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As we pursue our mission at EGC, we get very involved in training. The mission of EGC is to first understand and then to help nurture the vitality of urban churches in the context of their broader urban communities. We work hard to do the first part: gain understanding, through applied research. But how do we do the second part: to help nurture vitality?

Here’s how. By investing in leaders and also by investing in the connecting joints and ligaments that are needed for leaders to be effective, we nurture spiritual vitality in the city. What do I mean by that? To “invest in connecting joints and ligaments,” we create opportunities for collaboration and relationship-building between people, churches, and organizations. And a major way we “invest in leaders” is through training.

So what does training look like at EGC? Sometimes, training may be formal, such as classroom teaching at the seminary level with CUME, workshops we do with the Boston Capacity Tank, research seminars, summer internships, and consulting by Applied Evaluation Systems. Training may also be less formal, such as when our staff engages in one-on-one mentoring, when we facilitate peer fellowships among pastors or among those working with youth, or even when someone drops by the Center and, as a welcome guest, finds herself engaged in one of our staff meeting discussion groups. And sometimes training is as simple as having a meal together, because much “training” in the real world is so informal that it happens without either party knowing there is training going on.

Training, for EGC, is part of Christian discipleship. I think a good place to start in making disciples is to build relationships through which we can help cultivate, nourish, feed, challenge, and educate each other in God’s Word and in his ways. As we do that, we find that individuals and their churches grow stronger, become mature, and do the work God calls each of us to do.

In this issue of Inside EGC, we talk about many of the ways EGC is involved in training through all our programs. No, we are not changing our name to the Emmanuel Gospel Training Center, but perhaps that’s a convenient handle to help explain a bit more about who we are and what we do.

another in a series of articles on “Understanding EGC”
by Jeffrey Bass, executive director

[published in Inside EGC, September-October, 2010]