Transforming Impact

Pastor Joseph Nieves (TC16) shares how he found the Transforming Center and the impact Transforming Community 16 had on his personal life and his ministry. After 20 years of ministry, I hit a wall in my spiritual life and discovered that I was burned out. Outwardly, I was doing incredibly well and appeared successful. However, it…

Note: What is the long-term impact of the Transforming Community experience in the lives of leaders? Pastor and law enforcement chaplain, John Knox (TC6), shares the impact of his Transforming Community experience. Ten years ago, I had it all figured out. Ten years ago, I had been in fulltime ministry for twenty-four years, but I…

Note: What is the impact of the Transforming Center in the lives of leaders? Pastor Leo Ayala, a recipient of a Robert Mulholland Scholarship, shares how he found the Transforming Center and the impact it had on his personal life and the impact it will have in his ministry context. I was finishing the book, Invitation to Solitude and…

By Daniele Evans My Transforming Community (TC13) experience began with plenty excitement, anticipation and my soul tiptoeing around the edges of burnout. Fifteen years of pastoral ministry alongside raising a young family had taken the bulk of my energy. I felt weary and worn in ways difficult to express. My spouse and I were mid-sabbatical,…

By Nathan Albert For the last two years, I traveled to a monastery outside of Chicago every three months for a three day retreat to tend to my soul. With a group of 70 others, as part of the Transforming Center, we practiced ancient spiritual practices and rhythms such as silence, solitude, centering prayer, lectio…

When Anjuli Seth Nayak arrived for the first retreat of her Transforming Community, she was clearly a force to be reckoned with!   Anjuli was not our typical retreatant.  She was Indian in background and a physician by profession, certified as an allergist and immunologist.   She was also a cancer survivor, enjoying a temporary…

Phil Jackson has served full time in urban ministry to youth for thirty years. He is currently a church planter and the lead pastor of The House and founder and executive director of The Firehouse Community Art Center. I have served Christ for thirty years in urban youth ministry in the Lawndale community of Chicago. The need to be “on call”…

Continuing the story of Transforming Community: Transforming Community 4  (TC4) continued to impact the greater sense of community as more spouses of alumni and a church pastor, along with one of his elders, decided to embark on the transformational journey together. Shared language and experience can have a profound impact on these significant relationships, and it…

Continuing the story of Transforming Community: Transforming Community 4 (TC4)  continued to impact the greater sense of community as more spouses of alumni and a church pastor, along with one of his elders, decided to embark on the transformational journey together. Shared language and experience can have a profound impact on these significant relationships, and it was…

Continuing the story of Transforming Community: The launch of Transforming Community 3 marked significant growth in the number of participants but also in the experience itself. With 40 people on retreat–including six Christian Reformed Church pastors who came together from Michigan on a Lilly grant!– it was time to create a small serving team that could better facilitate…

Continuing the story of Transforming Community: The launch of Transforming Community 3 marked significant growth in the number of participants but also in the experience itself. With 40 people on retreat–including six Christian Reformed Church pastors who came together from Michigan on a Lilly grant!– it was time to create a small serving team that could better facilitate…

Continuing the story of Transforming Community: After Transforming Community #1 (TC 1) concluded, there was a sense that others might want to join the journey as well; an invitation was offered a little more widely to start Transforming Community #2 and 26 people accepted. In this group were several spouses from those in TC 1 – some of whom were a…

Editor’s Note: As part of our 15-year anniversary celebration we are sharing stories and testimonies from each completed Transforming Community to celebrate all the Lord has done. We hope these stories will inspire you to continue to go deeper in your relationship with God, draw you into celebration of all the Lord has done, and encourage you to…

 Noah Filipiak, founding pastor at Crossroads Church in downtown Lansing, MI, shares how his Transforming Community® experience has impacted his ministry. I love seminary. I have one seminary degree and look forward to going back for more. With that said, my experience in a Transforming Community® has been the most important ministry leadership training I…

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear, the saying goes, and that is certainly what happened to me with Bob Mulholland. When I first encountered his book, Invitation to a Journey, I was in my early thirties and experiencing the limits of what typical “evangelical” discipleship models had to offer. I had already begun seeking…

Note: What does transforming leadership look like in the lives of leaders? The Rev. Robert Whinnen, Lead Pastor at Bauer Community Fellowship in Hudsonville, MI, shares how his involvement in a Transforming Community® has impacted his ministry. “It had been a long time since I felt connected with the presence of God in my life beyond what I was doing for others.…

Note: What is the impact of the Transforming Center in the lives of leaders? The Rev. Jackie Matisse, Rector at St. Patrick’s  Episcopal Church in Lebanon, OH, shares how her relationship with the Transforming Center has impacted her ministry. At the beginning of my ordained ministry I identified my calling: “to help a community grow deeper spiritually.” For…

Note: What is the impact of the Transforming Center in the lives of leaders? Prince Rivers, Senior Pastor at United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, reflects on his Transforming Community® experience. I have been a pastor for 15 years. Most pastors spend the majority of their time pouring out without ever having anyone pour into them. The Transforming Community experience has…

Note: What is the impact of the Transforming Center in the lives of leaders? Vincent Rife, Lead Pastor at Grace Christian Church, shares about corporate leadership discernment (from Pursuing God’s Will Together: A Discernment Summit for Leaders) and about his Transforming Community® experience. I never want to be the singular person by which the people are trusting that…