Quick Info:
Number of weeks: 2
Price: $50
CEUs: 1.0
Required books?: Yes
Live video session?: No
Part of a certification or series of courses?: No
Does your congregation have “enough” of everything? “Enough” of anything? Is it a “glass half full” or a “glass half empty” place? Do folks envy churches that are bigger or richer or more (fill in the blank)?
Having taught classes through BeADisciple for years, Rev. Beth Galbreath has heard a lot of folks’ worries about churches struggling to stay alive. She’s also heard bishops preach to church leaders about switching their focus to “Abundance!” And folks say, “Yeah, right, and how do we do that?” This course is one answer to that question. It will provide you with specific, practical tools that you can use in your congregation immediately to get “unstuck” and moving. And now is a great time to do it!
Participants must obtain the book The Power of Asset Mapping: How Your Congregation Can Act on Its Gifts by Luther K. Snow, which is not included in the course fee. Participants will be invited to do class exercises with one or more partners in their congregation, if possible.
There will be a short daily reading, reflection and small group discussion. (This class will not include face to face online meetings.) 1 CEU will be awarded.
photo credit: Avishai Teicher via the PikiWiki – Irael free image collection project
About the Instructor
Beth Galbreath is a United Methodist deacon whose specialty is “digital culture ministry,” which includes everything the Church needs to do to move from the print-literate culture of the last five centuries to the digital-communication culture of the 21st. She is one of the few (but proud!) graduates of the former Lumicon Institute’s certification program in digital culture ministry. “Digital culture ministry” is not just about technology; it includes re-emphasis on spiritual formation practices. To that end she holds a master’s from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in spiritual formation and evangelism. She loves to bring a multimedia, multi-intelligence approach to classes.
Digital culture ministry is also about ancient-future worship arts and education styles, especially an emphasis on story; to that end she is a passionate biblical storyteller and teacher. She is an ambassador of the Network of Biblical Storytellers International and coordinates the NBSI-related Chicago-area Prairie Wind Guild: Tellers of Sacred Stories. She’s taught biblical storytelling abroad in Cameroon, Bolivia, Haiti and the Philippines.
Beth serves the Northern Illinois Conference as co-chair of its Order of Deacons, and is a certified Natural Church Development coach. She also serves on the pastoral leadership team of Compassion UMC in Brookfield, IL, a new church plant. Her ministry includes consulting, teaching, and small group leadership. She is also an activist for solar energy, prison ministry, interfaith understanding, and eco-sustainability. Rev. Galbreath is the author of The Story and the Feast, a digital resource (three CDs of text and slides) of liturgy for Holy Communion, connected to the weekly stories and texts of the lectionary, and including notes for biblical storytellers.
Past Students Said…
“This course was an excellent introduction to asset mapping and having led one session already, I feel very comfortable leading others. I highly recommend this class and, if possible, take it along with a few others from your congregation. It was a blessing to talk with my Lay Leader about the class over the past two weeks and to collaborate with her on the monthly Stewardship Moment that resulted from our learning.” – Jill Croushore
“I had absolutely no idea what asset mapping was before this class. What a great tool! I would definitely recommend this course to others. What a fun way to get discover hidden assets for ministry. Thank you so much!” – Sherri Williams
“The themes of the course which stood out to me were the overall simplicity of the process, the empowerment it offers for people to commit to things that they are really excited about instead of trying to plug people into existing things, and looking for partners beyond the boundaries of the congregation and the benefit of synergistic relationships. I hope to incorporate asset mapping into our congregation beginning with the Administrative Council as we look at our current programs and seek God’s will for new endeavors.” – Dave Goss
“I am so appreciative of this class and the reading from Snow’s book. It has been an awakening on how to get unstuck and get moving. I will definitely be able to use the learnings in my ministry, and in life as I discovered in my readings there is more to be gained in turning fixed-sum thinking into open-sum dynamic, and it keeps the community from splintering. I most definitely would recommend this course to others.” — Tom Helber
“What I liked best about this course was how simple it is to put our assets together and make things happen for our church. Really an eye opener.”
“It was easy to use the course material to speak to people in our congregation and use the ideas brought forth.”
