THE NEXT BRIDGEBUILDERS SEMINAR – SEPTEMBER 11-12, 2015 CARLISLE PA

The next BRIDGEBUILDERS SEMINAR New Hope Church of God in Carlisle PA

 SEPTEMBER 11-12, 2015

“Bridgebuilders-Helping Your Church Reach Its Unchurched Neighbors”

Dr. Steve Dunn. Leader

The church is located at 1250 Waggoners Gap Road Carlisle PA 17013

Session One: Friday Night  6:30-8:30 pm

The Mission Field Outside Our Front Door

What Every Church Needs to Be

Session Two: Saturday Morning  9:00 am-12:00 noon

What Every Missionary Needs to Know

Christ’s Respectful Ambassadors

Tools for Building Bridges

Getting Started As a Church (And as Individuals)

Cost is $15 per person or $50 flat rate for 4 or more people registering from the same church. Materials and snacks are included in the cost.  Register by calling the church at (717) 241-5544 or emailing pastordickwarner@gmail.com.  Checks should be made payable to the ERC and are due the day of the seminar.

BRIDGEBUILDERS SUMMER NEWS

 

As the summer heats up, the ministry of Bridgebuilders is picking up speed.  Dr. Steve Dunn introduced our newest training program for Bridgebuilder churches, “Building an Elder Team”on June 20-21, 2014 in Durham NC.  Bishop Victor Glover brought elders and potential elders for the three congregations of the Last Days World Outreach for a seven hour training experience. (These congregations are part of the Eastern Regional Conference of the Churches of God and are located in Hillsborough, Raleigh and Warsaw NC).

“Building an Elder Team” is based on developing a discipleship culture and training persons to share with the pastor the responsibility of being shepherds if the flock.

Two more Bridgebuilders Seminars have been scheduled in the Allegheny Regional Conference of the Churches of God. July 26 the first one will be held at the Barkeyville Church of God in Pittsburgh,  (The church currently has no pastor, but has Winebrenner Seminary student Heidi Mikulin is coordinating this event.

September 5-6, 2014, Pastor Lee Kline and the Center Bethel Church of God in Alverton PA will host Bridgebuilders.

A new tool begins a 40 week pilot at Barkeyville following their event.  Bridgebuilders is developing Real Disciples, an extended study that uses a variety of tools including an Individualized Disciple Education Plan to help build a small missional culture within a traditional, to model the changes needed to be more effective as Christ’s disciples today.

Publication of The Bridgebuilders Principle has been slowed by the writing of some new sections and the editorial work needed.  We are still aiming to go to press the end of summer with an October release date.

BRIDGEBUILDERS – Building bridges to the Bridge 2013

BRIDGEBUILDERS – Building bridges to the Bridge

BY STEPHEN L DUNN

Bridgebuilders is about to enter a whole new level of ministry.  God has been moving in some exciting and powerful ways during 2012 and we eagerly anticipate what He is planning to do next through this arm of His kingdom.

After two years of research, writing and three pilot events, Bridgebuilders Seminars was launched in the winter and spring of 2010-2011 with three events sponsored by the ERC Commission on Evangelism in eastern Pennsylvania–at Roaring Spring, Elizabethtown and Camp Hill. The Seminars also received a broader introduction at breakout workshops at the 2011 sessions of the Eastern Regional Conference of the Churches of God. Weather issues and some scheduling problems with host churches, reduced our introductory events in the fall and winter of 2011-2012 but we were able to present the ministry at Shippensburg PA and Germantown MD.  While that public momentum slowed, God was at work behind the scenes.

In January 2012, I was given the opportunity to share the principles and format for the Bridgebuilders Seminars for the Regional Directors and Officers of the General Conference at a Leadership Retreat in Columbus OH.  That led to three immediate invitations for the Directors from the Allegheny, Great Lakes, and Western Regions.  In May I presented a new format called “The Bridgebuilders Principle” to the delegates of the Allegheny Conference at the their annual conference session at Camp Sunrise Mountain.  I was also able to interview our first potential Bridgebuilders Trainer from that Conference-Mike Bobula of Latrobe PA and also was able to recruit General Conference Associate Lance Finley, who operates out of Findlay OH.  In June I was given an plenary session opportunity with extended time to share the The Bridgebuilders Principle to the delegates meeting at the Great Lakes Conference in Findlay.  I also received time to do two one-hour breakout sessions on “The Mission Field Outside Your Front Door” which introduced people to some of the practical applications we teach in the Seminars.

