Covenent Retreat

Central to our vision of empowering/developing Church leaders and extending the Good News of the Kingdom into our neighborhood/city is the underlying common covenant we make with God and each other in NieuCommunities.

Janny, Ruby and I are packing up our stuff and leaving in a few minutes to spend the weekend in Mexico for our annual covenanting retreat. Our Director, Rob Yackley described it like this, "It's a time for each person in our community to recommit to the shared life that defines us and guides us. It's big. It's hard. It's radical. And it's not for everyone. But it also inspires us to live all-in missional lives:"

THE NIEUCOMMUNITIES COMMON COVENANT

Communion
We will make the Triune God the center of our lives by collectively and individually…
• giving thanks at all times for all things
• praying and worshiping through multiple expressions
• reading, reflecting, and responding to scripture
• exploring and practicing a diversity of spiritual disciplines
• finding joy in the goodness of God and the beauty of creation
• enjoying Sabbath and periodically retreating together

Community
We will journey together and strengthen one another by…
• living in the same neighborhood
• opening our lives and homes as places of invitation and hospitality
• gathering at least once a week over a common meal
• caring for and submitting to one another
• speaking well of one another and defending each other’s name
• sharing stories and reflecting on God’s work in our midst
• living more simply and sharing our resources with those in need
• gathering weekly to learn to better live the missional postures

Context
We will incarnate the good news of the kingdom and seek to be a reconciling and redemptive presence by…
• submerging into our neighborhood where cultures, ethnicities and economies coalesce and collide
• adding beauty and caring for the patch of creation we occupy
• living visible lives of grace among those God longs for
• creating spaces in our neighborhood for people to experience community
• inviting neighbors and friends to periodically visit our gatherings to taste a different kind of faith community
• discipling our neighbors into a deeper relationship with Jesus
• mentoring local leaders to grow in influence
• partnering with others in our city to help advance kingdom-oriented initiatives
• apprenticing young leaders to engage all of the above with us and to live missional lives wherever they go