Starting in 2015, the District began implementing FiveTwo as the new approach to start ministries to reach new people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. In August of 2015, the first “3Day” event was held at Hillsdale College, with 5 leaders and their teams in attendance. Of those, 4 began the 2-year coaching relationships with FiveTwo and moved forward. Thanks to your financial support, new people are being reached and relationships are being built.
One of the leaders that participated in the training process is Rev. Greyson Grenz (Trinity, Wyandotte). After the training, Trinity’s team started Bitty Ballin’, a basketball program for boys and girls going into first through third grades. Rev. Grenz says, “Our city starts their recreation programs in 4th grade so there was a void in this area; we are looking to fill that void and meet a need in our community.” The program, according to Grenz, “focuses on teaching kids the basics of basketball, working as a team and, of course, having fun! This summer we had over 50 children come to our camp. We had hosts/hostesses from our congregation there to chat with parents and families while their child was in camp.”
Another initiative taking place at Trinity is Raising Up Readers, a tutoring program that meets twice a week for 2 ½ hours. Volunteers come in and read one-on-one with students, as well as together in groups. They play games, learn, and have fun. The goal of the program is to help maintain and possibly improve a student’s reading level over the summer. Rev. Grenz explains the rationale behind the initiative: “In our [Wyandotte] public schools, more than 40% of children are reading below their grade level. Since education was a part of Trinity for so long, we wanted to reach out and help our community in this way.”
Asked about his experience with the FiveTwo StartNew process, Rev. Grenz said, “The Start New Process has been a real boost to my ministry and to the church I serve. The entire process of identifying a ministry venture to serve your community and to reach new people that your church has not impacted before is wonderful. The grand scope of the process is made simple and understandable by the various 3Day and 1Day conferences. The out-of-the-box nature of the process is a great experience for everyone involved. And the two years of coaching that come with the conferences has been a real blessing, especially because it has kept the big picture in focus for me. My coach has not let me get bogged down in the details and logistics; I’ve kept a clear line of sight forward in our StartNew ventures. I would recommend the process to anyone looking to truly step into something new with the goal of reaching new folks with the Gospel.”
To learn more about StartNew, click here. To learn about the District’s goal for supporting new and innovative ministries, click here.
Photos courtesy of Trinity, Wyandotte
