Update From Dan Kimball (Nov. 2009)

eric posted on November 17, 2009

Hello!

I wanted to give a personal update to the ongoing development of Origins. As I type this I am in Kentucky speaking at a conference here with David Kinnaman (author of UnChristian) and some others. Dave is speaking right now with great optimism about how emerging generations are responding to the gospel as they see faith in action and reinforcing the importance of relationships. Instead of focusing on how bad things are out there, he is focusing on the ways churches are rethinking how to be innovative as leaders in a changing culture for the gospel.

Last night when I arrived here I was picked up at the airport by a young church planter who was sharing with me how over half of the people coming to the meetings he is leading are not (yet) Christians. His enthusiasm was very, very contagious as he was sharing what he was learning and experimenting with. But what I sensed was his passion for those who didn’t know Jesus yet and not being afraid of innovation, risk and change to see that happen.

This to me, is what Origins is going to be about. People who are passionate about seeing new generations who do not know Jesus yet experience the joy of discovering and knowing Jesus and serving on mission for Him. “Evangelism” is a word that has been used in such negative ways and we need to rethink evangelism. But at the heart of Origins we are rallying together to share, explore, and learn from each other how the local church can be used by God for evangelism in our world today. But this means evangelism and mission is going to be more of a way of existence than any form of program or slice of our church. We believe the church exists for mission. And that changes everything. And that is why I know I need others in my life who also believe this so I don’t feel alone. And that is how Origins will be a part of connecting people with this heart and passion.

This year after we announced it in April, the team has been meeting and developing ideas based on input from you about where we will develop this. In 2010 it will be more of the year when we start to materialize some actual events and connections. It kind of feels like a church plant for a community on mission where we are in the planning, praying and research time period. So please do keep giving ideas, feedback and start discussions on the Origins web site community page which you can find here http://community.originsproject.org/

A couple other things: We will be forming regional and local network communities – and more on that in the months ahead. We will have larger events as part of Origins, but we must also focus on developing community and relationships with those in your local area which are also passionate about mission and evangelism. I know I need these in my life while serving on mission both nationally and locally. Just being here in Kentucky hearing stories from other leaders is incredibly inspiring to me. Being with others keeps me motivated to continue on mission and I get to learn new ideas from people. So you will hear this again and again from us – as a major part of what we hope to see happen is relationships, friendship, sharing ideas, learning from each other as what Origins will be about.

Please start any discussion groups on the Origins web site community page. Those help us see what are important topics of discussion we want to develop and focus on. Let us know what are the things you hope Origins does and focuses on – we do read it all and it means a lot when you share what you are thinking about.

Here are a couple of dates to remember:

Atlanta “Listening Session” – Friday, November 20th at 5:30

If you are in the Atlanta area and want to meet up to give input to Origins and have some casual discussion about mission – then come and hang out for an hour or so in Atlanta.

Georgia World Congress Center
285 Andrew Young International Blvd.
NW Atlanta, GA 30313
Meet in Room B302/303

I will be teaching a workshop about cultivating an environment for artists in youth ministry and the church that starts at 4:00 (join us at 4:00 if you want to be there for that workshop) – and right as that ends will meet in that same room at 5:30 and then we will decide if we will stay there in the room or walk somewhere else. If you can meet up email me dan@vintagefaith.com to let him know you’re coming. He may send you some questions to think about in advance.

First major Origins event – Los Angeles, July 22-24 2010

Some updates is that we have a date for our first major Origins event. It will be in Los Angeles on July 22-24, 2010. We will be announcing more details, but this will be an event that will be more of a festival than a “conference”. It will have times of teaching, sharing, art, film, music, spoken word, poetry, think tanks, creating and dreaming together about the mission of Jesus and how we can be fully engaged in the world for the sake of others. We will be sharing more in the months ahead, but wanted to announce the date and place.

Keep your eyes out on the Origins Events Page for more details on upcoming Conference Calls, Listening Sessions, as well as details on the July 2010 event in Los Angeles!

Add your events dealing with outreach or innovation on the Community Events Page.

If you are in Atlanta area, I look forward to meeting you next week!

Dan