In October I was invited first to the General Conference’s renewal conference called The Gathering for Renewal, sharing the actual Bridgebuilders Seminar with persons from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.  This was followed with a Bridgebuilders Seminar provided in the same week for the Western Regional Pastors and Spouses Retreat in Branson MO.  This included persons from Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.  These events led to a training retreat on “Creating a Discipleship Culture” for the November Ad Council Retreat for the Midwest Conference in Terre Haute IN and our first Bridgebuilders Seminar in the Allegheny Region at Mt. Pleasant in January of this year. (The event in Mt. Pleasant was the single best attended Bridgebuilders Seminar ever with 58 people attending).

Bridgebuilders Seminar at Eberly’s Mill included PTI students

This fall the ERC sponsored two more area offerings of the Seminar–at Newville and Eberlys Mill in the ERC.  Both were also attended by students from the Pastoral Training Institute as guests of the Commission.  And Shippensburg sponsored the first ever Bridgebuilders Sunday which included a message from me at both services, a training time with the adult and youth Sunday School and a Sunday evening two-hour workshop. Three more men joined the process to become Bridgebuilders Trainers for the ERC – Mark Halliday, Tim Bistline and Dave Anderson.

As we head into 2013 the Commission on Evangelism is reorganizing to make Bridgebuilders and the Seminars the core to its program of resourcing churches and the School of Evangelism is becoming the training arm for coaches for the conference and local churches seeking to use the Bridgebulders Principle in their ministry. Planning has begun for Bridgebuilders Seminars at New Horizons and Camp Hill in the ERC and Latrobe and Indian Head in the ARC.  Later in 2013 the Bridgebuilders Principle will be presented to the Midwest Conference’s annual sessions.  It is hoped to have a book (which I am completing) called The Bridgebuilders Principle available for resourcing churches later in 2013.

God has been very busy.

BRIDGEBUILDING IN LEADWOOD, MISSOURI

Kristina Wallace and her husband Phil were part of the Bridgebuilders Seminar we did for the Western Regional Conference of the Churches of God in October in Branson MO.  She shared this report with Steve.

My husband and brother thought I should send you a message with NUMBERS, since I am a numbers person. As I discussed with you at Branson, we have had a summer feeding outreach and I have been concerned about not seeing the numbers at church attendance. Well, I was totally not prepared for the numbers God sent to me. Leadwood City Hall contacted Kendall because they wanted to make sure people in the community had thanksgiving dinner. So he and I went to talk with them. Their words were,”since you are the only church in town who feed and help people, we wanted to partner with you.” These are not church going people. I met with our group and we contacted the ones we had helped during the summer and got flyers out. Meanwhile City Hall got donations of: 10 turkeys(cooked by the school), 3 hams, 100# potatoes, all the veggies and stuffing. Our Church of God sister churches found out and brought in desserts. Police officers and firefighters came to go out with us and 162 meals were delivered. 42 church and non-church people worked side by side to fill meal boxes. 16 bags groceries were given out. We found new people without food. The meals were truly needed by those who were served. As we prayed at homes our non church workers were right there beside us. Praise God it was ” ONE”, wonderful day! Thought you might be interested in the NUMBERS. FYI-Kristina Wallace

THE URGENCY OF OUR COMMISSION

BY STEVE DUNN

In our current round of Bridgebuilders Seminars and in presentations about the Bridgebuilders Principles, we have been sharing some disturbing news that goes to the heart of  renewing our passion for evangelism and making more and better disciples.

As a follow-up, I’d like to share some graphs that summarize the recent findings of the Pew Research Center.

Shawn Anderson in his blog living dangerously has some counsel for us based on these observations:

1. Realize that we are the seekers, not the religiously unaffiliated. Jesus told his followers to “go”. Instead of building a church building with the notion that “they will come” to us, we need to actively and intentionally go to our communities.

2. Target young people. The younger generations are the ones with the largest percentage of religiously unaffiliated. They will also dictate the future of the church. Therefore, we need to intentionally seek to develop relationships with them.

