October 14, 2022
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11:00 am
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October 15, 2022
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6:00 pm EDT
Rev. Dr. Joi Robinson, Associate Minister of New Church Strategies, will be attending the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Pacific Southwest Region’s assembly. Learn more about it below.
"Arise! Shine! For your light has come; and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." - Isaiah 3:1 (CEB)
"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." - Acts 22:16 (King James Version)
We invite you to participate in the two-day event either in person or online through our streaming video. Registration will be available in the early fall.
Amid difficult times, our sight can become obscured by uncertainty, growing challenges, injustices, and oppressions. How do we forge ahead, beyond the gloom, and discover a new way forward? We need a light. More than ever, the world needs our light, and that great light has come in Christ, which, leads us to love, mercy, compassion, change, and reconciliation. Let us no longer wait. We are being called to Arise Anew. Together, we need to arise and shine from the depths of the former things that have weighted our path. Let us remember, reclaim, and celebrate our baptism, which has empowered us anew for the way ahead.
DELEGATE VOTING: Business sessions will take place in person at the Disciples Ministry Center in Fullerton. All voting delegates must be present to participate in the voting process.
PRE-ASSEMBLY INFORMATION SESSIONS are offered to voting church delegates, clergy, and others attending the Regional Assembly to hear the origins and significance of the resolutions that will be considered during the business session of the event. Learn more here.
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Pacific Southwest Region
October 6, 2022
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10:00 am
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October 8, 2022
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2:30 pm EDT
CHRIST’S LOVE: WITHIN US, AMONG US, AROUND US
New Church Ministry is very excited about Rev. Dr. Jose Martinez, interim Minister of New Church Strategies, being able to travel this fall to the Christian Church of Mid-America (Disciples of Christ)‘s Regional Assembly. We hope you’ll join him for three days of wonderful activity. Can’t be there the whole time? The region offers registration options for portions of the event. There’s even a virtual option that brings the Assembly to you. Learn more about the assembly below.
Then Thursday evening is the ‘People of the Cloth’ Radio Hour. This will be a fun evening of heart-sharing storytelling, music, and dessert in the chapel.
On Saturday there is another brief Bible study by one of the new Associate Regional Ministers and a message from the guest speaker Rev. Yvonne T. Gilmore, Interim Administrative Secretary of the National Convocation and Associate General Minister & President. The business session will include the treasurer’s and other reports, and the election/installation of new Regional Board and Commission on the Order of Ministry members. Then it’s the participants’ choice of lunch group and a final worship with communion.
The Christian Church of Mid-America (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Dr. Jose Martinez, interim Minister of New Church Strategies, will be attending this assembly. We are so excited to be attending in person once again! You can learn more about it below.
A Family Reunion
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
The Saturday, September 24 Regional Assembly has been redesigned to “A Family Reunion” at Camp Christian. Through the generosity of a donor, all of the food costs will be covered. The Christian Church in Ohio is hoping to still receive other donations to cover the program, utility, administrative, and staffing costs for Camp Christian, but the Regional Assembly Planning Committee is thrilled to offer this day of celebration at no cost to those who pre-register. *Please note: For persons who register the day of the event, or show up on-site without pre-registration, a $5.00 registration fee will be required.
This year’s Regional Assembly will be filled with worship, fun and games, a short business session, food, and wonderful fellowship with friends and colleagues from around the Christian Church in Ohio and beyond.
Adults, youth, and children are invited to attend. The Assembly is designed for all ages, and there will also be child care for children ages 4 to 12.
Registration, Music and Fellowship start at 10am with the program beginning at 11am
Basic Schedule for Regional Assembly, Saturday, September 24th
Activities, Tours, Green Chair Chats with the Regional Pastor & President, Free Time, Crafts, Music, Games, & more!
3:00 – Closing Worship
We would love to see as many of you as possible for this long-anticipated gathering. If you would like to join Jose at this event, make sure to register.
Our young people have been through a lot of compound grief in the last several years. Between school shootings and other forms of mass gun violence, racial injustice, and the ever-growing climate crisis, the youth in our communities are feeling the stresses of our society on top of a global pandemic that has killed over 6 million people. How do you minister to them during this time? In this New Church Hacks episode, our panellists will explore tangible ways we can minister to our young people and help them navigate the grief they are experiencing.
