missio:Engage!

The Episcopal Church Center is offering a unique redevelopment opportunity to churches and dioceses.  “missio:Engage!” is a two-year, on-line school for churches hungry to wake up to existing opportunities for growth and ministry right outside their doors. Since 2011 over 40 churches have participated in missio:Engage. The Rev. Tom Brackett (Missioner for New Church Starts & Missional Initiatives) and Steve Matthews (Program Associate for Missional Initiatives) have developed a curriculum that empowers churches to reinvest in their communities in creative and life-giving ways and they provide coaching to churches toward their goals.

missio:Engage! works to:

•  Re-root our churches in the communities they are called to serve
•  Evoke the stories and gifts of our churches and worshipping communities
•  Explore a strengths-based approach to ministry for all
•  Experiment with new models for leadership and discernment
•  Develop a critical mass of volunteerism for sustained missional growth

During times of difficult transition it is challenging not to fall into “survival mode” but the change can also be a time to embrace new ways of being – both on an individual and on an institutional level.   missio has the potential to offers us a path to explore new terrain together as a diocese and in collaboration with other redeveloping churches across the country.   

On January 31, there is an opportunity for you to learn more about missio:Engage!  At this meeting, will find out more about how missio is benefiting churches across the country, and you will have a chance to ask your own questions.  We hope this diocese-wide afternoon retreat will not only serve as a deeper exploration of missio:Engage but that it will also provide space for us learn from and encourage one another.  The meeting will be from 1 to 4 pm at Grace Church in Charleston.  There will also be an opportunity to connect online for those that are not in easy driving distance.

There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go somewhere fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”  Perhaps missio provides one avenue for us to journey far and with joy and faithfulness together.  Please contact me at 843-412-2411 or andreamckellar@gmail.com if you have questions and if you plan to join us for these events.

Blessings,
Andrea McKellar

Video now available!
See a video of the session online by following this link.

Download the brochure (PDF):