Region by Region

by Jacob Clagg, Director of Communications

One of the most significant themes that has come out of the last year for the CGGC has been the importance of storytelling for community building. In a world where divisiveness has become such a pervasive feature that it’s almost cliché, and at a time when Christians, and especially Christian leaders, are trying to discern where God is active and moving, it would be foolish to not embrace a culture of storytelling and community building. And one of the best tools we have for telling stories is The Global Advocate, this very magazine, whether in your hands physically or on a screen digitally.

So,The Global Advocate is embarking on its next big series, one where we look at each of the regions of the Churches of God, General Conference. Our goal is to dive into the history of each region, and then to find and tell the most important stories that are happening there. We want to uncover and bring to light what God is doing in every space of our denomination. And don’t worry, we aren’t leaving out the mission fields and international communities that call the CGGC home either. This series is going to be spread across 7 issues, and at least twice as many months, so it’s a large commitment, but we think it is worth it for multiple reasons.

Bringing Our Denomination Together

Being a part of the CGGC isn’t all that matters. Indeed, we celebrate the successes of any ministry that is doing Kingdom work, but we do believe we are better together, and our culture of togetherness is dependent upon mutual respect and understanding. One of the ways we continue to build that mutuality is by knowing each other well through our histories and our stories. So, our goal is to tell the story of each of our regions as a place to start. It’s a broad brush, and in some of our larger regions, the culture of a region probably won’t be reflected in each and every church therein, but it will help us continue to manifest a love toward the body of the CGGC. Likewise, it will help us understand why regions and churches operate in the way they do. Better yet, it will help us see ourselves in our CGGC neighbors, even if they are on the other side of the United States. By doing this, you will also come to know what each region values and what is most important to them.

Also, by digging deep into each region, we want to represent the voices of the people who are on mission for God. You may know a regional leader, but do you know local pastors in those regions? We think you should, and that by knowing them, and learning from them, you will be inspired by them. We want to platform pastors, writers, and speakers from each geographical location to build bridges between our regional communities. You’ll be able to pray for them and their ministries by name, and you’ll be encouraged to share their stories in your churches.

Bringing Best Practice

Which brings us to our next point. The stories we tell have powerful implications. First, these stories shed insight onto best practices of ministry. Stories of success, and even stories of failure, are valuable lessons, filled with rich knowledge and wisdom, and they need to be shared for the betterment of other ministries, and for the furtherance of the Kingdom. We are not, as Jesus says, to hide our light. From these stories we hope churches and leaders are inspired to try new ministries, and to step out of their comfort zones. We do recognize that all of these stories will be contextual, and that just because a particular expression of church flourished in one setting does not mean it will flourish in another, but we also believe that there are practical principles that can be drawn from a true experience, even if it’s contextually far removed.

Bringing Hope

Lastly, we believe that telling stories of God’s action inspires hope in our churches, in our leaders, and even in those who have yet to step into leadership. We recognize that God is not always obvious to us, and that it doesn’t always feel like the Lord is doing a work in our lives or in our ministries. But by listening to the power of God in other people’s lives and ministries, we can be confident that God is still faithful, and that God will move when He is ready, and while we are prepared. So, we expect that telling powerful stories will directly counter the world’s vicious bleakness with radical hope. We expect that when we talk about God’s goodness and fidelity to others, it will have a tangible effect on their relationship with God, and that believers can mutually support each other in their faith journeys.

For unity, for practical lessons, and for hope, we will tell the story of God in the life of the CGGC, region by region.