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Join us in-person at New Hope Baptist Church (Sept. 23-25, 2021):
Can't make it "in-person"? Join us VIRTUALLY for the worship services and the workshop sessions (available for $25 online access).
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Call the ABCRM office at (303) 988-3900 for more information.
We can't wait to see you! Join us as we gather in fellowship and faith, and as our inspirational speakers help us to RETHINK church and to Get Unstuck! Charting a Courageous Future.
Get Unstuck! ABCRM is proud to present our partnership with church consultant and author Tony Morgan of The Unstuck Church to help encourage and to empower our leaders and our congregations towards "Charting a Courageous Future." We have just endured the most significant disruption in our generation (the Covid-19 pandemic), which has inevitably influenced and changed our churches and our worship. So, how do plan for the "next steps forward" for healthy churches fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Make plans to attend this year's Gathering as we reconnect in-person and as we look forward to God's continued work in the Church.
Welcome!
from ABCRM Executive Minister Steve Van Ostran
I am extremely excited to invite you to this year’s Annual Gathering of ABCRM. This year will be special ... not just because it follows a year of shutdowns, social-distancing and societal unrest ... but, because we have a program that is right “on time” for each of our congregations. These events have been tailored to empower you: from the Pre-gathering event to our key-note speakers and even to the Friday Evening Worship Service. You won’t want to miss this year’s Gathering!
The topics for this year’s event grow out of the real-life angst we have discovered in many of our congregations. Questions have arisen such as: How do we transition to a new age of combined digital AND face-to-face ministry? How do we get out of the rut that our church has been stuck in for the last 30 years? How do we as a congregation think about this whole issue of racial reconciliation when we thought the ‘60s and ‘70s provided the answers? These are the questions and the conversations that our various sessions of the Gathering hope to engage. I can guarantee that those who attend, either physically or virtually, will believe that they invested their time wisely!
Yes, you read that right ... this year, the choice is yours! For those who choose to be physically present, New Hope Baptist Church in Denver will be our host. The live sessions also will be broadcast so that those who are unable (or choose not to come to Denver) can join virtually. Either way, you and your congregation will benefit from joining us this year.
If you want a testimony as to how Tony Morgan and his team of consultants (called The Unstuck Group) can benefit you and your church, go online and listen to THE UNSTUCK CHURCH PODCAST, EPISODE 195. In that podcast you will hear our Past President and Senior Pastor for Crossroads Church talk about their engagement with The Unstuck Group and how it helped their church to identify and to focus on what they needed to do to revitalize their ministry in a powerful way. The thing is, what they had to do will not be what you need to do and listening to and learning from the consultants from the Unstuck Group will help you to discover what your congregation needs to do.
So, make plans now to attend this year’s Gathering, engage the various conversations and, of course, reconnect with old friends (and make a ton of new ones!) Looking forward to seeing you at New Hope or engaging with you online, Sept 23-25.
In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Steve Van Ostran
The Annual Gathering Poster
Help share this poster with your congregations and your church leadership. The theme of this year's Gathering is to help church leaders to work together in their particular communities to move forward with boldness and with healthy initiatives to grow for a bright future ahead.
Click here to download a PDF to print and share.
What's the Unstuck Group all about?
Most organizations have a familiar lifecycle: start, grow, thrive, decline, and an eventual end. But, as the Unstuck Group reminds us, this pattern IS NOT the plan for God's church.
The Unstuck Group has identified the below stages of a church's lifecycle:
Where does your church fit in that lifecycle?
Take the Free Church Assessment Now.
Each church exists in a particular "stage" of a congregational life cycle. Finding out exactly where your church currently rests within this cyclical nature will help to identify the symptoms of "being stuck" and then how to chart a courageous future forward.
Registration links
Clergy Appreciation Dinner
This year, our Clergy Appreciation Dinner will be held at the Denver Aquarium on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. The registration deadline has since passed, but for more information, please contact Karen Van at the ABCRM office at (303) 988-3900.
Gathering Registration
Now that the registration deadline has officially passed, if you would like to attend in person, please contact the ABCRM office at (303) 988-3900.
