Global Engagement: Best Practices for Mission Teams

Local churches are the primary agents of God’s mission in the world. Equipping mission leaders in your church catalyzes growing mission engagement in your community and the global community. This video-based small-group study is designed to help your church’s mission team/committee explore best practices for leading your church in mission.

Christ Centered Resolution

ECO is committed to resolving conflict in a Christ centered and Biblical way. In 2022, ECO churches and leaders will continue to be given an opportunity to learn more about how to resolve conflicts and work through disagreements in a healthy way that will lead congregations to flourish through the ministry of flourishing reconciliation. 

Church Governance Resource: Authority, Responsibility & Accountability

The ECO Synod staff and Synod Executive Council have utilized this model of governance since we were established in 2012. This resource includes downloadable video presentations and corresponding powerpoints, book recommendations, conversations with ECO church consultants, as well as sample documents and guiding principles to help churches consider adopting this model of church governance on a variety of levels. We hope your church leadership will view and discuss these materials as you seek missional clarity and direction in this area of church structure.

Church Planting

We seek to be a church planting denomination during a time when the landscape of church planting is changing drastically. Leaders within church planting networks across the country are radically rethinking and readjusting church planting strategies in their denominations and networks.

Church Transformation: Pastor Learning Community & Consultation

The Church Transformation process is an instrumental tool in retraining pastors, refocusing leadership, and bringing renewed vitality to our congregations. Church Transformation incorporates a Pastoral Learning Community for Pastor Head of Staff/Associate/Assistant Pastor(s), on-site and virtual consultation, as well as coaching and session training. We offer two tiers of participation within Church Transformation both with in-person and virtual meetings.

Coaching

Coaching is one of the most powerful ways that pastors can be equipped and supported while they engage in the difficult task of supporting their church and leading transformational change. ECO will offset the cost of pastoral coaching for first time pastors and some smaller ECO churches based on need. 

Coach Training

Through Flourish we provide a 6-month foundational level of coach training, which includes several individual or group mentoring sessions as well as a two-day face-to-face training. We are excited to announce that we will be offering additional classes for coach training that will be credited towards certification with the ICF as an Associate Certified Coach on topics like spiritual formation, discipleship and mentoring.

360 Discipleship Assessment

This assessment measures discipleship health in 8 core qualities as well as 22 characteristics associated with the health of an individual follower of Jesus. The disciples answer questions for themselves and then ask others to answer questions on their behalf. A report is generated to help the disciple discover relative strengths and weaknesses. 

ECO Information Series Course

We have designed an ECO information series to help leaders, sessions, and congregation members have a better understanding of the culture, vision, and expectation of those churches that choose to make ECO their denominational home.

ECO Polity Course

The goal of this course is to give pastors, church leaders, and students a practical and working knowledge of the polity of ECO. We will present the polity in the larger context of the ethos and culture that ECO has been founded upon and seeks to enhance.

ECO Theology Course 

This course was developed by Rev. Dr. Mark Patterson, Ph.D. lead/teaching pastor at Community Presbyterian Church in Ventura, CA and chair of the ECO Theology Task Force. The five video lectures explore: The Foundations of Theology, Knowing God , Encountering God , Loving God and Enjoying God .

Flourishing Disciples

Primarily funded through a generous grant, Flourishing Disciples helps congregations learn (over a 2-year period) a new way of creating deeper discipleship and a vibrant discipleship culture. Flourishing Disciples involves an on-site retreat for key leaders in the church to work on enhancing their own discipleship and ability to disciple others. The primary facilitator(s) of the congregation then receives a year of coaching in order to embed disciple-making more deeply into the DNA of the church.

Flourish Institute of Theology: School of Ministry

Training future leaders of the church and preparing them for actual ministry is one of the most important tasks we can do. Flourish Institute of Theology: School of Ministry offers classes to church leaders looking for personal enrichment, equipping, and graduate credit. Classes will be offered each semester (fall, spring, and summer) and will be taught by ECO pastors and leaders, Synod Executive Council members, and other trained experts.

Flourishing Leaders

In order for congregations to transform, the elders and other lay leaders need to experience both personal and group transformation. Flourishing Leaders is a process where elders engage in experiential learning activities and pastors engage in coaching to help their elders become more spiritually effective. This training resource was formerly known as ELI (Elder Leadership Institute) and has been adapted and enhanced for our ECO congregations.

ECO Global Engagement 

ECO’s priority in global engagement is to support ECO congregations in their participation in the Great Commission. Our approach emphasizes the role of the local church in mission, rather than being focused at the denominational level.

Job Board

In an effort to help our churches find qualified candidates, we have developed a space for our churches to list their employment opportunities. If you are posting a Pastor or Associate Pastor position, your job description must be approved by the MPT of your presbytery. Visit the Job Board to submit your listings. The ECO Job Board is updated on a weekly basis. If your church needs help finding their new pastor, we can support your congregational process with our Pastoral Search Assistance. 

