October 2026 Message from Your Regional Representative

One of the most productive reasons for getting together with other ministers is to share ideas.

We don’t have to create every single thing we do from scratch! Imagine that!

After being in my church for only a little over a year – and a Covid year at that – I was frustrated on how to build this ministry. They hadn’t had a minister nor an admin for over five years. There was no mailing list, no email list, just old membership directories.

Our local high school was having Homecoming and that idea resonated with me. I asked board members to take the old directories and call each person and invite them to church. That was November of 2021. Attendance was running around 25 people on a good day. On the day of Homecoming, 86 people attended. It was beyond fabulous! I’d like to say they all came back the following Sunday, but that was not the case. A few came back, but I found my music director that Sunday. Our growth has been slow and steady over the past five years. We now have attendance at around 60-70, have a fabulous band and started our Sunday School a year ago and it’s finally growing.

Homecoming was the turning point for us. I shared this with Kathy Engelhardt from Garden Park in Cincinnati. Below was her experience.

Subject: Coming Home Sunday

Where: Unity of Garden Park Church, 3581 W. Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati, OH  45239

When: Sunday September 27, 2026

A couple of years ago, Rev. Diane Robinson shared with me a great event that she did at her church in Anderson, IN and the excitement on her face as she explained what happened on that Sunday, I will never forget.  It was called “Homecoming Sunday”.  

As Divine Order would have it, September 22, 1985 was the first Dedication Sunday at the location where Unity of Garden Park sits today….. And what better time to try out Rev Diane’s suggestion.

What this entailed was to take time to personally CALL congregants who have not attended in the last year, 5 years, 10 years, and so on.

I cannot begin to tell you how it felt energetically to connect (even on their voicemail) to invite them to “come home” to their Spiritual Home so that we could show appreciation for all that they gave of their time, talents and treasures.  That this was a day to celebrate them because without them, we would not be the thriving church that we are today !!

Some of those calls were personally returned to thank me for letting them know they were not forgotten with tears in their voices.  Those who answered said they felt so honored…. Yes, honored to be remembered and they would be there. 

That Sunday was a full house of 100 adults and 11 kids!! The energy in the parking lot AND Sanctuary was so high….. Full of joy and love and hugs.  Some commented “This was the nudge we needed to get us back to church.  We have been saying for years that we need  to get back to Garden Park …. And we will be back “

I am writing this to tell all our New Thought Churches…….. DON’T WAIT…  CREATE A HOMECOMING NOW!!!   It takes some planning but it is soooo worth it!!!

This is a reminder to ALL of us to share ideas and what is working in your ministry….. We are all in this together 🙂

Love and Blessings,
Rev Kathy Engelhardt
Sr Minister at Unity of Garden Park Church