Go Local Learnings

Go Local is a congregational journey to discover and join where God is at work in their neighborhoods. Go Local is not a program but a process in which congregational leadership teams and pastors covenant to listen, experiment, and reflect together for 18 months. The practices you cultivate, share, and learn from, become habits your church can continue and invite others to join!

Although other denominations have used the Go Local process for some time, Resonate just wrapped up the first cohort of five churches. Taking what we have learned through this process, we are now starting a new season of cohorts throughout the US and Canada, including two in the Great Lakes region. If you would like to experience Go Local (without any long-term commitment) to discern if this would be helpful for your church as you learn to connect with your community, we invite you to join us at one of these events:

Joining God in the Neighborhood (a workshop for pastors and lay leaders)

Ferrysburg Community Church
March 16 &17
Registration at: ferrysburgchurch.com/go-local

or

Taste of Go Local (a brief introduction to the Go Local process, with Go Local alumni sharing their experiences)

Arnies on Leonard in Grand Rapids  
April 10 6:30-8:30pm
Email: [email protected] to register

What will you learn and experience through Go Local? Perhaps best explained in the words and reflections of the members of the first cohort:

• God has a plan…but maybe not on our timing.  This forced us to be patient, to slow down, listen more, and let God do the work.
• There is power in the importance of listening- to the Word, each other, our neighborhood, and to our guests and visitors at church
• Discovering the difference of doing church and being church. 
• It is God’s work; we need to be flexible, visual, intentional, accountable, patient, and observant so we can join in God’s journey. In addition, this journey is not over.
• It is hard to do things differently than what we are used to doing (but that is not reason enough to continue doing things as we have always done them).
• We do not change our lives by accident.  Go Local is an intentional effort to change us in the midst of busy lives.  It helps us shift why we think we are here.

If these sound like deep, culture-changing things, your congregation would like to learn, please join us at one of the introductory events!