The Stillspeaking Initiative
Insert date
Insert Location

10:00 People arrive (Have coffee, etc. setup at 9:30 am)

• Welcome and expression of thanks to hosts
• Housekeeping (Restrooms - overview of event, etc.)

• Introductions -- Participants give their name, congregation and city, and complete the sentence, "When I was a child, I" . . . 15 minutes

10:25 UCC Heritage (15 minutes, Ron in a Box, Chapter 1)
Core values emerge from your history and culture. In the United Church of Christ we often celebrate our autonomy and differences, but have you taken time to consider the ways our history binds us together - as if by genetic code? Even those of us who are new to the United Church of Christ are either consciously or unconsciously attracted by those traits.
What are they?

• What light and truth needs to break forth into the world today?
• How is God still speaking in your life?

10:40 Religion and Culture (20 minutes, Ron in a Box, Chapter 2)
"God hath yet more light and truth to break forth from God’s Holy Word."

• Does your congregation have a vision for the future?
• Are you prepared to demonstrate amazing generosity in support of a church that embodies resistance and daring in our generation?

11:00 Come to the Party (30 minutes, Ron in a Box, Chapter 3)
Jesus invites all to "come to the party" and find a place of hospitality and welcome within the family of faith.

• Who are the lost and needful people in your community?
• How do they know that your church offers a spiritual home for hope and healing?
• In what ways does your worship and ministry welcome people to God’s party?

11:30 Creating an Identity Brand (20 minutes, Ron in a Box, Chapter 4)
This is also a branding campaign. The more you use "the brand," the more impact your message will have in the marketplace. The public "learns" through the constant and repetitive use of brand phrases, colors, and symbols. Stillspeaking churches that used the brand consistently and found creative ways to connect to it saw the greatest impact from the commercial.

• What is distinctive about your church’s brand? Is it consistent with our denominational identity?
• How does the symbol of a comma complement the traditional United Church of Christ logo?

11:50 Promoting our Identity (25 minutes, Ron in a Box, Chapter 5)

• Where do you see your church reflected in the United Church of Christ personality profile?

12:15 Break for Working Lunch

12:15 Working Lunch

Testimonies of the People - Promises Made . . . Promises Kept

1. Working Luncheon - Please take a plate
2. Prayer: Ask Gods blessing on our lives and our work
3. Leader of the Initial Training participants invites. . .
   1. New Stillspeaking participants to share name and church
   2. Previously trained participants to give testimony about TSI
      1. Pre-select
      2. Leave room for spontaneous responses

1:15 Assessing Progress (30 minutes)

1. Show the ad
2. Show God is still speaking, 102 DVD (14 minutes) What happened? Revisit core Bible story

1:45 Becoming a Welcoming Church (30 minutes, Ron in a Box, Chapter 6)
You won’t magically turn your church into a welcoming church overnight. However, with organization and planning you can make it feel that way to visitors and seekers. What you are planting today will eventually transform your congregation into a welcoming place . . . expect it to take time.
Take about 30 minutes to explore these questions

• Does your church actively invite others into its worship and ministry?
• Do visitors feel welcome in your church?
• Learning from the success of Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, are there things you can do better to be a visible witness and active presence of God’s radical and all-inclusive welcome?

2:15 Exchange Ideas (30 minutes)

1. Break into groups to share (20 minutes)
   • What you are doing about identity at your church, and hear from others
   • Ways your church can help TV ads run again - It’s as Easy as 1-2-3
   • Ideas about how to make a big splash for All Saints Celebrations
2. Brain Storming: Each group shares the best of the best stories / ideas with the entire group -- in each of the three categories (10 minutes)

Additional ideas

The secret shopper. Ask someone not known to your people visit your church and rate the church on friendliness and cleanliness, parking, etc.

The secret greeters. Create a cadre of people who have this job description: Find someone you don’t know and introduce yourself. Then introduce them to someone else. If they are new to the church, introduce them to the pastor too.

2:45 Share Communion, Pass the Peace /Laying on of Hands, and Send Forth with Vigor

3:15 Fun and Shameless Commerce
Find creative ways to keep people around for half an hour. Demonstrate the Graphics Toolkit 3.0. Party!