General Assembly

July 29 @ 9:00 am August 1 @ 9:00 pm EDT

This four-day event will encourage Disciples who gather online and in person to celebrate the way that God’s expansive love connects each of us as “kin” and to part of the larger Kindom of God. Join us for worship, workshops, Bible study, opportunities to explore Louisville, mission, and the sacred work of the church for children, youth and adults across the life of the church.

The theme for the 2023 General Assembly is “Kindom of God Within Us, Among Us.” The theme is based on three scriptures: Luke 17:20-21, Genesis 11:1-9, and 2 Peter 1:3.

“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

LUKE 17:20-21

“Kindom of God Within Us, Among Us”

This is a call for Disciples to strengthen their relationship to God both individually and communally through an expansive in-person and digital gathering of the church in Louisville. The past two years, we have had to be separated but we have also innovated new ways or God’s limitless love to be revealed in our church, our communities and around the world. God’s limitless imagination holds so many possibilities for our church

Rev. Dr. Jose Martinez will be hosting a workshop in the Within Us track on August 1 at 10:15 AM.

DisciplesNEXT

Our context is a Post-Christendom, global pandemic recovering world. Therefore, we have to look into the quality and not the quantity when it comes to making new disciples and establishing new congregations. Through the collaboration of New Church Ministry, OGMP, and the College of Regional Ministers came a framework to lead us into the “Next Normal.” Rev. Dr. Jose Martinez will present the DisciplesNEXT Framework that will demonstrate on how our Church will start new faith communities to be a “Movement for Wholeness” in a Pandemic Informed World.

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada

317.635.3100

https://disciples.org

Kentucky International Convention Center

221 South Fourth Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202 United States
+ Google Map
(502) 595-4381
https://kyconvention.com/

2023 Pentecost Offering

May 21 @ 8:00 am May 28 @ 5:00 pm EDT

We are a Movement for Wholeness in a Fragmented World

In the beginning, every church was new.

It’s right there in the Book of Acts. Early disciples came together, sharing all things in common, breaking bread with glad and generous hearts. God was doing a new thing:  creating a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.

In the beginning, Jesus sent out disciples, two by two, not to “plant” churches, but to proclaim good news, to experience the hospitality and wisdom of neighbors all around.

At New Church Ministry, we believe God is calling the whole Church back to becoming new… back to becoming who we are: a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.


Your gifts to the 2023 Pentecost Offering, received this year in most congregations on Sundays, May 21 and May 28, help ensure our movement continues to embody the Disciples of Christ vision: to be and to share the Good News, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.

Half of your gift supports the local new church movement through your region’s ministry. The other half supports New Church Ministry efforts across the United States and Canada to train, equip, assist, and multiply new leaders and their communities of faith. 

So, thank you. For participating in the new thing God is still doing — just as in the beginning.

Special days in the life of the church often allow us to focus our worship, celebrations and fellowship around moments that are central to our faith.

Disciples Mission Fund (DMF) Special Day Offerings provide an opportunity to highlight specific ministries as part of our faith celebrations. Congregations can receive these offerings during worship or budget for a special gift, and individuals can always designate their gift to DMF for any of these offerings.

Aging Florida Congregation Reignites with Merger

When Pastor Drake Cromer-Moore became pastor of First Christian Church of Gainesville, FL in 2021, he faced a daunting challenge.

The church, founded in 1921, was down to eight active members – average age 75 – trying to support a costly campus in Gainesville. Still, Pastor Drake knew that God was not quite finished with the congregation. He hired musicians to replace the canned YouTube music on offer during worship, and membership increased to 30 people. And yet this was not substantial enough to save the church.

Continue reading “Aging Florida Congregation Reignites with Merger”

Veteran New Church Leader Named Minister for New Church Strategies

INDIANAPOLIS — A veteran leader of new church efforts will assume the full-time leadership role for New Church Ministry after serving a year in a transitional role, according to an announcement by Disciples Church Extension Fund (DCEF). DCEF oversees New Church Ministry (NCM) on behalf of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Continue reading “Veteran New Church Leader Named Minister for New Church Strategies”