Leadership Circle Profile (LCP)

The Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) is an assessment that is designed to accelerate the leadership effectiveness beyond traditional competency-based approaches. The assessment measures behaviors that are positively and negatively associated with leadership behavior and organizational performance on a percentile scale. 

Introduction to Core Competencies

This officer/leader course offers 10 video-taught classes by experts based on each of the 10 ECO Leadership Competencies, with opportunities for discussion, discernment, and action after each lecture. This training can be completed as an individual at home, utilized for leadership, discussed as a whole session, or done in small groups. 

CLP1: Commissioned Lay Pastors Serving in Churches & Micro-Expressions of Church

ECO deeply desires to unleash the laity to do God’s kingdom work in their own context. CLP1s are lay leaders who are serving their churches by leading micro-expressions of church (small groups, youth groups, missional communities, etc.) and who wish to have a deeper level of training in the 10 ECO Leadership Competencies. This certification is a 10-month process undertaken with a non-geographical cohort, that includes a facilitator, homework assignments, and a mentor from their local church. The content of the CLP1 course includes all of the officer training content, plus 10 extra sessions, and an assessment in the 10 competencies.

CLP2: Commissioned Lay Pastors serving as Pastors

ECO Polity and missional ecclesiology allows for lay leaders who are properly gifted and trained to serve as pastors of local churches without getting a traditional seminary degree and becoming ordained. CLP2 makes pastoring a church more accessible to a wider array of people and allows God to use gifted and trained leaders in God’s mission. This course is a 2-3 year process which involves all of the training described for officers and CLP1s plus additional classes. These include, but are not limited to, New Testament Survey, Old Testament Survey, Theology Survey I and II, Preaching, The Polity of ECO, Leadership in the Local Church, Church Planting, Evangelism in the Local Church, Discipleship, Disciple-Making, Pastoral Counseling, and Spiritual Formation for Ministry.

Ministry Team Consultation (TeamScan)

Through the use of TeamScan(TM), a qualified coach can help a ministry team to learn more about themselves and how to best function together as a team. From time to time it can be helpful for all or some selected ministry staff members to engage in a process to enhance their effectiveness and cohesion as a team. 

Mission Insite

MissionInsite’s proprietary cloud-based technology platform is designed specifically for church, faith-based and nonprofit leaders. It bridges the gap between data and actionable information by answering the “where” and “what about” questions for your organization and community.

Must be logged in as a pastor or clerk to view sign up up instructions.

Ordination

ECO has designed an ordination process that equips women and men with the best of our Reformed and Evangelical tradition in order to prepare them for the ever-changing world and dynamics of ministry. We come alongside those who embark on this journey by helping them to make it meaningful, educational, and transformational. The ECO ordination journey has been intentionally designed to help a candidate towards Spirit-filled growth based on our 10 ECO Leadership Competencies. Throughout this journey, each candidate will be affirmed in their God-given giftedness and challenged to grow in the areas where their leadership needs further development.

Pastoral Consultation / ProScan Assessment

It is good practice for pastors and/or ministry staff to reflect on their current roles in the church on an annual basis. Using the ProScan Assessment tool, we can administer a concise but accurate reflection to a pastor or staff member and provide a one-hour consultation regarding the findings of the ProScan Assessment report. The assessment and consultation are completely confidential. The assessment results help pastors and staff members determine current areas of stress and satisfaction in their lives and ministries, as well as take proactive steps to find greater satisfaction in their calls.

Pastoral Search and Transition (PSAT)

ECO has created a extensive resource for churches in transition. This guide offers a path for churches, leading them from succession to the onboarding of their next pastor. We understand that each church is in a unique situation. In order for a transition to be successful, a church must consider the overall health of the congregation, its leadership, and its effects on the upcoming season of transition. In an effort to prepare for these changes, ECO is working to help equip our churches - whether small, medium, or large - to prepare for these inevitable transitions. Whatever your situation, we commend this guide to you as a template for thinking through how you might search for and call your next pastor.

Succession Planning

In seasons of transition, most churches simply ask who the next pastor will be and seek to pass the baton from one leader to another. However, we have discovered that in order for transition to be successful, a church must consider the overall health of the ecosystem and several transitional principles. This process includes an on-site retreat with the session and up to 13 succession planning workbooks, a 3-hour virtual follow-up meeting, and 3 months of meeting with a coach for implementation and email support. 

Vision Framing Process

What if your church was crystal clear about where God was calling you in the next season of ministry? Imagine your leaders, your ministries, your worship, and your entire congregation working together to make God’s vision a reality. Through a series of coaching calls, training materials, and videos, we assist your church in clarifying your vision as you live out your mission and ministry.