City Events
May 2019
Flourishing Churches Workshop: Rooting Faith, Work, and Economic Wisdom in Your Local Church (Boston)
You're invited to join Made To Flourish for a half-day workshop exploring how the integration of faith, work, and economic wisdom can become foundational to your churches core values. Whether you're leading one of the historic churches in/around Greater Boston, starting a new work in our ever-changing city, or hoping to shift the culture of your congregation, our workshop will consider the tools our city network needs to build healthy systems for whole-life discipleship.Schedule:10:30-Arrival10:00-11:45- Session 111:45-12:30- Lunch12:30-1:15-Session 2 1:15-1:30- Coffee Break1:30-2:00- Q&ASpeakers and Facilitators:Geoff HsuGeoff is the executive director of Flourish San Diego, a nonprofit that develops church leaders by challenging them re-think the gospel, discipleship, calling and vocation, and mission in ways that more closely resemble Jesus. Geoff empowers others to be apprentices of Jesus and they, in turn, encourage individuals and churches to become who they were created to be. He mobilizes community members to join God in the mission of helping the city of San Diego – and the world – flourish.Much of Geoff’s work is focused on the gospel, its proclamation, and its transformative impact in the lives of Christians as well as its renewing, redeeming, and restorative influence. He previously spent 20 years with Cru in many capacities all over the globe, including in East Asia. He also served as a leadership formation coach, conducting discipleship and spiritual formation groups for area pastors, professionals, and elders. Above all, Geoff believes in the dynamic, life-giving message of Jesus, and he has dedicated his life to faithfully communicating that message to people today.Brice WilliamsMTF City Network LeaderBrice is lead minister of South End Neighborhood Church in the South End of Boston. Brice completed his M.A. in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary while working for The Ockenga Institute and as director of Faith & Work at Citylife Presbyterian Church. Brice is married to Leona and they have a daughter named Grayce. They live in intentional community in Jamaica Plain. South End Church seeks to follow the way of Jesus for the renewal of our city.Omar OrtizMTF City Network LeaderOmar is the leadership development director with Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Boston. In that role he is working to help identify and develop leaders for future church planting efforts. He is also a certified coach with Church Multiplication Ministries.Omar was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and grew up in Miami. He earned an M.Div. from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL. Before moving to Boston he pastored in two South Florida churches. He is married to Kate and together they have four children.
June 2019
Network Gathering (Chicago)
Join us for our next MTF Chicago Network Gathering!We’ll be prototyping a new faith & work assessment tool that will allow us to identify and learn from other church leaders who are at a similar stage in their faith & work integration journey. As with all of our Network Gatherings, we aim to create an experience where each person walks away with a full belly, deeper relationships, fresh insight and at least one action step to help them pioneer new pathways for faith & work integration.
Why & How Churches Can Attack Predatory Lending (Kansas City)
This evening event offers the opportunity for us to hear Pastor Artie Lindsay explain why the Gospel compels our economic engagement in our communities as churches. He will then share his own church's journey in how they sought to more thoughtfully engage the payday lending cycle.This is NOT A PASTORS ONLY event. This event is for anyone who wants to see their church more faithfully push back against predatory lending. Pastors invite folks from your church who'd love to engage this conversation.Come with your questions and a readiness to learn. We will be meeting at Christ Community Downtown Campus.
Practical Guidance for Attacking Predatory Lending (Kansas City)
Pastor Artie Lindsay will walk us through why the Gospel compels our economic engagement in our communities as churches. He will then share his own church's journey in how they sought to more thoughtfully engage the payday lending cycle. We will then have an amazing follow-up panel with KC leaders who have been making headway in this conversation.This event (over against the June 5 event) will focus more on pastors and the creative work church staff can do to leverage resources and congregant gifting.Come with your questions and a readiness to learn. Lunch will be provided. We will be meeting at Nazarene Theological Seminary.
Fellowship at Mather’s (Orlando)
Enjoy some fellowship with one another and catch up on the latest in life.
Power Breakfast Outreach (Hampton Roads)
Portsmouth,Virginia Pastors and Faith Leaders, join us for a special breakfast treat and conversation to learn more about Made To Flourish and how the Hampton Roads Made To Flourish Network is empowering pastors and their churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the flourishing of their communities.
Dan Steere Presenting “The Flourishing Mandate: Leadership as Shalom-Making” (Atlanta)
Come join us for a lunch and learn with Dan Steere on Leadership and Shalom making!
Networking: Relationships and Partnerships (Hampton Roads)
Join us for a free old fashioned cookout and networking session. We will have conversations around the table and also on the lake as we cast our line to fish in this serene setting. Our emphasis will be on relationship building for the common good. Our goal is to know one another better and discover the assets we each bring in order to effectively partner or network to empower our churches and communities to flourish. Bring your own fishing rod or we will have a couple for you to use.
Ministry Accelerator: Leadership Development (Miami)
This event is presented by Made to Flourish and City to City Miami.
"Leaders are learners"...we all know this.
But, taking the time to learn as a leader is often difficult because of our busy schedules.
Join us for this unique training event and invest in your leadership.
Those you lead will benefit the most.
Better yet, bring your staff, team, or friend.
Dinner will be provided!
Book Discussion: Visions of Vocation by Steven Garber (Phoenix)
We will be facilitating a discussion on Steven Garber's important book Visions of Vocation. This discussion in open to pastors, lay leaders, and anyone who is willing to read Visions of Vocation by June 2019.Description of the book:"Is it possible to know the world and still love the world? Of all the questions we ask about our calling, this is the most difficult. From marriages to international relations, the more we know, the harder it is to love. We become cynics or stoics, protecting our hearts from the implications of what we know. But what if the vision of vocation can be recovered―allowing us to step into the wounds of the world and for love’s sake take up our responsibility for the way the world turns out? For decades Steve Garber has come alongside a wide range of people as they seek to make sense of the world and their lives. With him we meet leaders from the Tiananmen Square protest who want a good reason to still care about China. We also meet with many ordinary people in ordinary places who long for their lives to matter: Jonathan who learned he would rather build houses than study history; Todd and Maria who adopted creative schedules so they could parent better and practice medicine; D.J. who helped Congress move into the Internet Age; Robin who spends her life on behalf of urban justice; Hans who makes hamburgers the way they are meant to be made; Susan who built a home business of hand-printing stationary using a letterpress; Santiago who works with majority-world nations in need of capital; George who has given years to teaching students to learn things that matter most; Claudius and Deirdre whose openhearted home has always been a place for people; Dan who loves Wyoming, the place, its people and its cows. Vocation is when we come to know the world in all its joy and pain and still love it. Vocation is following our calling to seek the welfare of the world we live in. And in helping the world to flourish, strangely, mysteriously, we find that we flourish too. Garber offers a book for everyone everywhere―for students, for parents, for those in the arts, in the academy, in public service, in the trades and in commerce―for all who want to discover the virtue of vocation."