Could fear or busyness be holding you back from reaching out to the community and being a deep listener?
Both of those real-life challenges were raised during a recent online discussion about “Intentional Authentic Evangelism” and what obstacles stand in the way of accomplishing it.
The 90-minute discussion, attended by 34 people, was facilitated by Alicia Demartra-Pressley, Associate for Missional Equipping in the Office of Theology & Worship, a ministry area of Theology, Formation & Evangelism. It’s part of an ongoing series of conversations focused on the 7 Marks of Vital Congregations.
This powerful understanding of God’s propensity toward helping and healing the least of these comes from the story of the beguine Mechthild of Magdeburg. A movement of laywomen that arose in the 13th century, the beguines were contemplatives, mystics and healers. Mechthild posited that, “God is never closer than in the longing emptiness of the night.” From that emptiness, she received and shared “prophetic critiques of the religious leaders of her day for their lack of holiness and their hostility toward passionate spirituality.”
This year’s Evangelism Conference, planned by Theology, Formation & Evangelism, repents of “expressions of evangelism” that have “hurt people and promoted injustice” and encourages ways of embodying the good news that promote healing and compassion.
South Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York, recently celebrated the beginning of the second decade of selling its building and implementing its Acts of Faith community, a throwback to a first-century model of being the church.
The tenor of Lent is one of “complicated joy,” according to the Rev. Carlton Johnson, associate director for Theology, Formation & Evangelism for the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
The tenor of Lent is one of “complicated joy,” according to the Rev. Carlton Johnson, Associate Director for Theology, Formation & Evangelism for the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
The Presbyterian Mission Agency has released new resources to help promote LGBTQIA+ inclusion and understanding within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as well as anywhere that individuals or families may be seeking answers about issues related to inclusion and diversity.
“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.
The Evangelism Conference, a three-day hybrid offering put on by Theology, Formation & Evangelism in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, concluded at Montreat Conference Center on Tuesday with a list of tips for evangelists and spirited and Spirit-filled closing worship led by the Rev. Gregory Bentley, Co-Moderator of the 224th General Assembly (2020) and pastor of Fellowship Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
