“Story is relationship,” Mark Yaconelli told a group of 44 participants in the Scattered Church webinar last month focusing on evangelism with youth and young adults.
“Evangelism means sharing the good news in relationally flourishing ways,” said Dr. William P. Brown, Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia on Tuesday.
As a lead-in to next week’s hybrid Evangelism and Immersion conferences, three people heading innovative ministries spoke Tuesday in The Scattered Church series, which provides Presbyterians with theological reflections and practical resources for socially distanced ministry.
The role that evangelism plays in Christian formation and in other facets of Christian ministry was at the center Tuesday of a thoughtful and lively edition of The Scattered Church, offered periodically by the offices that make up the Theology, Formation & Evangelism ministry area of the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
During a webinar this week, lay leaders from two congregations — one predominately Black, the other primarily white — shared how their conversations about race and justice in the past year have strengthened their resolve to learn more about systemic racism.
Free books to support at-home faith formation for children are now available for churches and worshiping communities in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Each book listed below will support families and households with younger children at home in forming their faith together at home.
Highlighting worship efforts during the pandemic ranging from high-tech and labor-intensive to one church’s “Call ‘Em All” telephonic approach, Thursday’s webinar on Hybrid Ministry: The Scattered Church was a balm for clergy and worship leaders who’ve struggled mightily with pandemic-induced issues including pastoral care, trauma and self-care.
“If you reach out to people and provide a way for them to use their gifts, God will use that to build community.” That is what the Rev. Debbie Bronkema has learned the past two years.
During a fast-paced two-hour Zoom conversation this week, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow led more than 100 participants in a discussion on “The Scattered Church: Pastoring in a Time of Pandemic.”
As churches shifted to digital worship due to the pandemic this past spring, it was clear to the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow that he wasn’t going to try to replicate what happened each Sunday during in-person worship.