3. Communicate the love of Jesus. If we share the love of Jesus by serving others with no strings attached and by being transparent with them, it will show them that we are more concerned with their souls than money, rules and politics.

FEEDBACK FROM BRIDGEBUILDERS

Persons from eight central Pennsylvania churches attended a recent Bridgebuilders Seminar in Camp Hill

Kelly Hall is a member of the Newville PA Church of God who attended a recent Bridgebuilders Seminar. This is what he shared with Steve a few weeks later.

Just a few comments on our outreach in our Couple’s Ministry Class.

We have had some great discussion in our couple’s class the past two weeks. Within that time we have decided to select 3 star’s off a Christmas tree at our local grocery store. The star has names of children in our area that are in financial need. We are able to provide a gift box with their needed requests and we are also open to include our own special gifts.

We have made contact in our local high school guidance’s office. We are being provided with name(s) of families in our area that have special needs. They will give us permission to contact them and help with their needs and this will allow visits from our class. At this time, there is at least two families that we should be able to connect with.

We are also purchasing children bibles to distribute in the community for random visits.

This has been something heavy on my heart …… to do more in our couple’s class. We have helped within our church but your seminar has motivated me to move outside our church walls. Thank you for the inspiration.

Kelly

 

NEWS FROM BRIDGEBUILDERS

BRIDGEBUILDERS SEMINARS were originally designed to meet a specific need identified by the Commission on Evangelism of the Eastern Regional Conference of the Churches of God.  How do we help traditional churches reach their unchurched neighbors without fighting a culture war?  The Seminar has been developed by Dr. Steve Dunn.  The Seminar was first piloted at Landisville PA, Martinsburg PA and Enola PA.  The pilot identified a more proactive approach which disengaged from the culture war framework to teaching a traditional church to think of them as a missionary organism serving on the mission field which begin outside their front door.  Exegeting the culture and designing ministry that reaches those unchurched neighbors while learning to be Christ’s respectful ambassadors is the new thrust.  And a very clear evangelistic purpose–building bridges of truth and grace to the Bridge to Salvation–Jesus Christ.

Dr. Steve Dunn, Bridgebuilders creator, speaking at the recent sessions of the Great Lakes Conference in Findlay OH. Photo courtesy of Ed Rosenberry.

Beginning in 2011 – the ERC sponsored multi-church events introduce the Seminar to local churches.  In addition, one hour events focusing on what is now called “The Bridgebuilders Principle” were inaugurated.  Seminars have now been held at five sights in Pennsylvania and Maryland, all within the Churches of God and the Bridgebuilders Presentations have been made in four different settings in three of the regions of the Churches of God and to the Regional Directors and General Conference Officers.

The Bridgebuilders Seminars and the Bridgebuilders ministry are now entering a new stage, a stage aimed at serving the Kingdom of God beyond Pennsylvania and the Churches of God.  The ERC is preparing to publish a book by Dr. Dunn called The Bridgebuilders Principle,outlining the fundamental philosophy and vision of the churches being bridges to the Bridge.  It is hoped that this will be ready for release by December of this year. In addition, a workbook for missional groups in local churches is being developed for release in the spring of 2013.

Persons are being trained in the Eastern, Allegheny and Great Lakes Regions of the Churches of God to work alongside Dr. Dunn is presenting these seminars as requests develop across the country. By the end of December there will be five additional trainers available to serve local churches seeking to use the ministry of Bridgebuilders.

Upcoming events related to Bridgebuilders:

October 20, 2012 – ERC sponsored multi-church BridgeBuilders Seminar at Eberly’s Mill Church of God (Camp Hill PA)

October 21, 2012 – Bridgebuilders Seminar at Shippensburg PA First Church of God

October 23-24, 2012 – Bridgebuilders Seminar at The Gathering (CGGC event sponsored by the Commission on Renewal)   in Findlay OH

October 26-27, 2012 – Bridgebuilders Seminar at Western Regional Pastors and Leaders Conference (Branson MO)

January 3-4, 2013 – Bridgebuilders Seminar at Mt Pleasant Church of God (ARC) in Mt. Pleasant PA

NEXT BRIDGEBUILDERS-SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Dr. Steve Dunn, Bridgebuilders creator, speaking at the recent sessions of the Great Lakes Conference in Findlay OH. Photo courtesy of Ed Rosenberry.

