Pinnacle Partners with Central Seminary in Thriving Congregations Initiative
Contributors: Rev. Dr. Angela Barker Jackson, Rev. Dr. Ircel Harrison, Rev. Jessica Williams, Rev. Mark E. Tidsworth
2020 Advent Resource For ReShaping Church
Due to the generous support of the Lilly Endowment through the Thriving Congregations Initiative, we are able to share this resource with participating congregations and congregations at large. As Pinnacle partners with Central Seminary in ReShaping Church, A Thriving Congregations Initiative, we are producing quality resources for congregations. We are delighted to share this Advent Devotional Guide at no cost, contributing to God's movement through the body of Christ.
During 2019, Pinnacle was invited to join Central Seminary (KC Metro) toward designing a grant proposal for Lilly Endowment’s new Thriving Congregations Initiative. Gratefully, this proposal was funded and launched this year.
Central Seminary announces a grant of $1,000,000 to help establish a Thriving Congregations program as part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Thriving Congregations Initiative which aims to help congregations strengthen their ministries for deepening their relationships with God, enhancing connections with each other, and contributing to the flourishing of their communities. Thriving Congregations is a response to the realities of significant social and cultural trends affecting congregational life and patterns of participation in recent decades. To develop the program, serve the churches, create resources, and collect data, Central Seminary will join forces with Pinnacle Leadership Associates over the next 5 years.
—Rev. Dr. Angela Barker Jackson, Central’s Grant Officer
I am pleased and excited that Pinnacle can now partner with Angela Barker Jackson, the Project Director for the Thriving Congregations program, and other friends at the seminary to assist churches and leaders in meeting the challenges of the dynamic environment in which we find ourselves. This project continues the innovative efforts of Central Seminary in recent years.
—Rev. Dr. Ircel Harrison, Project Manager
Over time, we have enjoyed partnering with Central Seminary in a variety of initiatives. Like Pinnacle, this particular seminary has gravitated toward the evolving edge of the Christian church, leaning into the fresh winds of the Spirit. Our partnership to date has resulted from our common aspiration to guide churches into the next best expressions of themselves. Now, this grant funding strengthens and expands our collective abilities to invite congregations into transformational engagement. The Pinnacle Team will bring its church transformation experience to this opportunity, serving as faithful and experienced guides for those congregations and their leaders who join Communities Of Practice. Even now, with COVID-19 pushing congregations into adaptive change, this initiative includes the capacity to advance these congregational moves in mission-congruent and faithful ways. We are very grateful for the timing of Thriving Congregations Initiative, recognizing God’s church is undergoing great transformation, readying ourselves for making significant contributions to this world’s trajectory.
—Rev. Mark Tidsworth, Pinnacle Team Leader
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Thriving Congregations Initiative enabled us to offer a time-sensitive webinar series, Emerging Church Practice, to clergy, church staff, and congregational leaders. This eight-week series was available weekly. Participants were invited to contribute insights to the process by participating in a survey after each webinar. While Best Practices are not in place for responding to COVID-19, effective church practice is emerging day to day. The ECP webinar series was designed to harvest the collective discernment of God’s Church regarding emerging church practice.