Everyday Works: Pursuing a Discipleship That Matters
Darrell Yoder, adjunct professor, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary
At Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, we are engaging local pastors in the integration of faith, work, and economics in a new and robust way. The Everyday Works Project has three prongs that will be executed over the next two years: live events, a video-based curriculum, and connecting pastors to the Made to Flourish Pastors’ Network.
A short promotional video captures how Everyday Works is challenging pastors to study the topic, which has received a strong, positive response among our constituents. We are taking a cohort of 30 pastors through a series of four monthly meetings, which feature presentations by published authors and practitioners, discussion among peers, and panel Q&A with local leaders from culturally diverse contexts. We held our first meeting in February and will conclude in May.
We will hold an identical series of meetings with two more cohorts in 2016, and will capture the presentations for a video-based curriculum to be released later that year. This curriculum will be available for church groups and classes to engage faith, work, and economics, seeking application at a grass roots level. To encourage further learning and application, we are also inviting participants in each cohort to join and engage the Made to Flourish network.
Linking the Seminary to the Local Church
Helen Mitchell, director of the Talbot Center for Faith, Work and Economics, Biola University
The Talbot Center for Faith, Work and Economics has had a strong start in its first year. Check out our first video: “Vocational Health at Work.” We joined Saddleback Church last May in launching Women@Work, with a conference for 300 women. Most recently, the faith, work, and economics message was shared at Talbot Chapel in a message entitled “The Worth of Work.”
Eight Southern California churches are coming together for conversation and collaboration. Two churches, Redeemer OC and Emmanuel Faith Community Church, participated in one or more half-day leadership summits. In four months, Emmanuel Faith – a congregation of 4,000 members – went through a new training paradigm and developed three core initiatives that are integrated into the local church. Each initiative is led by a volunteer. After hiring a part-time marketplace pastor, Emmanuel Faith joined the Made to Flourish Pastors’ Network. We look forward to more growth in our second year!
