It was a meeting that Monique Spells attended at a Disciples General Assembly a few years ago that inspired her to launch a new church project.
During the event, she listened to heartfelt and powerful stories from other new church planters. As the planters gave their testimonies, they candidly revealed their experiences — the good, the bad and the God-moments. Following the event, Monique felt the call and used her gifts to launch Levi’s Table in Indianapolis, Ind., which focuses on young adult African Americans who feel passionate about the witness of Jesus and seek an open and affirming fellowship where, according to her,
“they can gather without fettered identity or loss of the valuable praise and worship ethos of the black church experience.”
Monique joins the team of new church planters and courageous leaders helping Disciples experience a resurgence in the new church movement.
“The good news is that since 2001, Disciples have planted 934 new Disciples ministries in the United States and Canada. The new church movement is getting a second wind, sharing the gospel with more than 61,000 individuals who may not have had a relationship with Christ and edging closer to realizing the 2020 Vision to start 1,000 churches in 1,000 ways,” says Gilberto Collazo, president of Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation.
Each year Hope Partnership trains courageous Disciples leaders like Monique in a variety of areas, such as new church planting, transformation and coaching. One half of the Pentecost Offering is designated to the Region or Area in which the offering is taken, while the other half is used by Hope Partnership to support the recruitment, assessment, training and coaching of new church leaders.
Hope Partnership invites Disciples congregations to support the new church effort by celebrating the 2016 Pentecost Offering, which will be received in Disciples of Christ churches May 15 and May 22.
Disciples congregations also are invited to view the 2016 Pentecost Offering video created by the award-winning SALT Project.
For additional resources and information about the Pentecost Offering, visit www.hopepmt.org.
