“Where is the Spirit leading you now?” Your church may be asking some form of this question. You might be in the midst of a pastoral transition, dealing with membership changes, having building issues, financial struggles, or see the community rapidly changing around you.
The A.S.K. Program is a three-month congregational discernment program for churches that is guided by Rev. Phil Hart, Interim Conference Minister of the Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota Conferences of the UCC.
A church will:
1) Select 4-6 people that will serve as the Discernment Team.
2) The Discernment Team will work with Rev. Hart and be provided the tools and resources to engage the entire congregation so that both process and outcome is transparent and has buy-in from the congregation.
3) The three phases of the A.S.K. program:
– a. “Asking Phase” – What is the question that will help us understand where we are being led?
– b. “Seeking Phase”- gather insights, inspirations, and ideas on how the journey might unfold. This phase is full of conversations, reading emails, and looking far and wide to learn and be inspired.
– c. “Knocking Phase”- knock and the doors of energetic possibilities inspired by God emerge. This is about testing, prototyping, getting more feedback until the right path is revealed.
Is our church a good fit for the ASK Program?
Congregations that will significantly benefit from ASK have these characteristics:
1) Will commit to the program for a concentrated 3 months.
2) Church has general cohesion and not significantly conflicted.
3) Has a willingness and openness to consider a wide range of possibilities.
4) Will form a discernment team of 4-6 people that will work to lead and engage the congregation through the program.
Do you have questions or are you interested in joining? Contact Rev. Phil Hart at [email protected].