Ecclesia News for December 2011
Bob Hyatt
Nov 28, 2011

A Word of Thanks – To God and To You

In this season of thanksgiving, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for all those who are connected to Ecclesia and to Jesus for the work He is doing among us. This has been one of the most exciting and fruitful years in our short history. Not only are more people seeking us out to plant new congregations, but more existing congregations are being drawn into the Ecclesia family as they discover what it means to be in a network that is doing life and mission together in these unprecedented times.

This year also brought along conversations with several existing denominations that want to spur new forms of church planting and how we might work together more concretely. The more time goes on, the more sure I am that we are filling a critical and unique space in the wider landscape of God’s movement in these days. Next month, I’ll also have some exciting staff announcements to share with you. Until then, please peruse the news on this update, check out the links, and don’t forget to register for the National Gathering.

Chris Backert

Register for the National Gathering!

March 5-7, 2012

This is just a reminder to register early for the Ecclesia National Gathering and receive the best price possible! The early bird rate is available through December 31st.

Our focus this year is on how our churches can function as centers of reconciliation, where we learn through the power of the Spirit to live as one reconciled family of God across racial, economic, and generational lines.

We’re blessed to have Dr. John Perkins, Dr. Ivy Beckwith and Dr. AJ Swaboda joining and leading our conversation. More info and register here.

Listen and Subscribe to the Ecclesia Leadership Podcast

One of the things that has always been a mark of Ecclesia is the conversations we get to have when we are face to face. Since we can often go a year between those we’ve developed the Ecclesia Leadership Podcast. This is built around casual conversation with leaders in and around the network on how different church communities are understanding mission in their context. John Chander and Todd Hiestand are the hosts and the first few recordings from ( Winn Collier ,  Clay Carver and Leslie Webster ,  AJ Swoboda ) are on iTunes and definitely worth your time! This week Todd and John will be recording a conversation with Eric Phillips of  East End Ecclesia  in Pittsburg. Be sure to check it out early next week.

View it on our website  here  and iTunes  here.

Church Planters Assessment

December 9-10, 2011 |  Richmond, VA

We know it’s last minute, but we can include one more planter/couple in our Fall planters assessment this December. If you are looking towards church planting with Ecclesia, this is an important step. If you are interested in participating, please email Chris at  chris.backert@ecclesianet.org  immediately.

Funding the Mission: Ministry Partner Development Training

December 6 – 8, 2011

Funding is often an issue and barrier for missional leaders, preventing them from moving into the hopes God has placed in their heart. Recognizing the missionary nature of our ministry context here in the US, Ecclesia regularly hosts trainings related to fundraising for God’s mission. Based on 20+ years of experience in raising funds for mission, the process of this training will equip you with the necessary mindset and tools to be an effective fundraiser for ministry. 15 + people are attending this years equipping time and we have a few spots left. For more information, or to register, visit the Ecclesia website  here.

Welcome Rythm Church (Miami, FL) to the Ecclesia Network!

Rhythm Church began brewing about three years before it was actually planted. That’s when a circle of friends in Miami began feeling that God was calling us to give birth to a fresh expression of the church in the future. The simple question we began with was, “What does it look like tofollow Jesus in the place and time?

“As one of our leaders headed off to seminary, we decided to meet up every six months or so for a retreat. We shared meals, laughed, caught up on stories, and pressed into God seeking vision about the future. When our church officially went “public” we met in a home for four months before moving into a church building next to the University of Miami. A handful of families within the community are in the process of relocating to this neighborhood. We want to commit to a people and a place. It seems everybody is into upward-mobility these days but we feel Jesus calling us to practice downward mobility; to live close enough to share possessions, have common prayer times, and help raise one another’s kids. We like the idea of a network of neighborhood churches working together – so once we have enough people coming to our church from another part of the city we’ll look at starting a neighborhood church there.

We chose the name Rhythm because that single word describes the sort of common life we’re seeking. Through daily and weekly practices we’re trying to align our lives to a common rhythm – a rhythm that’s in tune with God’s kingdom, that revolves around worship and mission, loving God and loving others. Rhythm is co-pastored by Keas Keasler and Matt Alexander.”

Welcome Church Planters Worth & Beth Wheeler and Boised Mustard Seed (Boise, ID) to the Ecclesia Network!

Boise Mustard Seed is a newly forming church community of Jesus followers who have their hearts set on living out the grace and peace of Christ in the city of Boise and the Greater Boise Metro Area

“We endeavor to live out the Way of Jesus in innovative forms through an incarnational approach within our context. As such, we are learning to live like Jesus individually and together – amongst friends, neighbors, and future friends – in a way that expresses God’s Kingdom more fully. In this way, we hope to cultivate the formation of more missional communities in our neighborhoods of Boise, and to seed other missional communities around the city, throughout the Northwest, and the world.”

