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Reimagining Gatherings in 2026

Overview: When Renaissance first developed a vision for centralized gatherings, the network was in a much different place. There were only a few microchurches, very little to show in the decentralized spaces, and a number of folks we wanted to invite into what we were doing. At that time, a monthly gathering that looked and felt somewhat like what many of us had experienced previously felt important to create. While it has been beautiful and helpful, it would appear that it is time for us to transition our gatherings to fit the current realities of our network. Our network has expanded numerically and geographically, our decentralized spaces are now quite strong, and the way we invite people into our journey looks different. Our Gathering Values: Why does a decentralized network of microchurches need centralized gathering spaces? Well, we hold several values as a network that are expressed in gathering: Encouragement - We believe that the work of mission/microchurch is lonely and discouraging (especially in New England). Gathering people to encourage them and to root them on has always mattered to Renaissance. Mutual Support - We believe that we're better together, and having space to share ideas, learn from one another, and rally around one another is important. We want to foster environments where this happens organically and intentionally. Galvanize - We believe that gathering people (even if sporadic) does help galvanize people around a shared mission/cause. While we are decentralized in ecclesiology, we've traditionally centered ourselves on our beliefs in mission, locality, and God's work in everyday people. Having a place to remind us of these and spur us on has always mattered. New Gathering Spaces: How will Renaissance continue to live out these values? We think it is time to create multiple gathering spaces and to give them fresh identities: Celebration Sundays - These gatherings will keep the former name. These are worship-focused gatherings that allow our network to have some corporate worship, storytelling, and a huge feast. That's it. These gatherings will now feel quite a bit less like a traditional church service and more like a huge party celebrating all that God is doing across our network. Equipping Sundays - Last year, we experimented with clusters, and saw a lot of good that could happen in creating regional camaraderie. These Sundays will now build on that identity. They will simply be about microchurches coming together to hear from one another, learn from one another, and support one another. These Sundays will offer options for regional sites to come together and/or an online option for microchurches/practitioners who find themselves on an "island" geographically. These will always be open-ended enough for microchurches and microchurch leaders to design them to help meet their contextual needs. Target Audience of our Gatherings: Who is the target audience of these gatherings? Who are they for? Celebration Sundays - We want this to be the most open gathering space in our network. Our hope is that this space will now feel more accessible. It will be open to anyone across our network (and visitors) who wants to have fun, make connections, and be part of the larger movement. Equipping Sundays - These gatherings would obviously be for folks in specific microchurches or practitioners in given areas to come together to support one another. Gathering Space Rhythm: We will now move to a bi-monthly schedule, where we will rotate between these two gathering rhythms throughout the calendar year. Our Celebration Sundays will happen on odd months, and our Equipping Sundays will happen on even months. We want to start this in April, which creates a rhythm that looks like this for the rest of 2026: April - Equipping Sunday May - Celebration Sunday June - Equipping Sunday July - Celebration Sunday August - Equipping Sunday September - Celebration Sunday October - Equipping Sunday November - Celebration Sunday December - Equipping Sunday The Need for Experimentation: It probably goes without saying that we'll need time to experiment and try new things out for each of these spaces. We are an open source network and will be looking for feedback and ideas as we attempt to take this on in '26. We ask you to show up, participate, and speak up about what is working and not working