PANELLISTS
Christle Reed has worked in the education field for over 10 years. Each year has been directly focused on servicing the social/emotional needs of her students. She is also a published author with one of her books, Hugs from the Sky, being used across the United States to help support students with properly grieving the loss of a loved one. Outside of serving her students and writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three amazing kids.
Mariah Newell is an ordained minister who serves as the Kids, Youth, and Family Minister at Cypress Creek Christian Church in Northwest Houston, Texas. Mariah has spent the last five years serving at Cypress Creek. Before that, she served as the Program Director at Camp MoVal in Union, Missouri. Ministering to kids and youth is where Mariah has and continues to feel called to serve. She feels passionate about telling others about the compassion, innovation, radical inclusion, and love she sees the younger generations bring to the Table that tends to be overlooked or unappreciated. Mariah loves to spend her free time with her husband and their dog hiking and gardening.
Joselyn Spence serves as the Director of the National Benevolent Association (NBA)’s Mental Health and Wellness Initiative. In this position, she works to design and implement programs that promote holistic wellness across all NBA programs. Joselyn has a wealth of experience in mental health and community care. As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Registered Art Therapist (ATR), she received advanced education and training to provide trauma-informed services to diverse groups of people of all races, backgrounds, and ages from 3 to 80. Joselyn is a Registered Yoga and Meditation teacher (RYT-200), who has created embodied bible study experiences for the community. She is passionate about mental health care, holistic wellness, communal care ethics, and spirituality.
Rev. Margie Quinn hails from Nashville, Tennessee. She is an ordained minister through the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and received her Master of Divinity in the spring of 2019 with a concentration in Preaching and a certificate in Gender, Sexuality and Theology.
Margie grew up working at summer camps across the southeast. She has been passionate about young people for as long as she can remember. Margie has served as the Summer Camp Director at Christmount Retreat Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina and the Program Director at Bethany Hills Camp in Kingston Springs, Tennessee. She is thrilled to continue her work in youth and young adult ministry as the Youth and Young Adult Minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Margie also coaches ultimate frisbee at a local Jewish middle school. Margie is the proud aunt of seven nieces and nephews.
New Church Hacks provides practical (and sometimes peculiar) prompts for churches from start to restart. This free webinar series, hosted by Jose Martinez (interim Minister of New Church Strategies), is jam-packed with clever solutions to tricky problems and empowers courageous leaders with the tools, tips and how-tos to start, sustain and strengthen congregations. For regular updates, be sure to check this page and follow along on social media with #NewChurchHacks!
A link to a recording of the webinar will be emailed to all registrants after the episode airs, regardless of attendance.
While this webinar takes place on Zoom, you can also join us on New Church Ministry’s Facebook page, where the episode will be streamed live.
Stories of struggle are nothing new to the church.
From the persecution faced by early Christians to civil rights movements led by faith leaders, the church has found its strength in times of unrest.
The COVID-19 pandemic is yet another chapter in this long history, both nothing unique and yet entirely different.
Through it all, Disciples have been steadfast. By launching emerging congregations, they have stepped up to care for communities in need.
But they don’t do it alone.
With the help of regional and general ministries, these brave leaders have been provided with facilities to conduct their outreach activities and with online educational opportunities, such as Leadership Academy.
Each year, half of these gifts go to your own region to support local new church development. The other half goes to New Church Ministry, which trains, equips, assists, and multiplies new church leaders across the U.S. and Canada through programs such as coaching, New Church Hacks, and Water the Plants.
Planning, nurturing, and sustaining new places of worship is part of the Disciples’ vision – participation in this Special Day Offering helps this vision come to life.
Resources, including graphics, stories to share, and videos, can be found on the Pentecost Offering page located on Disciples Mission Fund (DMF) website. Please note: No bulletin inserts, posters, or envelopes will be mailed to congregations, but they are available on the DMF website. If you need envelopes, please email supplies@disciples.org
Stories from previous years’ Pentecost Offerings can be found here.
