Koinonia Institute hosted the Second Conclave of its Small Group Leadership Roundtable last month in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas. The KI Roundtable actually was kicked off the previous night with a Radio Rally, sponsored by KWRD 100.7 FM.
The overall concept for the Roundtable was to be a trilogy. The first night presented ''The Problem.'' As to be expected, Chuck spoke quite candidly about the current situation America finds herself in. The topics included:
- The current threat of Al Qaeda; and
- Iran’s nuclear pursuit, combined with the continuing Islamic jihad.
Needless to say, most were troubled by the nature of this report and the ''Question and Answer'' time was rather lengthy.
The next evening was dedicated to ''The Solution.'' This evening Chuck and I spoke of the hope and future destiny of the Church. Topics this evening included:
- Raising the level of spiritual lives; and
- Being a part of ''The Once and Future Church.''
It is the belief of Koinonia Institute that it is in small groups where we can best grow as Christians and, to that extent, KI is committed to work together with those who would desire to launch and nurture the development of small groups in their local communities. At the conclusion of the second night, the participants of the Conclave were given a Covenant of Commitment to take home and to pray over.
In the final session, I detailed the mission and vision of Koinonia Institute, zeroing in on how KI can partner with small groups worldwide. The Conclave ended with meeting with each participant individually and praying with them concerning their ''Covenants of Commitment.''
As we look back, we are convinced that God is putting new wine into new wineskins, and that part of the new wineskins of today are small groups. We are expecting the ''Dallas Conclave'' to produce some KI-affiliated small groups, with the facilitators of those groups being enrolled in the Institute. We would like to thank our Dallas connection, Jim Reed and Dwight Bridges, who worked hard to make Conclave II a success!
As you can see with this issue’s cover, we are ''going public'' with KI and are offering five online courses beginning on January 16th, 2006. All of our courses can be taken as ''self study,'' but we have found the online format quite helpful in keeping our students on track. As one gets into the KI system, we can begin to establish a relationship: this relationship will enable us to start KI- affiliated small groups throughout the world. We are eager to establish the Institute as an integral part of this process. If you have a desire to partner with us and form a small group in your community that is tied to KI and uses K-House materials, we would love to hear from you!
Our next Roundtable (Conclave III) will be held in Coeur d’Alene on February 24th and 25th. The format will be a Friday night session and three Saturday sessions.
Plans are also being developed for a future Conclaves, both here in Coeur d’Alene and ''on the road.'' We will keep you posted through this news journal and our website.
If you are interested in attending any of the upcoming conclaves or if you want further information on Koinonia Institute, please contact us here.
