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Center for Community Transformation Stresses Holistic Outreach
PALOS VERDES, CA (August 25, 2004) - More than 90 participants traveled far
and wide - from Mexico and Colombia and 10 conferences and regions
within North America - for a Covenant-sponsored Center for Community
Transformation event held near Los Angeles.
Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) President Glenn R. Palmberg and North
Park Theological Seminary (NPTS) professor Kazi Joshua were among the
keynote speakers during the event, which ran from August 3-12 at the
Mary and Joseph Retreat Center, and included three- and four-day
intensive courses designed to strengthen holistic Christian outreach.
Palmberg spoke about the need for Christians to involve themselves in "a
risk-taking commitment to mercy" while Joshua reminded participants of
the gospel challenge that "to whom much is given, much will be required."
The Center for Community Transformation was designed to equip Christians
seeking to transform their communities through ministries of compassion
and justice. Coordinated by Compassion and Justice Ministries under
Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB) and the Pacific Southwest
Conference, the event received support from North Park University and
Seminary, CHET (the Hispanic Center for Theological Studies, and World
Vision.
Covenant leaders including superintendents, administrators, and regional
conference staff from around the country, attended various classes and
discussions. They joined with many Covenanters involved in local
ministries to the poor.
Courses offered at the Center included: Strategic Planning for
Sustainable Ministry, Community Analysis and Organizing, Starting a
Non-Profit at your Church, Advancing Diversity in the Local Church,
Foundations in Community Transformation, and Advanced Fund Development.
Caroline Walles of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Ceresco, Nebraska,
said about the event, "I wanted some tangible information about helping
congregations learn to see themselves as agents of transformation. And I
got it."
Pastor Ron Mancini of First Covenant Church in Anchorage, Alaska, added,
"This was a great intro for me - it opened the doors in my thinking -
with great resources offered and terrific cross-pollination of ideas."
Max Lopez-Cepero of Compassion and Justice Ministries for CMB believed
the multifaceted training sessions were valuable for local and
denominational leaders involved in community transformation.
"Outreach ministry to poor and hurting people gets little attention in
most seminary training," he said. "Although there are the occasional
inspirational lectures or helpful workshops, the Center for Community
Transformation addresses the more substantial training needs for
practitioners who wish to bring excellence to their ministry without
taking off time for a formal graduate degree program."
Along with the classes, other highlights included:
- A presentation by Bread for the World intern and NPTS student Adam
Phillips of Washington, D.C. urging attendees to incorporate justice
components to their ministries of compassion.
- A roundtable discussion with the ECC's Department of Church Growth
and Evangelism that included 20 Covenant pastors and administrators and
focused on how the Covenant might more effectively plant churches in
poor communities with fruitful holistic outreach possibilities.
The positive input from non-Covenant participants who were impressed by
the vision and commitment of the ECC regarding the poor in North America.
Lay leaders involved in the project appreciated the chance to exchange
ideas and network with leaders from other local churches.
"I had no idea that the Covenant did so much in Compassion and Justice
(ministry)," said Helena Park of Somerville, Massachusetts. "And it's
very encouraging to meet so many passionate people working in different
ways, and to know that my church doesn't have to figure things out alone."
For more about CMB's Compassion and Justice Ministries and the recent
event, call Janet Lungren at 773-878-8200, extension 5008.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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