How It Is Now Is Not How It Will Always Be

By Bob Hyatt • 20 Mar, 2024
One of the main tricks in life, I believe, is not to extrapolate current conditions and circumstances off into the future. However, that’s exactly the tendency we have as humans, and especially, I’ve discovered, as ministry leaders. We look at things now and think they will always be that way. We long to see landmarks in the road, mileposts that tell us either we have now reached the pinnacle, the place we always dreamed of being (even if that place is only “stability”), or conversely, the bottom has fallen out and now is the time to bail out. But the mileposts are merely markers on the journey, telling us where we are now, promising nothing of the journey ahead. And so, when things are good, we see nothing but success and good times stretching out in front of us. In the depths of despair, during the most challenging times of life and ministry we feel as though the darkness has become the new normal. The reality is much more complex: there are always better times ahead, and worse ones as well. During those dark times, when ministry becomes more of a weight than a joy, I tell myself, “whatever is happening now will not keep happening forever.” Those words have kept me through relational breaks in our staff that seemed unfixable, through budget woes when we didn’t think we were going to meet payroll, even a time when our community lost a third of its members because we had let a beloved pastor go. In this way I have found hope. In the same way, during the successful times when we were growing, budget was bigger than ever, and when new people were engaging with the church seemingly every week I continued to tell myself, “what is happening now will not keep happening forever.” In this way I have found a measure of humility. There’s another way to read this mantra as well, one that encourages us not to miss what is happening right now as we overly focus on where we’d like to be or what we’d like to see happen. The challenge of ministry, like the challenge of life in general, is to be present to what’s happening now . Too many single people miss the joys of singleness longing to be married. Too many young married couples miss the joys of the early years without children because they long to be parents. Too many parents of young children miss the joys of the infant years, longing for the days when their children are more independent, less dependent on them for everything. And on it goes. In the same way we in ministry can miss the joys of a small, close community by looking at larger communities and wishing we had their resources and influence. We can miss the inherent learning and even joy of being shoulder to shoulder in community with others through challenging times because the difficulties and pain we are experiencing mask the ways in which we are being brought together, the ways in which we are being formed and the invaluable things we are learning. In life, and in ministry, remember: How it is now is not how it will always be. Learn to appreciate how things are now, but also take comfort in the fact that if things are difficult, there are better days ahead. Stay humble because no success is forever. Stay hopeful because, in Christ, no failure is permanent.

Exciting Announcement- Ecclesia is Joining Ascent!

By Chris Backert • 19 Feb, 2024
I’m writing to share some exciting and important news with you that we believe will be significant for Ecclesia in the days ahead! For the last few years, I have been engaged with other church and network leaders across the US and Canada about forming a new “connection” for the church in North America. The heart of the effort is around unifying, amplifying, and multiplying the kind of Christian witness that Ecclesia represents, for the sake of the gospel, over the next few decades. This new effort is called The Ascent Movement, and within the last 12 months, its momentum has picked up increasing speed. A few months ago, I was asked by the council of Ascent if I would help spearhead the development of the network in its next phase. I agreed to accept that task. One of the core goals of Ascent is to connect, coordinate, and collaborate with groups like Ecclesia so that we can do more together than we could in isolation. In many ways, it will function as a “network of networks” like Ecclesia functions as a “network of churches”. In addition to ministries like Ecclesia, there are also seminaries, mission agencies, and other ministry support organizations that are joining Ascent in these early days. For the last several months the Ecclesia board has been discerning whether or not Ecclesia would officially enter into a partnership affiliation with Ascent. We unanimously affirmed that decision at our recent board meeting. Since Ascent is in its early phases of formation, more information on the benefits and opportunities of this new partnership will be ongoing. However, we are happy to share some of the aspects of this new affiliation that we find compelling and will not only bless Ecclesia, but also all of the churches within Ecclesia. First, given the size of Ecclesia, there have always been areas of ministry that we believe are important, but toward which we have not had the scale to accomplish or contribute. Among these are concrete efforts around - increasing the witness of the Hispanic church in North America - supporting mission expansion to less-resourced parts of North America - increasing opportunities for disaster relief and response - and mobilizing prayer networks. Further, there are also specific and tangible benefits that are made possible through this partnership for any Ecclesia Churches. Some of these include things like - discounted tuition costs to Truett Seminary for any Ecclesia leader or member serving an Ecclesia Church. - discounted rate in utilizing the services of Chemistry Staffing for future hiring - access to a church-based missionary sending ministry for those Ecclesia Churches engaged globally, and more! Lastly, there is a specific aspect to this partnership affiliation that is particularly helpful to Ecclesia. Ascent has agreed to partner with Ecclesia over the next year to expand our church planting and multiplication reach in a way that benefits both Ecclesia and Ascent. Practically, this looks like Ascent investing a little over $1,000/month into Ecclesia over this next year and together working toward a set of mutually beneficial goals. As I think about this opportunity within the current moment of our network, it seems right for multiple reasons beyond the purely practical. At our Ecclesia board meeting in late 2022, we established a path for individual affiliation within Ecclesia to make concrete space for leaders who are outside ministry contexts that allow for our core congregational affiliation. The heart of this decision was a desire to increase the kinds of relationships that Ecclesia has within our scope of ministry. The decision to affiliate with Ascent is similar. Also, as I shared at our Ecclesia Gathering in January, this decision fits within the Core DNA of Ecclesia. When I look back at the founding of our network, three aspects were central then and have carried forward. First, our desire to extend the gospel to increasingly post-Christian, or more challenging, settings and groups of people. Second, a desire to exemplify a Christian witness aligned with the theological and missiological direction of affirmations like the Capetown Commitment. Third, our desire to provide a relationally rich journey of friendship for the churches and leaders who are part of our family. When I consider the affiliation with Ascent, we share in common those first two Core DNA. As for the 3rd foundational aspect of our network, I believe the time has come where Ecclesia itself needs “friends for the journey” in the same way that Ecclesia has provided a context of friendship for those within our community. On the other side of COVID, it’s clear that ministry in the days ahead is more exciting, while also more challenging and complex. We believe we need a greater community to be the most faithful to the gospel that we can. You can go to www.ascentmovement.org to get a quick glimpse of its vision. The current website is a placeholder for a more thorough site coming later this Spring. Ecclesia, of course, will have a seat at the table in its formation. We have also provided a one-page overview of Ascent on the attached document. We will keep you updated on this exciting development. Please feel free to reach out with any questions. - Chris
Share by: