The Church Narrative Project

Have you ever experienced a process that shifted your world? What would it look like for members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to hear storytellers and engage our narratives? And what kind of church might we have if we imagined a narrative of a shared future?
Join The Tri-Regional Partnership Initiative Sept. 29-30 at Manhattan First Christian Church, 3001 Grand Mere Parkway. We are not inviting you to another boring church meeting.
The Church Narrative Project is a two-day experience that begins with dinner at 5 p.m. followed by StoryHour at 6 p.m. and Transformative Community Conference With Dr. David Anderson Hooker at 7:30 p.m. Saturday morning has another Transformative Community Conference (TCC) session With Dr. David Anderson Hooker followed by lunch and the final TCC session ending around 3 p.m.
Storytellers in each region will tell true 7-minute stories of a time when the scales fell from their eyes — or they told someone else the truth (“we need to call that doctor now”). An exchange that changed their sense of yourself from then on (“You do belong here; this is where God wants you”).
Storytellers from Kansas include:
- Travis Smith McKee, Galva CC
- Josh Leu, Great Bend FCC
- Christian Watkins, Manhattan FCC
Almost all of us have had some moment of revelation. When we can see ourselves, or some relationship, or the world with greater clarity. A connection with someone unexpected that changed your path.
The Church Narrative Project is about imagining a future by being honest about the stories that make us who we are as a church, and deciding together which stories to carry forward and which may not serve our shared future. During Story Hour we’ll tell stories of seeing the light, epiphanies, large and small to deliver – “Eureka!”, “Ah-ha!”, “I’ve got it!”, or “I finally understand!” insights.
Come hear true stories, share dinner with Disciples from across the Tri-Regional Partnership Initiative (Greater Kansas City, Kansas, and Nebraska), and help shape the future in which God is calling the region and the whole church through the Transformative Community Conferencing process, a practical, faithful,
non-divisive model.
Remember to register by Sept. 25. Cost is $25 plus a $1.50 processing fee and includes program, Friday dinner and Saturday lunch.