Congregational Renewal Workshops

Churches, as part of their everyday work, help individuals experience personal renewal and transformation. At the same time, these very churches are finding it difficult if not impossible to apply the same Gospel message of inner and on-going conversion to their life as a congregation.

Congregational renewal and development require addressing deep issues of leadership and change. Churches may succeed in improving the quality of their offerings or even in attracting more newcomers and still lack what makes a church healthy and viable in the long term - an outward-focused missional orientation.

Our workshops orient and begin to equip clergy and laity to lead sustainable change in their congregations. They are appropriate both for churches facing crisis and churches that are performing well, but have plateaued. We work both with large groupings of pastors and laity, and individual congregations.

We are experts in providing church leaders with a usable framework for understanding congregational renewal and equiipping them with the needed skills. Our framework helps leaders identify where their church is, the work that needs to be done, and the kinds of tools and resources that are appropriate and helpful in each of the different phases of renewal work.

Our workshops are designed to be practical and interactive. The processes we used are aimed at helping clergy and laity build their capacity to work collaboratively and creatively together. Participants regularly comment on how our team approach to presenting provides a powerful model for their leadership.

Our 2008/2009 workshops include:

• Pathway to Renewal: an introduction to congregational renewal for clergy and congregations
• Pathway for Leaders: 2-day expanded course helps leaders apply renewal principles to their specific settings
• From Mission & Vision to Plans & Actions: learn to turn your great ideas into concrete reality
• Improvisational Leadership: using the skills of improvisation to work creatively with the twists and turns that come your way
• Improving Communication - Managing Conflict: build skills in having open and generative conversatons about difficult subjects and managing the conflict that naturally arises during renewal
• Creating the Life You Want: designed specifically to help clergy connect with their deep values and calling and develop better balance in their life

For our current workshop brochure, click here.

Retreats

"I can't believe the difference a day can make. We have such a better sense of what we're trying to achieve this year and how each person's part fits into that. I come away with a deepened appreciation for my co-workers and a much better sense of how I can be supportive."

Sometimes what your staff, team or congregation needs is the time and space to reconnect with each other and reflect on their life and work together. We can help you design a retreat that meets your specific needs and allows you and your leadership team to participate fully. Perhaps what you need is the time and space to build concrete plans for the future. Or, maybe your group has been experiencing rough water and needs help having the conversations they can't seem to have on their own.

Call or email us to schedule a retreat for your staff or team.