“In early March, we held a Faith, Hope, and Love in Action workshop in Jacksonville, FL. Teams of pastors and their three Avenue champions attended from 10 US congregations, two Canadian congregations, and one Caribbean congregation. I was inspired by the teachability of the group, their hunger for learning more, and their eagerness to be more intentional and active when they return home.” —Greg Williams, President
The workshop would not have been possible without the involvement of the members of our home office staff: Michelle Fleming, Communications Director, Pam Morgan, Operations Coordinator, Cara Garrity, Development Coordinator, and Lucy Enerio, Administrative Assistant. Thank you for your dedication to plan and execute this workshop. We’re grateful for their vision to create an interactive workshop.
The Appreciative Inquiry model was used, that seeks to engage participants in self-determined change. The teams spent most of the day and half workshop in small group discussions, in a collaborative, strength-based approach. Our GCI coaches played an important role, guiding the discussions with the following prompts:
-
-
- Discover what gives you life in your role.
- Dream what could be.
- Design how you can make your dream a reality.
- Develop a plan to deploy your design.
“It was good and pleasant to fellowship with fellow encourager “champs” and to learn and inspire one another. The coaching provided was delivered in a very kind way. We all learned from each other, and the coaches were there to champion (encourage) the champions by giving wise prompts (questions).” –Jay Santibanez, Faith Avenue Champion, Richardson, TX, US
“It was such a blessing to join other teams from across North America to collaborate on practical ideas and strategies for the three Avenues. It was also enriching to bring our local team together for focused sessions with a coach. I realized the importance of togetherness, and this workshop was a great reminder that we get to participate in ministry “with” Jesus. “With” might have to be my word for the year!”–Gillian Houghton, Hope Avenue Champion, Winnipeg, Canada
The Jacksonville, FL congregation generously hosted the event, with nearly a dozen volunteers providing hospitality to the 65 guests. Thank you!
The GCnext Fund helps make it possible for GCI to provide workshops like this one in the US. We invite you to support our leadership development programs by donating to the GCnext Fund.
Here are two ways for churches to donate:
-
- Church treasurers can login to online.gci.org and select Manage, Church Donations to the Denomination. You may give a one-time donation or set up recurring support to GCNext.
-
- Send a check made out to “Grace Communion International,” with GCNext in the memo, to: Grace Communion International, 3120 Whitehall Park Drive, Charlotte, NC 28273-3335. For assistance, phone donation support at 980-495-3977.
Donations to the GCnext fund, which are tax deductible in the U.S., are used to support U.S. domestic missions.
On March 18-19, our town held the Celebrate Mooroolbark Festival. Numerous volunteers from the Grace Communion Mooroolbark church contributed countless volunteer hours in the days beforehand and during this annual autumn festival. The committee chair of the festival told one of our members, “Your church is a godsend.” She was most appreciative of our help.
The town festival is held in parkland beside the town centre and attracts thousands of people over two days. The festival hosts market stalls, rides, free activities for the kids, on stage live entertainment, a car show, and a wool and handcrafts show. Grace Communion Mooroolbark is a major sponsor of the festival due to our Living Today magazine promoting the festival and its activities.
The same edition of the magazine also promoted the upcoming Easter church services – both our own, and other local churches. It’s a blessing that we can join Jesus in being a blessing to the local neighbourhood and work together with churches in the area.
By Matthew Gudze, pastor