The Commission on Evangelism of the Eastern Regional Conference of the Churches of God is sponsoring the next multi-church Bridgebuilders Seminar.  It will be held Saturday, September 22, 2012 at the Newville Church of God.Newville is located along I-81 in Cumberland County PA.  Wayne Good will be the host pastor.

The ERC has also planned a multi-church event in the Harrisburg area on Saturday, October xx, 2012. The location will be announced soon.

Additional Bridgebuilders are being sponsored by local churches:

October 21, 2012 at the Shippensburg First Church of God (Paul Tatum, Senior Pastor). This is a Bridgebuilders Conference which is modified event of the formal seminar.

January 3-4, 2013 at the Mt. Pleasant Church of God in Mt Pleasant PA. Brad Adams is host.

A Bridgebuilders is also being planned by the Latrobe PA Church of God.

DO YOU WANT TO REACH YOUR UNCHURCHED NEIGHBORS?

Who are your neighbors?

Increasingly traditional churches cannot answer that question with any specificity.  Some congregations are reverse commuters, returning Sundays and perhaps Wednesdays to gather and worship in a community in which they no longer live.  Other churches live in a bubble of doctrinal isolation (i.e., we do not want to tainted by the world and therefore have little contact) or inward-focused fellowship, spending almost 100% of their time with other church people.  Some congregations are even afraid of their neighbors.  As a result no attempt is made to reach those unchurched neighbors except the billboard or sign out front.

Who are our neighbors?  The scriptures make it very plain – they are the people for whom Christ died and who Christ loves.  Some of them are connected to churches, some are not.  Some are Christians, some are not.  Some are church drop-outs.  Some have absolutely no Christian roots and have barely a clue as to what you do behind closed doors on Sunday morning.

If we think of those neighbors at all, we generalize them as the lost and then act as if they’re not really lost by largely ignoring them.

Do you want to reach your unchurched neighbors?  That is an essential question for every congregation that claims to be an obedient and faithful part of the Body of Christ.

If you truly want to reach your unchurched neighbors, then there some realities you must come to grips with.

1. They are not your enemies, nuisances, nor your project.  These are three perceptions that will drive your neighbors away or create barriers across which they will never pass.  They may not like your faith nor approve of it, but if you see them as your enemies and approach them as such, they will fight back.  They are not persons who get in the way of your ministry. They are people who need your ministry.  Reaching them is far more important than all the church suppers, small group Bible studies, and projects your church may pour its energy into.  They are not a project, a number to be counted, a victory to be one.  They are people, created in the image of God, loved and respected because Christ died for them.  They are people who need a relationship with Jesus Christ and with you, the Body.

2. They have needs that you must first understand and then respond to in the name of Christ.  Too many of us do not know our neighbors well enough to know their needs, let alone address those needs.  We often assume we know them, but that usually leads to assuming they are like us and just need to be persuaded to behave as such.  If you don’t build relationships, listen, and seek to understand–you will not reach your neighbors effectively.

3.  They are have values and dreams.  You may think those values to be sinful or their dreams to be shallow; but you do not build a redemptive relationship with people who you do not respect in some way.

There’s more to be said on this subject, but for now; know that if you want to reach your unchurched neighbors, you will have to begin thinking in new ways.

(C) 2011 by Stephen L Dunn

UPCOMING TEACHING EVENTS

Steve has two BRIDGEBUILDERS SEMINARS remaining in 2011.  One is this Saturday, November 5th  at the Linglestown Church of God on the northeast side of Harrisburg PA.  You can still register by calling Patty at 717-898-8144.

Last Saturday’s event at the Germantown Church of God near Cascade MD was postponed due to a snowstorm. It is being rescheduled between now and Christmas.  Watch this blog or the BRIDGEBUILDERS SEMINARS Facebook Page.

December 1 and 3 Steve is offering a special four-hour workshop called THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE OF BLOGGING. This is a practical workshop on how to use a blog as a tool of ministry. It includes: identifying a purpose, choosing a blog engine, designing a blog, how to write for a blog, and how to publicize and syndicate you blog. Cost is $15 per person and includes a notebook called THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE OF BLOGGING. Register by clicking “attend” or by calling Patty at 717-898-8144. Deadline to register is November 28, 2011.