Workshop A

New Worshipping Communities: “Let’s Get It Started: Practices and Tools for Faithful Innovation”

We all desire vitality for our churches and worshiping communities. One of the best ways to find that vitality is to start something new.

In this workshop we’ll learn some best practices for discerning new ministry possibilities in your church’s context, and also connect with resources available to your church through the PC(USA)’s 1001 New Worshiping Communities program.

Whether you want to start a new worshiping community, a new ministry, or just a new way of relating to your church’s neighborhood, this workshop is for you!

Facilitator: Rev. Michael Gehrling, 1001 New Worshipping Communities, PCUSA

Workshop B

For Pastors and Preachers Only: Influencing Without Authority

Expectations and Accountability: Would you like to decrease conflict and increase congregational effectiveness to fulfill your mission? This session focuses on setting clear expectations while holding yourself and others accountable. In leading others, peers in this case, ensuring you are on the same page is crucial. The impact of words, the skill of listening, the asking of great questions, and connecting with people where they are (instead of where you are) are part of this process. During our time together you will learn a process for setting clear expectations and practicing consistent accountability with both yourself and others. How you hold yourself accountable determines a great deal about how you hold others accountable. Participants will craft a couple of expectations to ensure they understand the process inside and out. You will also learn to reverse engineer the process so when others are setting expectations for you and they aren’t clear, you can help them be clear without argument or conflict.

Facilitator: Jeff Raker, a Pastor for 30 years in the United Methodist Church and Executive Coach with LevelUp Coaching.

Workshop C

For Ruling Elders Only: Training on the Role, Resources, and Conversation

A training in three parts:

• What Good is a Presbytery Anyway? In an age that is increasingly post denominational and anti-institutional, what value is there to having a presbytery? or of being Presbyterian for that matter? Facilitated by Stated Clerk Rev. Dr. Erwin Goedicke
• The Role of a Ruling Elder and Resources to Help You Be the Best One: The Role of Session and the Role of the Pastor, Spiritual Authority, Resources and additional opportunities for training, including the Ruling Elder Preaching Institute. Facilitated by Lisa Allgood

• Communion: Did you know that, in the Presbyterian Church, Ruling Elders can preside over the Sacrament of Communion? As long as they have been duly trained and authorized by the Presbytery, a Ruling Elder can preside over the celebration of the Lord’s Supper within their congregation.  It can be a blessing to your congregation to have Ruling Elders trained and authorized to preside at the Lord’s Table. This introduction will lead to a follow-up training so that Ruling Elders can administer the Sacrament of Communion. Facilitated by Rev. Russell Smith.

Facilitators: Rev. Dr. Erwin Goedicke, Presbytery Stated Clerk, Lisa Allgood, Presbytery Executive Presbyter, and Rev. Russell Smith