This morning I "presented" on a Webinar for a synod of the Reformed Church of America. A little over two dozen computers logged in; some sites were hosting multiple church teams.
The Webinar was in conjunction with an organization called Kids Hope USA. I'll tell you why. I tell every group that I speak to that one great threshold into the missional renaissance is by adopting a local public school. Kids Hope USA has helped thousands of church people get connected as mentors. They do this by giving the church a clear track to run on. One RCA church in upstate NY told me today that his worshipping crowd is about 120 on a Sunday. Almost 30 of his people, from high school students to senior adults, are engaged in school mentorship relationships. The arrangement is helping to shift the forcus of the church from internal to external.
I'm not doing a commercial for KidsHopeUSA (www.kidshopeusa.com) but I sure am impressed how they help congregations who want to bless their communities do it in a very tangible, life-trajectory-changing way.
-- REGGIE McNEAL is Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network. He has authored a number of books, including A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2000), The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2003), and Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2006).
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