues — VC Coordinator the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Threadgill, VC Associate the Rev. Carlton Johnson and VC Mission Specialist Monique Rhodes — to discuss what intentional, authentic evangelism might look like during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the second Zoom conversation in the series around the Seven Marks. Zoom conferences are scheduled every Wednesday through May 6. During the first conversation, more than 90 congregational leaders joined in to discuss the mark of “Caring Relationships.”
The Vital Congregations ministry team said it was grateful that during the initial webinar, participants shared ideas and the things they were trying in order to care for each other — and their neighbors — during this time.
“The first one went very well,” said Johnson. “It felt like we were maximizing the gifts God gives us to go and be the church. Jesus wants us to worship God and then follow him, by reaching out and connecting with people in our communities.”
For Threadgill, the weekly “For Such a Time as This” conversations are a way for church leaders participating in — and preparing for — the Vital Congregations Initiative to be connected and to process some of their ideas, questions, concerns, and their joy.
“God only knows the new kind of transformation that will transpire out of this time,” she said.
Threadgill and the VC ministry team have talked about this time as the new normal — and how churches won’t be going back to what was. While sad that it took a cataclysmic event like a pandemic to shake the church out of its comfort and stagnation, Threadgill said her team believes that through this, “God will lead us into a new way of being church together.”
The office of Vital Congregations encourages everyone who has participated in — or is preparing for — the VC initiative to tell their pastors and session members about these Zoom conversations. Each conversation will also be recorded and available on Vital Congregations’ Facebook page.
To join Vital Congregations’ Seven Marks conversation, click here every Wednesday through May 6 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.
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Categories: Congregational Vitality, Evangelism & Discipleship, Faith & Worship, Matthew 25
Tags: covid-19, for such a time as this, office of vital congregations, rev. carlton johnson, rev. dr. kathryn threadgill, rev. dr. ray jones iii, seven marks of congregational vitality, vital congregations initiative
Ministries: Theology, Formation & Evangelism, Vital Congregations, Matthew 25 in the PC(USA): Join the Movement