Kentucky Talking Points The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is celebrating the 2016 Pentecost Offering on Sundays May 15 and May 22. The Pentecost Offering supports the Disciples new church movement by helping the recruitment, assessment, training and coaching of new church leaders. Half of the offering collected in Kentucky congregations is designated to this region. Please give. The Disciples new church movement is experiencing a second wind. Since 2001, Disciples have planted 934 churches in the United States and Canada. As a result, Disciples have shared the gospel with more than 61,000 individuals, who may not have had a relationship with God. Across Kentucky today, new Disciples congregations are being launched, fueled in part by gifts to the Pentecost Offering.

• In London, in eastern Kentucky, Chalice Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was formed in November 2012. It’s an open and affirming congregation and the only Disciples congregation in London. The Rev. Tanya J. Tyler is the pastor, and she says Chalice has a “determination to be a decidedly Disciples presence in London. We try to make our presence known throughout London in community activities.” So, for example, in the summer, the church usually has a “Sunday in the Park” worship, complete with food, corn hole and bingo. Chalice is very involved in the London Laurel Area Ministerial Association, participating in Holy Week services and the community Thanksgiving meal, and hosts a Boy Scout troop’s meetings. The church’s Women’s Friendship Outreach group meets at different churches for a guest speaker, meal and service projects. “We are committed to the Disciples’ desire to be a ‘faithful, growing church that demonstrates true community, deep Christian spirituality, and a passion for justice’ (Micah 6:8). All are welcome at the Table of love that Christ has prepared. And ‘All Means All.’” You should go see. Chalice (http://chalicedoc.org) gathers for Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. Eastern and worship at 10:30 a.m. Sundays and a fellowship meal and Bible Study at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at 611 Whitley Street in London.

• Co-Heirs with Christ Missions, is a mission-oriented church, focused primarily on spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in Lexington and beyond. Co-Heirs with Christ Missions was launched as an international family house with the primary call to provide a place of worship and fellowship for immigrants and refugees. The congregation is predominantly Africans who live in Lexington. “Our vision is to reach out to every household with the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ, to make disciples and to provide a place of worship and fellowship for all,” says the pastor, Foster Frimpong, who is a Ghanaian and who is studying for his masters of divinity at Lexington Theological Seminary. They would love to have you come visit. Co-Heirs with Christ Missions gathers for “Divine Service” at 10 a.m. Eastern Sundays and prayer meeting 10 a.m. Fridays at 2350 Woodhill Drive, Suite 68, in Lexington. Teleconference prayer and Bible studies occur at 8 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively.

• New Life in Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) gathers at Dismas Charities:

Diersen, a detention facility for women state probationers, inmates and parolees in Louisville. In some ways, worship at New Life in Christ closely resembles that at many other Disciples congregations. For example, “we celebrate the Lord's Supper every week, and the residents preside at the table with me,” says the Rev. Dean W. Bucalos. There are some interesting differences, as well. “Our members are only at this facility for six months until they complete a substance abuse program,” he says. “What is so interesting is how each person will find and train others to take on their tasks in the church as they get closer to their release date. I thought it might be impossible to maintain the identity of a church with such turnover, but I have been surprised. When you visit, you know that you have entered a community of faith that knows who it is and whose it is.” New Life in Christ (https://www.facebook.com/New-Life-in-Christ-Christian-Church-Disciples-of-Christ-118732014636/timeline) gathers for worship at 7 p.m. Eastern Tuesdays at 1218 West Oak Street in Louisville. Visitors older than 18 are welcome.

• In Louisville, there’s New Century Fellowship Christian Church. The pastor is the Rev.

Syvoskia Pope, who also works in social services. “Our vision is to build communities of fellowship group that brings life transformation to low/moderate income families. The fellowship group is the fabric that stretches with God’s love and guidance, to invite others into a loving community. We will continue to engage in the fellowships to build a multi-generational worship, building ‘One family at a Time.’” Eight new members have come to join New Century Fellowship in the last year, and five of those individuals were baptized. Syvoskia says the future is brighter and they look forward to expanding a social service entrepreneurship through the Hope Empowerment Center, to offer financial education, a rental assistance program for single mothers, micro-enterprise development and the Fellowship Cafe. New Century Fellowship (http://www.newcenturydoc.org) gathers for worship at 2 p.m. Eastern Sundays at 1875 Farnsley Road. They would love to have you come meet them.

• In Madisonville, a new style of table fellowship, Potluck Church, is being modeled at

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It started with the Rev. Rachel Nance Woehler wondering, "What if Jesus’s constant dining and feeding and dining and feeding were intended as more than a social-service program, more than a standalone activity of a

fellowship committee, more than a symbolic act to be portrayed in a worship service? What if the meal was Jesus’s way of forming the fundamental worship of the church?” Since 2013, Potluck Church has gathered on Wednesday evenings for a potluck meal, potluck conversation and communion. The co-conveners of Potluck Church reach out especially to individuals who, for whatever reason, do not attend a traditional worship service on Sunday mornings. "We eat together to draw closer to Christ and to love one another." You’re invited. Potluck Church (https://www.facebook.com/MadisonvillePotluck/) gathers at 6 p.m. Central Wednesdays at First Christian in Madisonville, at 1030 College Street.

The Pentecost Offering is a great opportunity for you, too, to catch the second wind through which the Holy Spirit is energizing the Disciples new church movement in Kentucky and throughout North America. Please share the good word in your congregation May 15 and May 22 about the Pentecost Offering and the second wind in the Disciples new church movement. Visit the Disciples Mission Fund at http://disciplesmissionfund.org/special-offerings/pentecost/ for promotional resources such as bulletin inserts, a downloadable video and a sample sermon. You may find a supplemental Powerpoint presentation that focuses on the new things that the Holy Spirit is doing specifically in Kentucky at www.kydisciples.net.

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