Fellowship magazine is always pleased to feature programs that individual congregations have found worked well for them and would likely be of interest to others looking for opportunities to grow in their own faith journeys. They can be programs that enrich the worship experience of seekers in their own congregations or outreach programs that bear a witness to others in their community and beyond. In this issue, we feature the sequential learning program at Manotick, Ontario United Church and the prayer shawl minister of Cole Harbour Woodside United Church in Nova Scotia.

Four phases of growth
By Rev. Keith Brown

A consultant from The Centre for Church Effectiveness, Canada (www.church effectiveness.ca) which assists churches to become disciple-making churches, taught us at Manotick, Ontario United Church the importance of sequential learning as Christians. They encourage churches to take their members and seekers through four phases of discipleship, the Come and See phase, the Come and Follow Me phase, the Come and Be With Me phase, and the Remain in Me phase.

The Come and See phase has the focus of attracting people and sharing the Gospel with them in a gentle way. In this phase we offer Alpha three times a year and other need-oriented courses or small groups. Celebrate Recovery Groups from www.purposedriven.com are beginning to be used in our church to meet people at their point of need and lead them to Christ.

The Come and Follow Me phase takes about a year, and helps people to begin to establish basic Christian habits and to live by God's purposes. In this phase we started with the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign which is available from www.purposedriven.com We initially planned on six groups but were challenged by the resource to exponential growth by taking a step of faith and multiplying the number of groups we thought we could start by 10. This meant we aimed at starting 60 groups using host homes.

We ended up with 28 host homes and small groups. For six weeks the minister preached on the theme for the week and the host homes used a short DVD talk and learning/application participants' books on the same theme. The six themes that were covered were "Why are we on earth?", "How to worship every day?", "Being God's family", "Becoming like Christ", "Our Shape for Serving God", and "God's mission for each of us." Each host recruited his or her own small group from church members, friends, neighbours, work colleagues, family, recreational connections, etc. All participants also read the 40 chapters of The Purpose Driven Life book during the 40 Day campaign. Following the 40 Days of Purpose we did the 40 Days of Community Campaign (also from www.purposedriven.com) which covers the 40 "one another's" of Scripture and required each small group to do a short ministry in the church and a short mission in the community as well as Bible study and prayer. It was miraculous how each small group came up with a unique ministry and a unique mission. This six-week series is being followed up by five six-week DVD led series on "Doing Life Together" (also available from www.purposedriven.com) which looks at each of the five purposes of The Purpose Driven Life book in depth and in practice. Another exciting resource we are using is "Just Walk Across the Room" from www.growingleadership.com This resource provides four sermons for the whole church and four small group sessions on a gentle loving way that enables all Christians to be involved in evangelism.

The "Come and Be with Me" phase is training and deployment in leading ministries. This takes about two years. New leaders who complete the Come and Follow Me phase are given training in Hosting Life Together, in leading a Basic Accountability Group, and in making disciples of Jesus who in turn can make disciples.

The "Remain in Me" phase takes the rest of one's life and involves being in ministry and multiplying disciple-makers. In addition to participating and ministering through a small group, each person participates in a monthly Ministry Community meeting for renewing vision, sharing praises, problems, plans, and prayers, and ongoing skill training that encourages and equips them for their ministry and disciple-making.

Everyone in the church and all seekers are encouraged to move through the four phases of discipleship. As we have depended on God through prayer and sought to work with him, more and more people are moving through the first three phases.

Rev. Keith Brown is a staff member at Manotick United Church.

Prayer Shawl Ministry
By Sandy Conrad

In June of 2005 we happened upon a website about a remarkable ministry -- the Prayer Shawl Ministry. It was started in 1998 by two graduates of The Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, as a tangible way to express their love and prayers for new mothers and for women with breast cancer. It is now a global ministry touching the hearts and souls of thousands around the world. It spoke to us and we decided that the people of Cole Harbour Woodside United Church in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia would join in the mission.

We named our group Shawls of Comfort and Joy. Our message is a simple one: blessings and prayers are woven into every shawl. The shawl maker begins each one with prayers for the recipient, sometimes known to the shawl maker and sometimes not. Intentions are continued throughout the creation of the shawl. When it is completed, a final blessing in the presence of the congregation is offered before being sent along its way.

As we create our shawls for others, it becomes an expression of our love, of the love of the Cole Harbour Woodside United Church community, and of the loving care of God who works through us.

In just 18 months the Shawls of Comfort and Joy Ministry has created, blessed and given more than 165 shawls. Whether the shawl acknowledges a joyful occasion or a sad one, the love and prayers of the people of CHWUC go with them. Shawls have been given to family and friends nearby and as far away as Africa and Great Britain. They have been given to our high school graduates so they know that the love and prayers of the people of our church go with them on their journeys down life's roads.

Through the making of shawls, the people of Cole Harbour Woodside United Church are prayerfully creating a tangible expression of God's encompassing love and embracing heart.