The FaithX Project

Strategic Missional Consulting

Looking Back on 2019

by Ken Howard

2019 was a good year for FaithX. It had its ups and downs – a rollercoaster ride, for sure, at times – but all-in-all, both despite and because of it all, we came through 2019 much stronger, with a clearer vision of who we are and where we are going, and with many successes to energize us. 

We’ve come a long way since we launched in December of 2016. Back then it was just me as FaithX’s executive director/principal (and only) consultant, a 4-person volunteer board of directors, and one client, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and its two newest congregations. 

Over the next two years, we would establish our affiliation with Datastory, collaborate with them to prototype, develop, beta test, and launch the next-generation demographic analysis and missional planning platform, which would become known as MapDash for Faith Communities, added about a dozen clients, two associate consultants, a blog coordinator, a volunteer research director, and publish a ground-breaking research paper entitled “The Religion Singularity.” 

In 2019 we broadened our reach even further. We expanded our work not only into more Episcopal dioceses, congregations, and organizations, but more importantly, branching out into more than five additional “denominations” (i.e., including the non-denominational movement), and have begun discussions with interfaith and non-Christian faith traditions. We launched a new peer-reviewed journal about religion and ministry. We worked with Datastory to develop and launch the new Neighborhood Missional Intelligence Report, and we designed the consultative Neighborhood Missional Assessment program to help congregations identify emerging missional opportunities and challenges in the neighborhoods they serve. 

And so I’d like to offer my appreciation to all of those who have joined FaithX on our experimental missional journey through the end of religion as we know it into the future of faith in whatever form God is calling it into being…

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FaithXperimental Spotlight: TryTank tries PitchTank

By Ken Howard

In our travels around the U.S., both digitally and physically,
we at FaithX like keep our eyes open for examples of people, programs, communities, or ministries doing creative, innovative, and experimental things in the arena of faith. And when we find one, we like to shine a spotlight on them in a FaithXperimental blog post.

There’s nothing that we at FaithX like better than shining a light on people and programs who are experimenting with new and innovative ways of creating and cultivating communities of faith… unless the people are doing it are one of our clients – then we love it!

On January 1 of this year, two Episcopal seminaries, Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) and General Theological Seminary (GTS), joined forces to launch an innovative joint project focused on the future of the church. They called this exciting new program the TryTank: An Experimental Laboratory for Church Growth and Innovation.  

Led by the Rev. Lorenzo Lebrija, TryTank works to understand the forces threatening the church in order to identify creative ways to equip future leaders to reinvigorate the church, seeking to understand where new church models, business models, and technology can meet the needs of today’s church.

It is this focus on experimental learning that makes this program not simply a “Think Tank” but a TRYTank. As Fr. Lebrija describes it, “Any time we have asked ourselves, ‘what if’ as we do and are church, those are opportunities to explore and try. We are going to be doing a lot of that. And we know we’re going to fail. A lot. But that’s how we can discover new adjacent possibilities, by trying.” TryTank not only sponsors experiments but shares their stories across the church, “because something that may not have worked in one place, may just be perfect in another.”

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FaithXperimental Spotlight: Justice Revival, Washington, DC

by Allyson McKinney Timm, Executive Director

“A Justice Ministry Whose Time Has Come”

A few years ago, Megan, a millennial fresh out of college, was clear on her calling—she wanted to join a Christian human rights organization. Megan had grown up in the Church, studied theology, led mission trips. But when she went searching, there wasn’t such a group to be found. She discovered worthwhile ministries tackling crucial justice issues from hunger to human trafficking, but none focused on human rights as such.

Fast forward to 2019: Megan, now a skilled professional, joins a team meeting one morning to meet a new nonprofit client. She is unexpectedly moved because she finally hears someone articulate her deep conviction about the vital need for a Christian ministry specializing in human rights. That person is Allyson McKinney Timm, founder of Justice Revival based out of Washington, DC.

Justice Revival describes itself as “a diverse, inclusive community of Christian faith, dedicated to serving as a voice for human rights in the United States.” Its vision is a vibrant, transformative movement in which Christian faith leaders call on U.S. lawmakers to fulfill their moral and legal duty to respect and protect the human rights of all people, not just a particular class of citizenry.

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FaithXperimental Spotlight: Breakthrough, Chicago, IL

In our travels around the U.S., both digitally and physically, we at FaithX like keep our eyes open for examples of people, programs, communities, or ministries doing creative, innovative, and experimental things in the area of faith. And when we do find one, we like to shine a spotlight on them in a FaithXperimental blog post.

Today’s Spotlight article is about Breakthrough Ministries, based in Chicago, IL. We first learned of Breakthrough from a local news story by Chicago’s WGN 9, discussing their Broadcast Camp where they expose public school children to the life of public broadcasting. Because of Breakthrough’s repeated outreach and activities with local youth, it’s no surprise that they were involved with the summer camp. Naturally, of course, we wanted to learn more about Breakthrough and their other programs.

Breakthrough is a nonprofit organization that partners with those affected by poverty on Chicago’s West Side. Since its founding in 1992, Breakthrough has remained grounded in its mission to partner with those affected by poverty to build connections, develop skills, and open doors of opportunity. The organization currently has four locations in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, providing wraparound services such as housing, workforce development, health and wellness, and education. Breakthrough intentionally serves a diverse group of individuals, targeting those living within a 40-block zone in East Garfield Park, one of the most underserved neighborhoods on the West Side of Chicago. Each year, Breakthrough serves over 5,000 children, teens, and adults through these ministries with a dedicated staff of 100 people and 3,000 annual volunteers who increase the impact of their programs.

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FaithXperimental Spotlight: Compassionate Austin

by Darren Slade

In our travels around the U.S., both digitally and physically, we at FaithX like keep our eyes open for examples of people, programs, communities, or ministries doing creative, innovative, and experimental things in the area of faith. And when we do find one, we like to shine a spotlight on them in a FaithXperimental blog post.

FaithX founder and principal consultant, Ken Howard, bumped into (almost literally) Compassionate Austin in late March while presenting MapDash and FaithX consulting services at the New Story Festival in Austin, Texas (they were back-to-back in the exhibit area). While Compassionate Austin is not an officially religious program, there are many people and communities of faith involved, and Ken was struck by the underlying sense of spirituality that subtly infused the organization.

Compassionate Austin describes itself as a growing grassroots movement united to promote, strengthen, and celebrate compassionate action in Austin, Texas and its surrounding areas. Their vision is to exemplify and champion empathy in its purest form by creating a livable, vibrant, inclusive, and caring community in which all have the opportunity to thrive. By their actions, Compassionate Austin hopes to inspire everyone to become aware and conscious of the importance of showing compassion in the world today (taking care of others, yourself, and the earth). They seek to strengthen people’s empathy skills, tenderness, charity, and accountability toward meeting the needs of their community.

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FaithX is Datastory Affiliate