We are officially announcing our newest experiment! We are inviting you to join us in what we are calling Praxis School of Mission. The idea for this emerged during our pilgrimage to England last year as we noticed a series of learning hubs spring up around England to explore fresh expressions of church. We were inspired by these communities and got to spend some time with the students/pioneers/missioners while we were there. Our Praxis “School of Mission” is birthed out of a longing we have to have a more regular way to gather together, to deepen our learning, and to support each other in our various communities. We hope to provide a place of co-learning and a community of practice for missioners and spiritual entrepreneurs. It is our goal to help generative leaders (like you!) imagine new ways to engage God’s mission in the neighborhood and create a place to reflect together on what we are learning and doing to deepen our experiences.
Who is this for?
We are seeking people who can commit to meet one Saturday a month. Each session, we use half of the time for a speaker or an in depth study discussion on a book or other resource and half of the time is to be a cohort gathering where we might share case studies and practical applications for what we learned together. We plan to explore a theology of mission, learning about our contexts through topics such as asset based community development, ethnography and listening to non-dominant cultures, and ways of starting and sustaining missional endeavors. We hope to hear from practitioners who have done this in other places and to do some immersions in our own communities and even co-host these gatherings with you.
When?
This year’s cohort has already launched. The dates for 2016-2017 are: September 17, October 8, November 19, December 10, January 7, February 11, March 4, April 8, May 6, June 2-3. We know not everyone will be able to attend each session but we hope you will commit to attend regularly. This will help us build a cohort community and support each other in our missional endeavors. This year is a pilot program, but we intend to open the School of Mission up more broadly in 2017-2018.
Apply
If you are interested in being part of the Praxis School of Mission or are beginning a new missional initiative, we invite you to fill out the registration form we have created. Register Here! It is our expectation that participants in the Praxis School of Mission will be actively leading or engaged in the formation of a community or missional context. We expect that in order to fully engage in this work you will be an active practitioner. Filling out the registration form also helps us to know more about what you hope to learn or what you are working on in your own context.
Join us in following Jesus into the Neighborhood!
Will you join us in creating a community of practitioners who will support, affirm, challenge and hold each other accountable to living out God’s dream together? Please feel free to call or email me, Jane, (or my co-conspirators, Aaron, Jed, and Karl) with any questions or suggestions about the School of Mission. I pray this dream speaks to your own hopes for what God is doing in your neighborhood and in your heart!
