Hello friends,
As you know, it is getting close to the end of the year. When you read this letter, you know change is happening around the States. You may have felt the angst that many Americans are feeling. The main question many Disciples are asking themselves is, “what should we do?” For New Church Ministry (NCM), our answer is how to empower our places of worship to be a sanctuary for their neighborhood. This past year, our motto has been “We are all New Church.” What we mean by this is that in this post-lockdown, war-torn, politically stratified world, our neighbors need a safe place to encounter the grace and love of God. In this year’s Leadership Academy, we saw how some emerging congregations are being a physical reminder of the Holy to their communities. Through our IMPACT webinar series, we are getting leaders to share their experiences to help us continue to think about how communities of faith can respond to these various challenges. Additionally, the team has been to over 30 events together, representing NCM. Our team has been there from Canada to Florida for gatherings, celebrations, and funerals.
Our church has gone through a lot this season, but in particular, our ministry suffered a loss with the passing of Reverend Dr. Franciso Ramos. NCM was able to participate in his celebration of life ceremony in the Pacific Southwest Region. Dr. Ramos was one of our most sought-after coaches within the Coaching Ministry. We will greatly miss him.
As we look to 2025, there are a few things that we are looking forward to. First and foremost, this is a General Assembly year. We are workshopping many ideas to see how we can give deep experience at GA 2025 in Memphis, TN. Additionally, we continue building our Coaching Ministry curriculum to become a member organization accredited by the International Coaching Federation. Lastly, we are looking to build on current partnerships and form new partnerships to create the best experience possible to Train, Equip, Assist, and Multiply emerging and affiliating leaders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. We cannot do this work without you, so we thank God for you, who support us in many ways.
~ Rev. Dr. Jose Martinez, Minister of New Church Strategies
