Covenant News
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.
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