Connecting with Watkins, other Disciples

For the last year or so there has been a renewed emphasis on who we are as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Just what is it that binds us together as a denomination? The identity statement - We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one Body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord's Table as God has welcomed us. - sets out some of the basics captured particularly in the words movement, wholeness, welcome and table.
A series of videos and study guides are available on
 disciples.org/our-identity with closed caption versions in Spanish, French and Korean with accompanying study guides.

General Minister and President Sharon Watkins would love to come and visit each and every one of our 3,600 congregations on any given Sunday, but, as you might imagine there aren't quite enough Sundays in a year to accomplish that feat. One way to hear from her on these core Disciple principles is to set up a book study in your local setting. In the short six-chapter book Whole: A call for unity in a fragmented world she reflects and shares personal stories that deepen our understanding of our life together. Royalties from books sold for this Disciples "one read" project will be donated to Disciples Mission Fund, the foundational funding system for most of our general ministries.

The goal is that every Disciple congregation will take a few weeks to emphasize our identity with the available video study materials, a sermon series or a book study before we gather together again to SOAR! at General Assembly 2015 in Columbus, Ohio. In the time in between, you are invited to join the Vision for Mission Facebook group and share results of your study. As we move further into the 21st century, we can explore new ways to identify and carry out mission together locally and globally.