Hatchery Innovators

By Spencer Burke, Executive Director of Hatchery

 

As the first year at the Hatchery winds down it is hard to believe how much has happened. Just nine months ago I was arriving in LA, not knowing anyone, and not knowing what to expect. I've since met many wonderful people and developed deep relationships. Plus, my common cause community is actually starting to take shape - something that seemed an impossible task last September.  

On Sunday, June 12th was the second ArtWalk in downtown Culver City. They toured the city visiting historic buildings, busy shops and restaurants, tree-lined sidewalks, and interesting architecture. There were some new people, as well as familiar faces, this time around. Everyone had a blast! Everyone even got a little wet playing in a pretty cool water feature outside of the historic Culver Hotel. 

The ArtWalk came from a desire to provide a space for persons with disabilities to capture their perspective of the world and make visible, through sharing their art, those whom society has rendered invisible. Not only did this provide a creative outlet but it was also an opportunity to meet new people and make new friends!

Once all of the pictures are printed and framed, there will be a pop-up gallery sometime in mid-July to showcase the photographs. This will be a chance for the artists to share their photography not only with their friends and families but with the wider community as well. 

The ArtWalks and pop-up galleries are the first iteration of my common cause community. It will naturally grow and change depending on the needs of the community, which is a good thing. In many ways, this next year is just as mysterious as the first - and I am excited to see what's in store!

For more information about Nathanael and his common cause community visit nathanaelwelch.com or send him an email at nathanael@nathanaelwelch.com

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MILE MARKER #79: REGIONAL OFFICE MOVE

By Don Dewey, Co-Regional Minister/President

 

Three years ago a conversation between DOC staff and UCC staff regarding the possibility of relocating the Regional/Conference office began. It centered around current access needs and geographic and demographic shifts that have occurred over the last two decades that have impacted our current location for our ministry together.

Questions began to be raised as to where our various congregations of activity and leadership were located and how our current facility is used effectively. From those conversations and others, we began to explore the possibility of perhaps a better location for our Regional/Conference work. In addition, we began to look into partnering with a local congregation, either UCC or DOC in a shared-usage agreement.

Our vision was to create an effective and efficient ministry center for today’s needs. We are working toward a new space for meetings and administration, but also a space for the ministries of the region to have a familiar and comfortable place for worship, assemblies/gatherings and for all of our program and community groups as well as a place to nurture new ministry.

For just over a year we visited and reviewed several possible sites for relocation. In late 2014 conversations began with FCC Fullerton with the idea of possibly hosting the Regional/Conference office in their facility. FCC Fullerton and Casa de Oracion, Fullerton, regarding that possibility, met us with much excitement and enthusiasm.

 

We then engaged Joe Perring as Construction/Planning Consultant and John Ahern as Architect. We knew their work well: both had helped the Region design and remodel Campbell Lodge at Loch Leven. We asked them to guide us in what these dreams might look like and what practicalities we needed to consider as we share space with two congregations, one Region, one Conference and multiple community meetings.

 

 

Initial explorations began and the second floor of the Education facility was identified as the best office location. The Region’s commitment to accessibility, sustainability, and budget constraints have guided the process as dreams led to structured conversations and then to early drawings of an office remodel in those spaces being imagined.

The First Christian Church, Fullerton congregation voted to make a gift to the Region of a 50% undivided interest of the Education/Fellowship Hall building. The facility will be an enduring gift to the ministry of the DOC/UCC. It offers many desirable attributes: ample nearby public parking, centralized location near strategic public transportation and freeway intersections, abundant number of meeting rooms, ground floor classrooms for children, existing Fellowship Hall and kitchen, existing ADA bathrooms, access to a large Sanctuary.

The Region will enter into a shared-use agreement with First Christian Church, Fullerton and Casa de Oracion, Fullerton ensuring mutual access: the Region and

Conference will have access to the large Sanctuary and the two congregations will have continued access to the Education/Fellowship Hall facilities. The congregations of FCC Fullerton and Casa de Oracion have voiced wholehearted, enthusiastic approval for the relocation of the Regional Church Office to their campus with every step of the process.

Along the way, the Regional Board was kept informed with initial ideas and plans. At the November 2015 meeting, the Regional Board approved unanimously the relocation, and in April 2016, the Regional Board approved the receipt of the Fullerton gift and authorized Regional leadership to execute construction contracts.

The UCC Conference, which currently is a 50% equity owner of our current Lake Ave office will move with us as Ministry partner but no longer as an equity partner. They will enter into a long-term lease agreement with the Region for dedicated office space and facility usage. The Region’s 50% equity from the eventual sale of the Lake Ave property will be used to cover the costs of construction of the new offices/meeting spaces at the Fullerton campus.

Our Consultant and Architect have begun their work with the city of Fullerton for plan design approvals, permits, etc. prior to the actual construction. We anticipate construction to begin November 1, 2016, with a potential completion date by October 2017. (The item that will take the longest is the installation of an elevator.)

Beginning July 2016 plans to temporarily relocate classrooms for Casa to another area in the facility will start and they will use these new spaces during construction.

