FOUNDATIONS OF REGENERATIVE CULTURE
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FOUNDATIONS OF REGENERATIVE CULTURE 〰️
February 7-March 28 Online
April 16-19, Maple Ridge, NY
Are you ready for deeper community?
Looking for a way of life that is good news—to you, to others, and to all creation?
Do you want the relationships, knowledge and skills for such a lifestyle?
If so, we invite you to join us for a season of transformational learning in early 2026.
Explore the essential Stories, Settings and Systems of your present or future community. Begin answering 10 key questions for a better way of life: a regenerative culture in your own setting. Learn together with others in skills training, conversation, and prayer. Gather a wealth of ideas, reflections, skills, contacts, and resources. Take time for connection, practice, processing, and rest.
Come away with a pathway to regenerative culture where you live—a life of joyful, intergenerational community in God’s love that keeps on making the world better. Find partnerships for this grand adventure and journey!
What it is:
The Nurturing Communities Network was originally formed to help guide people on the journey into intentional Christian community with support and answers to the many questions they face.
20 years later, NCN hosts a website that provides searchers with excellent books, articles, “Where do we start?” live Zoom trainings, regional and international conferences, and more. Still, for most people a gap remains between answers to their early questions and actually joining or forming an intentional Christian community. Sorting through the many differences between common assumptions and the call to God’s Kingdom lifestyle requires a level of time and attention that is hard to find—both for seekers and communities alike.
Years ago the New Monasticism movement offered an immersive learning experience called “Schools for Conversion” to address this gap. Since then, nothing has met this need--until now.
For the past 3 years, the Eden Community in Texas has offered an immersive course for seekers of deeper Christian community called the Foundations of Regenerative Culture Workshop. The course grows out of decades of reflection and experience in forming intentional Christian communities on five continents.
Each year community leaders and searchers from across the US and Canada have participated in the workshop. Author and scholar of Christian community, Evan Howard, after his participation said, “This workshop is a doorway into life-giving ways to follow Jesus together for a new era.”
Based on feedback from Evan and other participants, NCN has decided to make the workshop more widely available by sharing it online over an 8-week period, with a final, in-person capstone weekend. For our first run, the Maple Ridge Bruderhof in New York has agreed to host us for the capstone weekend in April of 2026. Long term, our hope is that many communities may provide trainers and locations for this work in support of an expanding movement of vibrant intentional Christian communities.
How it works:
Three options:
Basic Course: Online for 8 weeks with trainers and cohorts
Capstone Experience Together: Onsite with an established community in New York
Certification: Draft your own reviewed Regenerative Culture proposal
What it includes:
3 Dimensions of Regenerative Culture: Story, Setting, and System
10 Elements of Regenerative Culture that every community must discover together
A path to run on for developing regenerative culture in your setting
A community of practice for the workshop and, if desired, beyond
A large workshop portfolio with exercises and comprehensive web and print resources
STORY
All people live within a framework of meaning that is shaped by their understanding of four stories they inhabit.
Explore the foundational narratives that shape us, and attend to the meaning-making stories and values that your group shares.
SETTING
Place profoundly, unavoidably shapes the stories that unfold there—and, in turn, is shaped by those stories.
Attend to your built and natural environments—the places in which people interact among themselves and with their wider contexts.
SYSTEM
System is where Story and Setting converge to form the distinct ways we arrange our lives.
Explore several key questions—about your commitments, communication patterns, decision-making processes, and rhythms of attention—that will help you develop a way of life that aligns your unique calling and context.
What others say:
“Taught me to connect with others and with God in a much deeper way”
“This remarkable workshop synthesizes insight and praxis, personal growth within community, natural and built community development, life together tools, and more in an experiential hands-on environment—with a welcome lack of insider jargon. This content and experience will be very useful for anyone from any profession who’s interested in becoming part of the solution: holistically engaging life in fresh forms.””
“These friends and collaborators in the Kingdom have pushed back the frontiers of apathy and complacency in Western Christianity and are thought leaders and doers in our time. So many have a harsh critique of the way things are—kicking over sandcastles, so few have the bravery to build new ones. My wife and I will be forever grateful for what they gave us, a sense of true authentic community—one that lasts to this day.”
“The Christ-like spirit and the compelling mission vision of our friends have always walked a few steps ahead of us—like a finger pointing us in the direction of the vision of God and like a friend on a journey. . . whose gracious encouragement gives us strength along the way.”
What it takes:
The workshop will take place over 8 Saturdays in February and March of 2026.
The capstone gathering will take place from April 16-19 at Maple Ridge in New York.
| Times (Central USA) |
Feb 7 10–2:30 |
Feb 14 10–11:30 |
Feb 21 10–2:30 |
Feb 28 10–11:30 |
Mar 7 10–2:30 |
Mar 14 10–11:30 |
Mar 21 10–2:30 |
Mar 28 10–11:30 |
Apr 16–19 Thur 5 to Sun 12:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Introductions | Story | Setting | System | On Site | ||||
Price:
Basic Course: Online for 8 weeks. $450
Basic Course and Capstone Experience: At Maple Ridge $750
Course, Capstone and Certificate in Regenerative Culture $950
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What if I can’t make all of every meeting?
A: Sessions will be recorded and available for the duration of the course.
Q: This feels like a big investment in both time and money—how do I know it will be worth it?
A: It is a big investment in time and money. Consider the value of getting training and coaching for your own situation--refined over decades of research with existing communities and teams forming together for this way of life. Consider the cost of not knowing just one of the vital principles and practices you will learn in this workshop.
Q: You recommend that workshop participants take this course with another person from your present or future community. How important is this—can’t I just do this alone?
A: You can take the workshop alone. However, doing this with one or more partners will multiply the value you receive as you develop common language, practices and deepening community that will give you a jump-start on your journey into a better way of life together.
Q: I would love to join the workshop but just can’t afford it financially right now—what are my options?
A: We want everyone God calls to this workshop to be able to participate. If you have checked with the Lord and believe you are to do this, you have a number of options:
Pay for the cost of the workshop from your own funds.
Partner with friends, family or community members to sponsor you, perhaps offering to bring your learnings back to them.
Pay what you can upfront with the understanding that you will check back in after the conference to see if, or how, the Lord would have you pay additional funds forward to make this option possible for others. (Note: this option is possible because others have already stepped in on your behalf.)