UWM to Launch Pioneer Cohort Learning Experience by Glenda Walden

UWM to Launch Pioneer Cohort Learning Experience

by Rev. Glenda Walden (UUMS 2016)

Unity Worldwide Ministries will launch the Pioneer Cohort learning experience on February 16, 2023, to provide participants with tools for expanding their existing ministry or creating a new Unity community.  The program incorporates Unity’s Five Pillars, the Power of Focused Ministry, and the Fresh Expressions pioneering model. Participants will meet monthly to work on identifying the “who” God/Spirit is placing on their hearts towards forming “community” based on Unity teachings. To enroll, contact Rev. Glenda Walden at Ev****@un***.org. Click on the following link for more details.

Here’s what to expect.

The Pioneer Cohort is an action-oriented learning experience meant to provide you with the tools to expand your existing ministry or create a new Unity Community. It incorporates Unity’s Five Pillars and the Power of Focused Ministry training as well as the Fresh Expressions pioneering model. Participating in this learning experience will help identify the “who” God/Spirit is placing on your heart and help you form.community based on Unity teachings among that group of people.

The Pioneer Cohort experience will include:

Reading Material: Becoming Church: A Trail Guide to starting a Fresh Expression Luke Edwards
Monthly webinars: 2 hours of reflecting together on the readings and the previous month’s activities, and preparing for the next month’s task
Group Huddles: 1 hour of Coaching/questions/workshopping between webinars
Training content: Zoom meetings will be recorded and training materials will be provided through email.
Cohort discussion board: Online community arena for questions/insights/ideas to be shared as they arise.

This cohort journey is designed to walk alongside pioneers for a duration of 6-8 months.

You must be committed to experimenting with relationship building in your community…not merely taking notes or learning theory. You should expect to be spending time in your community with non-Unity people each week.

Goals of the Cohort

Our only goal is that you be equipped with the necessary tools to begin actively experimenting with creating community, based on Unity principles among an identified people group. Notice we did not set the goal of planting Unity churches or even to have an established community-based ministry by the end. That’s because relationship-building takes time. Communities form at their own pace. As we often say in Unity, everything unfolds in Divine Order.  All of your cohorts will not go at the same pace and each of us are at different points in the creative process.

Let’s Affirm Together: “When I cooperate with divine order, everything else falls into place.” – Daily Word, January 10, 2023

What will we be doing?

Our cohort experience is based on the pioneering model of Fresh Expressions and will be divided into 4 segments.

1. Discern— During this time we will practice dwelling, listening, and developing empathy to discern who we are being called to form community with and how we are

being called to do that.

2. Develop—Next, we will be working on developing relationships through connection. As we focus on seeing the activity God in the community, we look for opportunities to

participate in the life of the community, build friendships, and to create our launch team.

3. Deepen—Our third phase, we will develop tools for building or deepening a sense of community among our focused people. We will begin orienting and preparing for our

launch and the future gatherings of our group.

4. Discover—In the final sessions, we will evaluate our progress, define our next steps, and identify our future leaders.

What you will need:

A commitment to follow through on all the exercises.

A commitment to attend all 6 sessions.

Becoming Church: A Trail Guide to starting a Fresh Expression Luke Edwards- available at Freshexpressions.org or Amazon
A journal
A notebook to keep notes and assignments.

Schedule:
February 16 2-4pCT- Introduction to Pioneering Cohort
Discern: Part 1 Dwell

March 16 2-4p CT- Discern Part 2 & 3 Listen & Empathy
April 4 4-5p CT- Huddle
April 20 2-4p CT- Develop Part 1 & 2 Here’s What To Expect
April 4 4-5p CT- Huddle
April 20 2-4p CT- Develop Part 1 & 2 Participate & Connect
May 18 2-4p CT- Develop Part 3 & 4 Befriend & Team
June 5 4-5p CT- Huddle
June 15 2-4p CT Deepen Part 1 & 2 Community & Incarnation
July 20 2-4p CT Deepen Part 3 & 4 Leadership
August 17 2-4p CT Discover 2 Participate & Connect
May 18 2-4p CT- Develop Part 3 & 4 Befriend & Team
June 5 4-5p CT- Huddle
June 15 2-4p CT Deepen Part 1 & 2 Community & Incarnation
July 20 2-4p CT Deepen Part 3 & 4 Leadership
August 17 2-4p CT Discover Evaluate