We are excited to model new forms of partnership in ministry as our Region continues it mission and ministry of being one church.

Together on the journey,

Don and Susan

Co-Regional Ministers

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MILE MARKER #78: VISIONING OUR FUTURE

By Don Dewey, Co-Regional Minister/President

 

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” ~Proverbs 29:18

Since coming to this Region in 1985, I have had two primary passions in my ministry beyond the local church. One a lifelong love for youth ministry and the other a desire to see new churches started. I lived out these passions by serving on our Regions Youth Leadership Team as an adult sponsor for over 18 years as well as Counseling and Directing camps for over 30 years and served on our Regions New Church Development committee both as member and then Chair for almost 15 years.

As I reflect on these passions for ministry I have come to realize that they stem from my love of the transforming grace I know in Jesus Christ and my desire to share it with our next generations of youth and young adults. Growing up as a PK (preachers kid) I sometimes took for granted the love and support as a young person discerning my faith that I received from faithful adults who nurtured me and taught me what it means to be a Christian person.

It was these faithful, caring adults that made room for my questions, my challenges, my need to do things differently that instilled in me a desire to make our Gospel witness accessible to those coming after us. Through their faithful lives I was able to “catch” the love and grace of God for myself and build a life-sustaining faith.

Unfortunately, that has not always been the case for many of our young people. As a Disciples of Christ denomination, as is true with most mainline denominations, we have been in serious decline for over 4 decades. We have failed to reach in any significant way the next generations and so many of our churches are dwindling and aging.

Along the way, attempts have been made to slow or stop the decline – the Church Growth Movement of the 70’s and 80’s, and the Transformation Movement beginning in the 90’s until now.

In early 2000 former General Minister and President Dick Hamm proposed a bold 2020 vision for our denomination. Challenging the Church to start 1000 new congregations by the year 2020. Since then we as a denomination have started over 800 new churches. Unfortunately, some of them have failed but many have continued which has brought new life and hope to us as Disciples.

The same has been true for this Region over the last decades. We have started new congregations and some have continued while others have failed. We have invested time, energy and resources along the way with the hope of creating new places of witness and ministry as we seek to follow the command of Jesus to “go make disciples.”

When we were called into Regional Ministry, I brought these same passions for ministry into our call. I continued to give time to growing our Regions youth ministry and working with our New Church Development committee to launch new Disciple congregations. In the meantime, we were faced with congregations deciding they needed to close and pass on their resources for new potential ministries.

One of those congregations was South Bay Christian Church. After going through a 3 year discernment process with an Interim Minister and seeking insight from several consultants about potential new ministry opportunities, they reached the conclusion that they were no longer able to provide the leadership that would be needed to revitalize and transform their ministry into a new future.

Though I had met with their leadership numerous times, I was invited back to meet again to hear their decision to close as a congregation. It was a painful and difficult decision but one they made looking toward the future. They wanted to deed their property and their resources over to the Region with the promise that they would be used for creating a new Disciple ministry in the Redondo Beach area.

This gift became the launching pad for what has developed into the Hatchery ministry. The Hatchery is an innovative church-planting ministry of the Region with the focus on reaching the next generation with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The Hatchery is a three-year church-planting incubator for those seeking to start new Disciples churches. The Hatchery provides a place for theological training and hands on social entrepreneur experience for starting and developing new models of sustainable Disciple ministries within our Region.

Directed by ordained Disciple Minister Spencer Burke, who also serves on our Regional staff as New Church consultant and under the guidance of our Regions Leadership Development committee the Hatchery ministry has received unanimous support from our Regional Board since 2013 including start up funds designated in 2014.

This ministry officially launched in September 2015 with six potential new church planters. Due to unforeseen situations three of them have been unable to continue at this time in the program. However, the remaining three will be creating and developing three new sustainable Disciple ministries within our Region by end of their three-year study and preparation.

The goal is to have up to nine new church-planter students per year who are interested in developing entrepreneurial leadership skills along with a theological education to start self-sustaining Disciple ministries in our Region.

This new church-planting model has gained the attention of several of our Disciple Regions across the denomination as well as the interest of other denominational leaders. This model is not to replace other models of church planting employed by our Region’s New Church Development committee nor to take away from those seeking a more traditional approach to both theological education and church ministry but rather to expand our witness of the Gospel for future generations.

If we truly wish to live into the 2020 vision of starting 1000 new congregations in 1000 different ways as one of our Disciple priorities, then this model maybe another way for us to fulfill that commitment. 

I am excited that the PSWR is willing to be bold in their vision for sharing our witness of the Gospel, and pray that we will continue to explore and try new creative and innovative ways in responding to the command of Jesus to “go make disciples.” 

Will some of these attempts fail? Yes, we know that some will. But will some succeed? Absolutely! We also know that if we are not willing to step out in faith and take some risks we will continue to decline. 

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I give thanks for the faithful members of South Bay Christian Church whose desire to leave a legacy as they envisioned a future for those who would come after them, have allowed us to create a place for future new ministries to be developed. May we all be as bold and faithful!

 

Together on the journey,

Don & Susan

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