News
Companions in Christ® Training Event Promotes Spiritual Growth for Adults

(July 25, 2007, GBOD/UR) — The General Board of Discipleship's Upper Room Ministries will host a one-day leader training event for Companions in Christ August 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The Upper Room, 1908 Grand Ave., Nashville, Tenn.

The training provides leaders with an in-depth experience in Companions in Christ resources and trains them in the distinctive leadership skills called upon when leading formational groups. For information, call the Companions in Christ training office at 1-877-899-2780, extension 7525.

The Companions in Christ family of resources from Upper Room Ministries brings a transforming small-group experience to congregations.

Most Christian studies offer knowledge about Scripture, prayer, or other areas of faith. Companions in Christ invites participants into a deeper experience of the Christian life. As the journey unfolds, participants discover classic and contemporary spiritual practices that form rather than inform the participants and encourage them in inner and outward expressions of their faith.

Participants familiar with Companions or new to the resource will find great value in a training experience. The Companions family has expanded to include The Way of the Child: Helping Children Experience God (a 39-session resource), and Compañerismo en Cristo, a Spanish-language version of Companions in Christ.

Authors of the Companions series include Stephen D. Bryant, editor/publisher of Upper Room Ministries; Gerrit Scott Dawson, senior minister of First Presbyterian Church in Lenoir, N.C.; Adele J. Gonzalez, Assistant Director of the Office of Lay Ministry in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, Fla.; E. Glenn Hinson, author and retired professor of spirituality at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va.; Rueben P. Job, a retired United Methodist bishop and former editor/publisher of The Upper Room; Marjorie J. Thompson, author and Spiritual Director of the Companions in Christ initiative in Nashville, Tenn.; and Wendy M. Wright, professor of theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. The author of The Way of the Child is Wynn McGregor, certified Christian educator in the Presbyterian Church, USA.

It is estimated that 10,000+ small groups from a variety of denominations and locales have experienced Companions in Christ since its release. The transforming impact this resource has in congregations caused one clergyperson to say, "This resource may be the future of the church."

Those who attend the leader training event will receive Companions in Christ resources essential for initiating Companions groups in their churches.

A ministry of GBOD, Upper Room Ministries is an ecumenical organization that produces resources for encouraging deeper spiritual formation, including The Upper Room daily devotional guide, distributed to over two million people in 44 languages, five other magazines, a line of books, and programs for youth and adults.

GBOD’s mission is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, GBOD is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, call the Media Relations Office toll free at (877) 899-2780, ext. 7017.