Partners in Ministry

A History: Over the past thirty-six years hundreds of men, women and children have been part of a new way of Christian living and ministry, either at Church of the Redeemer where it began, or in one of the Communities of Celebration.  In the early years it seems that the Spirit of God was encouraging lots of people to experience first-hand the joys and hard knocks of life shared in community in preparation for the challenges of creative work and ministry in a variety of places.

Today the Community continues to steward many of the gifts God entrusted to us in our formative years. Chief among those is the gift of community, which is at the heart of our calling as disciples.

We feel that now is the time to explore with those who have been together with us on this journey how to create opportunities to exercise our gifts together for the benefit of the Church and the world.

Who can be a Partner? Partners in Ministry are former members, companions, and friends of Celebration who have shared the vision and life of Celebration, but whose own lives and commitments have led them to other places. The initial Partners event that took place in London, England, in October 2001, was a wonderful renewal of friendship, and it was so obvious that our various different life journeys have equipped us with experiences that God can and will use for his glory, now and in the future.

What will the Ministry do? The form and expression that this ministry will take will be varied and determined by the skills, gifts and experience of those involved. Working together will provide more opportunities for face-to-face ministry locally and to the wider Church. We look forward to building teams of Partners around areas of ministry. In concrete terms it will be a chance to explore new and exciting ways of ministry, here in Aliquippa, and wherever we have Partners.

First Conference in the U.K.
Click here for information about the October 2001 conference in London.

First Conference in America
Roughly 35 Partners converged on Aliquippa Labor Day weekend 2002, from as far as Canada and the U.K.  This weekend conference explored the vision and purpose of Partners in Ministry, selecting the purpose statement and starting the ball rolling in many different branches of ministry, finding new ways to creatively engage in ministry together.