By Spencer Burke, Hatchery LA
The week of October 16th was a big one for church innovators in the PSWR. Two of our innovators emerged on the national scene, joining a team of multi-faith leaders for a deeper dive into what it means to be spiritual entrepreneurs. Over the past year, Hatchery LA – an initiative of PSWR – has developed relationships with other groups interested in advancing spiritual innovation, including a Jewish incubator called Glean and the Columbia University School of Business. Our dialogue came to life as we realized we had common interests and needs. We all believe that people have not “left” their faith, but have moved to other forms of expressing it. Together, we want to support those spiritual sojourners trying to find and experience God in the 21st century.
So, it was very existing for PSWR’s Al Lopez, Nora Jacobs, and Stephen Patten from Urban Mission of Pomona, and Jason and Janell Coker of First Christian Church Oceanside, to join with Hatchery for Columbia Business School’s “Ventures for All.” Several of us traveled to New York to kick off a 6-month course that will help our innovators hone their vision, and develop a plan to implement, communicate and sustain that vision. After the 2-day, onsite intensive at Columbia Business School, our teams have moved into an online learning phase with class instruction, coaching, and multi-faith cohorts.
At the end of the 2-day gathering, Jack McGourty, the leader from Columbia University closed with the insight, “This CBS classroom is now a sacred space.” He understands there is a movement afoot. It is a movement of spiritual renewal, innovation, and change. It is reverberating across multiple faiths and I’m excited for PSWR to be a part of it. Stay tuned for future reports as we see how our churches work together to love and serve our generation and those to come.