Hotel Reservations at Doubletree Hilton in Denver
Hotel rooms have been blocked out at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Denver, which is in close proximity to New Hope Baptist Church.
Address: 3203 Quebec St., Denver, CO 80207.
Phone: 303-321-3333
Dates: Sept. 23-26, 2021
If you need any assistance, please contact the ABCRM office at (303) 988-3900.
Gathering Brochure & Information
To find out more about the 2021 Gathering and to start making arrangements, click below to download the newly released brochure and information.
We're looking forward to reuniting in-person this year, so please consider registration for both the Pre-Gathering and the Gathering events, and make sure to enjoy dinner with us at the Denver Aquarium -- and a tour that's almost underwater as you can explore both native aquatic life and tropical species.
Clergy Appreciation Dinner
Date: Thursday, Sept. 23, 6-8:30 p.m.
Location: The (Denver) Downtown Aquarium
ABCRM is pleased to announce that this year's Clergy Appreciation Dinner will be held at the Denver Aquarium. Non-clergy individuals also are encouraged to join us for this unique dining experience for only $55 (which includes both dinner and a tour of the aquarium). Of course, this event is free for our clergy members. Please register early to ensure your spot for a dinner that's "almost" under-the-sea!
Discover more about the Denver (Downtown Aquarium) at their homepage.
Current Schedule
Keynote Speakers
Pre-Gathering Presenter:
Rev. Jasmin Elana Taylor
Rev. Jasmin Elana Taylor is the Associate Pastor to Digital and Media Ministries at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Known as the “Digi Pastor,” Jasmin ministers in virtual services from the U.S., U.K., Barbados, Canada, Australia, Mexico and Germany.
Go online to find out more or visit her Twitter/Instagram @ DigiPastor or on Facebook @Trinity.DigiPastor. Jasmin also is pursuing her D.Min in Womanist Preaching.
Gathering Presenter:
Tony Morgan, The Unstuck Group,
Founder and Lead Strategist
Tony started The Unstuck Group in 2009 and has served 500 churches throughout the United States and in several other countries. Previously, Tony served on the senior leadership teams of three rapidly growing churches including NewSpring Church in South Carolina. He has five published books including, The Unstuck Church, and, with Amy Anderson, he hosts the “The Unstuck Church Podcast” which has thousands of listeners each month.
Gathering Presenter:
Michael Moore, The Unstuck Group,
Ministry Consultant
Michael is the Executive Pastor at Faith Chapel Christian Center, a non-denominational church in Birmingham, Ala. He also has served on senior leadership teams in multiple capacities including strategic, operational, and financial roles. He is passionate about helping local churches maximize their impact and potential.
Friday Night Worship Service
Keynote Speaker:
Rev. Cleveland A. Thompson,
Pastor, Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church of Colorado Springs
One of the featured and hallmark experiences of the Gathering is the Friday Night Worship. This year, ABCRM is pleased to highlight the issue of Race Relations in America, and more specific its impact within our region. A tremendous investment has been established to address this issue of race, and as we gather as a Baptist witness in September, it is our hope that attendees will become more informed and more motivated to address racial injustices.
Reverend Cleveland A. Thompson, Pastor of Emmanuel Missionary Baptist Church of Colorado Springs, will serve as the keynote speaker. He has pastored Emmanuel since 2006 and has seen the Lord bless a 200-member church to more than 2,200. In 2012, Emmanuel purchased a new 15-acre campus in northern Colorado Springs.
The Race Relations Task Force looks forward to fostering a night of worship that will honor God, and inspire attendees and delegates through music, prayer, scripture, and preaching in a mountaintop experience. It is our prayer that as we descend from this experience, the work of the upcoming year will produce renewed hope, new congregations, new leaders, new vision, unstuck ministries, and most importantly, new souls for Christ.
How to Get to New Hope Baptist Church
New Hope Baptist Church
3701 Colorado Blvd,
Denver, CO 80205
Phone: (303) 322-5200
Click here for a map, and directions to the church.
