When: 8 Wednesdays beginning September 16, 6:30-8:00pm
Where: WUMC - exact location TBD

With open minds and hearts, intentional churches are trying to welcome diverse members of their communities. As part of WUMC’s strategic plan, this workshop will focus on the complexities of poverty to understand its dynamics and how such understanding can sharpen awareness of what we bring to relationships. Perhaps, then, we can examine our church practices, challenge our own perspectives, and construct a truly embracing community. We will use the book, Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself: Called, Equipped, Sent, hand-outs, and videos to parse the nuances of poverty far beyond stereotypes commonly employed by policy makers and others. We will examine, in part, the role of personal decisions and policy decisions at the community and national levels that hinder upward mobility. At the end, with our new understandings, perhaps, we could begin to develop initial action steps that might lead to a more diverse congregation over time as we try to answer the question, “Why does what that person is doing make sense to them?”

Join Rusty MacMullan in exploring how Christians can move beyond charity to create lasting change for individuals in poverty. Together you’ll consider strategic, actionable approaches rooted in biblical principles, showing not only how to help people break free from the cycles of poverty but also how to support them in building lives of stability, purpose, and hope. 

Before the first session, you’ll want to read the Preface, Chapter 1, p. 1-3, 12-14, 85-87 of Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself: Called, Equipped, Sent.