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What Is Storied Church Ministry?

 
 

Once upon a time…

…God spoke a word and the story of existence began.

…that Word became flesh and called people to follow him upon the way to new life.

…The Holy Spirit gathered into being a community of people called the Church to continue Jesus’ work of bring good news into the world.

For human beings, story is a universal language for making sense of life’s deepest questions of identity and meaning. As communities of human beings, churches have stories, too. Articulating who the church is, what it does, and why it does it requires a story.

Every local congregation is part of God’s redemptive Story. Every community longs to know who it is and what its purpose is in that Story. The Storied Church Ministry approach believes that finding your church’s unique story within the larger Story and organizing its ministries around that story is the key to overcoming stagnancy and spiritual malaise and recovering vibrant congregational life and effective Christian witness.

…Your church’s journey to revitalization began.

Rediscover the story. Renew the church.

 
 

Who I Am

 

I am Rev. Dr. Matthew Gorkos. I love Jesus, the Church, and good stories. The Storied Church Ministry approach brings together those loves.

I am an ordained (United Church of Christ) minister and, in my ministry, have witnessed first-hand many of the challenges facing local churches today. Local congregations across almost every denomination are enduring institutional decline and searching for ways to regain the vitality and ministries they once had. I long to help them do that by rediscovering the story at the heart of their community—the story that captures what God is doing in and through them.

I have a Doctor of Ministry in Transformational Leadership. My book, The Storied Church: A Strategy for Congregational Renewal, is available now from Fortress Press! In it, I set forth the idea of story-centered renewal for local congregations, looking at many different aspects of the local church from organizational principles and worship to Christian education and building design.

 

Education

D.Min. Transformational Leadership

Boston University, ‘20

M.Div.
Biblical Theological Seminary, ‘11

B.A. Christian Ministries
Messiah College, ‘07

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What I Do

While I believe that story is universal and not limited by denominational boundaries, I respect that every congregation has unique theological, logistical, and financial concerns. Therefore, I am flexible to your needs and want to help in whatever way makes the most sense for you. For that reason, in addition to single-day speaking or workshops, I am available for a range of short- and long-term Storied Church Ministry intensives.

  • Speaking & Workshops

    Organize your next leadership meeting or conference around Storied Church Ministry. Focused and adaptable to any context. For leadership and/or lay audiences.

  • Retreats

    Make the reflective and conversation-sparking power of Storied Ministry part of your team or group’s next retreat.

  • Short-term Revitalization Coaching

    Work with church and its leaders to evaluate and understand Storied Church Ministry and equip them for taking next steps towards discerning the church’s story and creating a Storied Church Ministry plan.

  • Long-term Revitalization Consults

    Work with church and its leaders to evaluate and understand Storied Church Ministry, discern the church’s story, and create an in-depth Storied Church Ministry plan.
     

Contact

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