The  New Church Team coordinates the region’s New Church Ministries. The team seeks to build bridges between new congregations and the Northern Lights Region, weaving our new congregations into the everchanging fabric of the region. The team seeks opportunities for the establishment of new Disciples faith communities throughout the region and approves the call of church planters to meet those opportunities. Working with the Regional Minister, the team assists new church planters and their church plant Empowerment Teams by providing guidance, support, and oversight. The team monitors the progress of new congregations to help determine when they have met all the requirements to become fully chartered congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Northern Lights Region. The team also establishes all Regional New Church policies such as those addressing guidelines for new church proposals, the call of church planters, and the use of new church funds.

The New Church Team

  • Rev. David Carringer, Chair
  • Rev. Lauri Clark-Strait
  • Rev. Jeff Davis
  • Rev. Joanne Flowers
  • Becky Taylor
  • Rev. Sacia Vik
  • Rev. Doug Wirt
  • Paul Allen, Regional Minister

If you are interested in serving on this team, becoming a mentor to a new church pastor, or offering expertise in other areas such as finances, communication, etc., please contact the Regional Office.

Funding

The Pentecost Offering, received each spring in our congregations, helps support our New Church Ministries. Fifty percent of the offerings received in each region are returned to the region. The other 50% helps support New Church Ministries denomination wide. You can read more about this offering here: https://disciplesmissionfund.org/special-offerings/. Thank you for your generous support.

Congregations in Formation

- Broadway Community Dinner Church -Seattle, WA
The Broadway Community Dinner Church was planted in March of 2023 and was born out of the Highpoint Community Dinner Church which was planted in March of 2018.
Over this time, we have served as a community of hope for the marginalized and as a training site for faith leaders both locally and nationally. Our future story hopes to continue to be a Christian witness in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle and to serve as a model for local, regional, and national Disciples of Christ churches. We are not a church outreach or a feeding program. We exist to welcome and disciple individuals who have not experienced the love of Jesus into the larger body of Christ.
This ancient way of doing church is both culturally sensitive and relevant, providing an opportunity for the church to grow in a way that is organic and relational. Avoiding the historic trauma of colonialism that has often accompanied church missions, the community dinner church heals and recovers the mission and message of Jesus Christ.

The mission of Broadway Community Dinner Church is to welcome our vulnerable neighbors to the table of Christ, providing hope and community for people experiencing the isolation of poverty and homelessness.
We gather around tables, sharing a home cooked, family style, Eucharistic meal.
We share a ten minute “Christ Story” from one of the four gospels and pray a blessing over the room.
We are ecumenical and egalitarian in structure, communicating the love of Jesus across denominational, political, and social distinctions.

We are a safe place for marginalized individuals and communities, fostering an
atmosphere of tolerance, transforming strangers into friends.

We help traditional churches regain missional traction, refreshing and revitalizing the historic faith community.

We are rooted theologically in the Lord’s table and God’s preferential treatment for the poor.