PGF CONFEREES SHARE LESSONS IN MISSIONAL TRANSFORMATION

Already the lessons learned at "Inside-Out 2007" are bearing fruit!  This first installment in a monthly e-newsletter series features short, personal testimonies about how you and/or your congregation are, in your own words, beginning to live into the “missional church” vision painted in Houston….

“God is moving through our church in big ways…I’m a witness to a piece of the impact. Since our pastors and executive director returned from Houston, there’s new energy to call a pastor to lead the “Send” piece of our “Call, Equip, Send” mission.  Also, as a congregation, we’ve been working through 90 days of prayer.  (Go to http://www.viennapres.org/VirtualChapel/VPC-Pray-Daily-Booklet.pdf for more information.)  I’ve been listening to a lot of sermons from churches that appear to really be impacting their communities and the world with the Gospel. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, Greg Boyd of Woodland Hills Church in MN and Rob Bell of Mars Hill in MI quickly come to mind.  In their preaching, they spend a lot of time explaining the Gospel, asking and answering questions people have about the Gospel. Also, they spend a lot of time explaining the Kingdom of God…What thrills me is to read the Book of Order after listening to hours of inspirational missional preaching. How to be missional is all there, right in our church constitution. We just need to reclaim it!” –Susan Christ, Vienna Presbyterian Church (Vienna, VA)

“I was deeply impacted by the conference. What really turned me inside-out was Michael Frost. He challenged us and enouraged us. The conference was phenomenal!  Frost provided me with a twelve-week class called "Ignition," which studies the book of Acts from a missional perspective…We have started using this excellent study to develop a missional approach to our ministry.  The conference was phenomenal and has ignited a missional fire!" – Brian Ahier, Gateway Presbyterian Church (The Dalles, Oregon)