A Great Missional Outreach Seminar at Buckingham Rd. Church of Christ!

[James Nored]

This Friday and Saturday we had a Missional Outreach Seminar, hosted by the Buckingham Rd. Church of Christ in Garland, Texas. Richard Blaisdell is the preacher--a great fellow. Ron and Linda Sportsman are at Buckingham Rd. Ron served as an elder with me at the Liberty Church of Christ, in Liberty, MO, where I was a minister for 6 years. With the help of wonderful people like Ron and Linda, the church in Liberty grew from about 220 to 320, with nearly 100 baptisms from the community. I have dear, lifelong friends there, and I am so glad that Ron and Linda are here in the area.

Ron recommended to Richard to bring me out for this outreach seminar, and I am so glad that I came. The people were warm and gracious. We had nearly 100 people there, with a good showing from Buckingham Rd., as well as several from the Missional Outreach Network connections--Gerald Mwebe, church planter in Uganda, Carlos Acosta, a Latino church planter, Joe Diaz who works with Hispanic ministry at the Waterview Church of Christ, my preacher buddy John Dobbs from West Monroe, LA, & Jon Mark Smith from MacGregor, TX.

What I was most excited about was the conversations that those present had at our discussion group sessions. The people were sharing ideas about how to reach out, how they could be a light and presence in the community, looking for where God was already at work. They really understood that outreach is not a program, but ministry that flows out of the hearts of people for God and others.

It was great to be able to show many of the missional outreach videos that we recently made at High Pointe Church of Christ. These clearly made an impact, with powerful story, music, pictures, and actual examples of missional outreach. The strength of the missional movement has been its theology, but much of it has been theory. Hopefully our small efforts in missional outreach provide "flesh" to these theories, and can inspire others in reaching out like Christ.

I will come back and update this post, with pictures and videos samples. If you have any pictures, please post them! The church also made audio recordings of the sessions, which I will get and post here.

Thank you to all for attending! Please give me some feedback, including:

What was your favorite part of the seminar? How was it helpful?

What can be added, extended, cut out, or improved?

What churches and contact people do you know who might be interested in having a Missional Outreach Seminar. Please share!

[James Nored]

Jayarai, how many students do you have in your School of Evangelism? Also, do your people have internet access?

[Jayaraj.E]

Dear Brother ,
Glad to know that Seminar was successful . you are doing great work and encouraging many congregations . keep up good work.
Do you have printed Book of Story of Redemption ?
Brother we need some printed Books to use in my Telangana School of Evangelism . please help us if you can ..
Yours in his work,
Jayaraj, India
my email-- [e-mail]

[James Nored]

Richard, I am so glad that the seminar was so helpful for you! I had a wonderful time. It was great to hear all of the discussions that occurred around mission at the seminar, and I am encouraged that these discussions continued yesterday and will continue beyond this. The Spiritual Gifts seminar will be a good follow-up to this. Looking forward to it!

[Richard Blaisdell]

James,
James,
Wow! we had a great time at the seminar!! You did such an excellent job in your presentation and all of the material was so practical! There was much discussion of the ideas you presented in our Bible classes and care groups yesterday. Please pray for us as we consider next steps. The elders will be meeting Wed. night to continue the discussion. I'm praying that this seminar will be a positive turning point in the history of this congregation as we try to change from being so inward to being more outward focused. Thanks again James! We're already looking forward to your return for the Spiritual Gift Seminar. May God continue to bless you in your ministry for him!
Richard

[James Nored]

Sure, Josh. Line me up, and I'll come back to Wilshire. I have family and friends in OKC, and would be glad to see the people at Wilshire.

[Joshua Nichols]

Glad it was successful, James. We need to get you up here at Wilshire. You remember that place right?

[John Dobbs]

We are willing to reconcile with them upon repentance. But... it seems to not be forthcoming!

[James Nored]

I didn't know that there was such a divide from Monroe and West Monroe. Can't we all just get along?

Eph. 2:11f - "God's purpose was to reconcile in one body Monroe and West Monroe through the cross." (James' paraphrase!) :)

[John Dobbs]

Yes, Mike is from WEST Monroe ... praying for him.

Spanish edition sounds great! Can't wait to see the new edition!

[James Nored]

I received some more inquiries about whether there was a Spanish version of the Story of Redemption. One of our new workers in our Clothes Closet ministry is getting her Masters in Spanish. I plan on asking her to translate it. So stay tuned for the Spanish!

Also, I plan on printing a new set of the (English version) Story of Redemption, with an updated design and some modifications to better tell the story. I'll be emphasizing taking up mission more throughout the study. This way, when they fully make the decision to follow Christ, they are not just receiving a "benefits package." They are committing to being a part of God's mission!