Living into Transformed & Transforming: Fall 2014

Thirty churches will kick off the first three Transformed & Transforming leadership communities this fall.

These pilot leadership communities will focus on one thing each: holistic discipleship, local missional engagement, or leadership development. The 10 or 11 churches in each community are already deeply engaged in the topic at hand and over the next two years, they’ll both learn from and teach the each other.

“They’re working toward a very intentional strategic plan around the specific initiative for that congregation,” says Ken Neevel, the RCA’s director of development and facilitation, who will be assisting with these leadership communities. “They’re learning from each other. There are presenters, but most of it is collaborative interaction.

“It’s working with those who do something well, and helping them do it better by engaging with others who do it well.”

Over two years, leaders from the participating churches will meet for four two-day sessions. Each church sends three to five leaders: a senior pastor along with staff or lay leaders. They have follow-up work after each session, and RCA staff members provide support between sessions. Participating churches help design their own curriculum at the beginning of the process.

The pilot leadership communities are being offered through a partnership with Leadership Network in Dallas, Texas. “Over the past 30 years they have developed a very effective collaborative learning system,” Neevel says. “They’re training us on their systems.” Neevel will take over the facilitation role for future leadership communities, allowing the communities to be more tailored to the needs of different size churches and also lowering the cost.

The pilot communities begin in October, November, and December.

A number of other collaborative initiatives are also in the works to help churches learn from each other about transformation, leadership development, and mission, the hallmarks of Transformed & Transforming (www.rca.org/transform). Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.