Tag Archives: groups

More “For Groups” courses now available

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two or three

This week, the following courses go “live” in the For Groups format:

Advent for Families with Heath Howe
Lent for Families with Kim Baker
Reimagining Children’s and Youth Ministry with FaithForward
The Spirituality of Children with Catherine Maresca
Healthy Relationships for Couples with Scott and Holly Stoner
How to Help a Sick Friend with Joyce Mercer
How to Deal with Difficult People with Peter Steinke
How to Forgive with Virginia Holeman
Introduction to Christian Marriage with Paul Walters
Overcoming Sex Addiction with Mark Laaser

as well as our series about financial stewardship, Managing God’s Money, with Timothy Dombek:

Managing the Household Budget
Managing Credit Cards and Debt
Managing Church and Charity
Managing Retirement and Savings

Many people have the impression that churches talk about money too much — in the sense that they feel like churches are always “begging for money.” And yet, oftentimes, churches don’t talk about money enough, whether that means intentional teaching about Christian stewardship, or addressing local economic inequality, or talking about what the Bible really teaches about money. Why not make use of the For Groups format of Timothy Dombek’s excellent series on managing the money with which God has entrusted us? Start healthy, encouraging, proactive conversations about money and each person’s fears or worries or relationship with this topic. Talking about money doesn’t have to be a stress-inducing chore; rather, it can be a way to deepen our faith in God, and to make us aware of what sort of giving and commitments we’re being called to — if only we practice that trust.

Honestly and intentionally exploring our feelings about money — and how God is asking us to use our resources — can be a revitalizing and rewarding spiritual practice. Because many Christians have never really been taught how to be good stewards or how to create budgets and financial plans, your parish might use these Managing God’s Money courses for small group work, alongside workshops on estate planning and budgeting. You could create small groups with a wide range of ages and economic backgrounds to give people the opportunity to learn from each other’s resources and experiences. After all, we are called from the beginning of time to be good stewards of the world God has given us and to help people destroy those barriers of fear, ignorance, or mistrust that keep us from living in abundance.

We pray that, however you make use of these For Groups courses, you may grow in relationship and community with each other and with Jesus Christ.

All Things Being Made New

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Spring is here and, with this season of renewal, we’re doing a little rearranging. We are so grateful that this dream has taken off to the extent that we’re able to lower our prices a bit and still stay in business, thanks to all of you who are a part of our mission to equip and nurture disciples through online learning.

We’re excited to announce our new pricing structure, which gives you more for your subscription dollars:

Our new entry level membership for individuals is only $9/month instead of $15. This gives unlimited access to ChurchNext courses that are for Individuals ONLY.

If you’re already an individual monthly member, your current membership for $15/mo unlimited subscription now gives you access to all of our products – the Individual courses and the ‘ChurchNext for Groups’ courses.

In addition, our ‘For Groups’ courses are now available for $15 each – or – as part of a Congregational subscription, which starts at $29/month.

If you’re an individual subscriber and would like to change to the $9/mo subscription plan, either email us at hello@churchnext.tv and we’ll do it for you – or – you can cancel on your own and sign up on your own via the instructions in the FAQs. If you’d like to continue at your current level, don’t do anything and you’ll see you now have access to all our courses designed for small group use.

Finally, let us say thank you for being open to something new, thank you for learning with us, and thank you for believing in us. We can’t tell you how your support gladdens our hearts.

Virtual Connections

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separation

Our good friend and instructor David Lose reflected recently on churches’ use of social media in response to a presentation by pastor Keith Anderson. David says,

“The key, I think, from my own experience and from listening to Keith and others, is that we imagine these forms not only as ways to push out more of our information, or even to use them to provide inspiration – both of which have some value – but are far more about forming and nurturing relationships in an increasingly socially fragmented world. Social media, that is, at its best allows us to connect with each other in new ways.”

We couldn’t agree more; as we spoke about here, with the launch of ChurchNext for Groups, we’re committed to connecting people on their journeys as disciples, to enabling folks to be in community in new ways, to re-collect what it means to live in relationship — with God and with each other. We pray that ChurchNext helps people feel connected to their church and their fellow sojourners even when they’re not physically in the pews. We hope that ChurchNext for Groups continues to empower folks to imagine new ways of learning and connecting.

And don’t forget: The Big Class: A Simple Path to a Deeper Spiritual Life with Becca Stevens continues free, worldwide through Easter Sunday. We invite you to connect with seekers around the world over the next week as we contemplate going deeper in our walk with Christ. Blessings to you in this Holy Week.