Sometimes a name says it all. But, sometimes, it only hints at all there is to know. Anew Church is a Chicago-based Disciples ministry serving the residents of the Roseland, Woodlawn, West Pullman, Chatham and South Shore neighborhoods.
Early last December at the Disciples Seminary Foundation (Claremont, CA), one could almost hear minds churning with deliberation. A room full of seminary students individually arranged seven index cards, respectively asking the questions when?, where?, why?, how?, what?, who?, and how much?–pertaining to the decision to start a church or nonprofit.
Northwest Christian Church, Oklahoma City, OK had reached a point where it needed to reimagine its ministry. The surrounding community had changed, the building was large and costly to maintain and the membership was aging and declining in numbers.
In the summer of 2014, Central Christian Church in Orlando, FL, came to the realization that they could not continue to function the way they had for years after the sudden loss of several strong spiritual, financial and administrative leaders for unrelated reasons.
In 2008, First Christian Church in San Bernardino, Calif., whose sustainability challenges were becoming all too familiar for Disciples churches, signed on to do New Beginnings, a new service offered by then Church Extension and now by Hope Partnership.
