Equipping the Equippers
While many may bemoan the long, cold, dark days of January, here at Diaconal Ministries, it’s one of our favourite months!
Each January we gather our team of Diaconal Coaches, who are stretched out across this great country, for a weekend of learning, sharing, and rejuvenation. Diaconal Ministries’ staff take this time to pour into our team of coaches so that they can know how to best serve Canadian CRC deacon teams in the coming year.
This year’s gathering was held January 16-19 at Mount Mary’s in Ancaster, ON. Many of the coaches were able to attend and even one potential coach decided to spend the weekend with the team to ‘check this ministry out’ and see if it was a good fit.
The weekend began Thursday evening and this was a time of gathering, reconnecting, and holding an intentional talking circle. This first night tends to set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Several coaches appreciate this time together, being in a safe place to share their joys and struggles in ministry.
Friday and Saturday are typically two full days of workshops, discussions, and a field trip to a local NewGround partner (past or present) so coaches can see various community ministries in action.
Friday morning kicked off with staff sharing various updates on their work, as well as walking the coaches through Diaconal Ministries’ strategic plan and finances.
A list of “Questions You Need Answered” is also started on a big piece of paper hung on a wall and these are addressed throughout the weekend. Some of this year’s burning questions were: ‘How do you move ahead with a chair that was excited and then suddenly ghosts you?’, ‘What were some takeaways from the Moving Forward in Faith event held in Burlington in November?’, ‘How can I engage and connect with Deacons outside of deacon’s meetings?’ and ‘How can we inspire pastors to be more involved in their church’s diaconate?’
This year’s field trip was at Good News CRC in London, ON. Good News has been involved in a variety of community ministries. A panel consisting of the church’s pastor, the co-director of the Community Counseling Centre of London (a former NewGround partner), the coordinator for More Food, Less Hunger ministry (a current NewGround partner), and the church’s deacon chair shared about the ways the church is addressing food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty in their local neighbourhood.
“Good News Church continues to be faithful to their community and to what God is calling them to do despite [various challenges over the years],” shared coach Erika Repka from Classis AB North. “It reminded me that a small church can have a strong community impact. I particularly appreciated their partnership with the counselling center. I commend the intentional culture they have developed of the entire congregation being leaders; a priesthood of all believers!”
As part of the time at Good News Church, Rachel Vroege, Diaconal Ministries’ Regional Ministry Developer for Western Canada, shared Part One of the newly created “Introduction to Asset-Based Community Development” workshop. The goal of the workshop is to help churches learn a collaborative, strengths-based approach to church ministry and development work. The first portion of this workshop covers the seven (7) principles of community transformation. Together with the panel and a few other church members, the group looked at different types of poverty and how the way we approach people and communities affects the outcome of our ministry.
Longtime coach Gary Veeneman, from Classis BC South East, appreciated the personal impact these workshops can have. “I was struck by one phrase in the curriculum: ‘Nobody Has Nothing’,” he shared. “This is something for me to remember and take back to my ministry at an extreme weather shelter I volunteer at, especially when it’s been a challenging evening.”
Part Two of this workshop was continued first thing Saturday morning, with the Coaches reviewing the seven principles and applying them to a variety of case studies.
Diaconal Ministries not only believes in collaborative, ‘we are better together’ ministry; we also demonstrate it in our work. Each year at this gathering, time is given to a guest speaker from one of our partner ministries. Mr. Chris Orme, who oversees Church and Community Engagement for World Renew Canada, shared about their work around the world and how World Renew and Diaconal Ministries are working together to help deacons and churches respond during domestic weather disasters.
This year’s weekend was concluded on the Saturday evening with a catered meal and a time of worship and communion. Part of our weekend together is remembering who we are and whose we are and that, like deacons, we are human beings, not just human ‘doings’.
“This was my first Coach Gathering and I loved every minute,” Terry Vanderhorst of Classis Toronto told us. “It was great to meet everyone. All of the presentations were very well done. The atmosphere and energy was great. I feel more equipped and confident about my role as a Diaconal Coach.”
