Teach The Community
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matt. 28:19-20 ESV
Ministry isn’t holistic without active training, discipleship, and continuingly increased education. As we sit across the river from Trinity Seminary and actively partner with them for the hands on training of their students, we also provide a wide range of training for community members & churches in our community.
Bridges Out of Poverty
Getting Ahead
Foundations of Ministry
Ambassador Volunteer Cohort Training
REACH Congregational Development
Interested in one of our training programs? We offer options for in-house training at the Cafe and we travel! Read below and contact us for more information.
Upcoming Trainings
See some of our upcoming training dates below! Some trainings require registration, some are invitation only, and others are open house. Please note training details and contact us if you have any questions!
10 AM – 2 PM
January 18th
February 1st
February 15th
March 1st
March 15th
all dates required
Bridges Out of Poverty
Join us for our book-study style training covering the material of Ruby Payne’s Bridges Out Of Poverty. In these sessions we will review barriers between social classes to include linguistic barriers, motivational differences, financial literacy, & more. Join us as we learn, discuss, & grow our understanding of how to serve our communities by bridging the gaps that bind our neighbors to poverty.
Registration is required. Registration covers all 5 sessions, only one registration per attendee is required.
Purchase of the book is required. You can find it on Amazon. Lunch will be provided at each session.
Jan 11th 10AM – 3PM
Foundations of Ministry
Our Foundations of Ministry training is designed to give you a glimpse into our ‘what’ and ‘why’ for ministry, while also equipping you within your individual walk to better fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28. Our hope is that the information, exercises, and tools you receive through Foundations will begin a work with the Holy Spirit and within your community that will continue throughout your life.
All volunteers are required to take this training within 6 months of starting as a volunteer in any Cafe ministry, program, or event.
Registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
Meet & Greet: Jan 10th
Session 1: Jan 24th
Session 2: Feb 7th
Session 3: Feb 21st
Session 4: March 7th
Session 5: March 21st
Session 6: April 4th
Ambassador Cohort Training
Our Ambassador Cohort Training aims to develop volunteer leaders who are passionate about the spreading of the Gospel and work of CAUSA through Uncommon Grounds. This training overviews topics such as: spiritual warfare, spiritual gifts, discernment in leadership, general leadership principles, teaching and training best practices, Cafe mission and networking language, and more! The Ambassador Cohort also creates a small group environment to encourage interpersonal relationships amongst our volunteer leaders as well as gives them access to continuous discipleship with their cohort leader. In alignment with UGC and CAUSA’s overarching ministry values, Ambassador Cohort Training is a leadership development, discipleship, and community experience before it’s a volunteer and staff training!
Registration is by invitation only, view our Volunteer Page for more information!
REACH Congregational Development
We will be soft-launching training segments of the REACH Pilot in summer of 2025.
Information to submit an application for your congregation to participate will be available here closer to the soft launch. If you would like to support the launch of REACH, click the button to donate.
Program Overview
Edify congregations & leaders with the Word of God & interpersonal discipleship (Heb. 4:12 & Matt. 28:19-20).
Confront areas of ministry that God desires to refine in the body of Christ at large (Gal. 5:24-25).
Encourage congregations & leaders to stay in the good fight (1 Tim. 6:12), never growing weary of doing good (Gal. 6:8-12).
What to Expect
The REACH Congregational Development Program is designed for Pastors, staffs, and congregations seeking to fortify their internal programs to better support congregational and community needs while expanding their outreach ministry deeper into their local communities. Across the course of 12 months, REACH provides the following services:
- Intensive interactive training events for church staffs and congregations.
- Ongoing coaching/mentoring and support for church leadership.
- Scheduled targeted opportunities to engage in Relational Evangelism And Community Hospitality at our CoM in Aliquippa, PA.
While the program training will be available to the entire staff and congregations of participating churches, program implementation will train and mentor an average of 50% of church staff in each participating congregation. Training will explore and understand rapidly changing social and cultural landscapes, and draw on best practices from each congregation’s scriptural & doctrinal traditions to appropriately frame the “Message & Ministry” to the needs of their community. Throughout the course of the training congregations will be provided multiple opportunities to network with other congregations that are currently or have previously completed REACH. These networking opportunities allow congregations to be strengthened by collaboration, unity, and long term relationship building to sustain support even upon training completion.
Month 1: Relationship Building
Months 2 – 5: Training
Months 1 & 2 – 5
The first month of REACH is all about building relationship with the REACH Church and our REACH Training leadership. We desire to get to know the participating congregation and for the congregation to get to know us. To serve alongside each other, we must first establish trust and lay the foundation for our time walking through the REACH model. That’s what Month 1 is entirely focused on!
Months 2 – 5 focus on providing, completing, and debriefing various training materials to clearly discern and begin executing according to the Holy Spirit’s lead regarding the congregation’s outreach and community engagement. Material covered during this time encourages church leaders and their congregations to evaluate their current state, their outreach approaches, and prayerfully consider how the Holy Spirit is leading them forward in a new season of ministry. Our REACH Leadership Team walks alongside the congregation and leadership through every step of this process to exhort and equip as necessary. This period of training is focused on the healthy and holistic internal development of a congregation before shifting to the outreach focused second-half.
Month 6: Develop Ministry Plan
Months 7 – 8: Continuous Congregational Discipleship
Months 9 – 11: Community Engagement & Outreach
Month 12: Final Evaluations & Overview for Sustainability
Months 6 – 12
The second half of REACH is all about application. Taking the lessons learned and direction discerned from months 2 – 5 and progressively applying it in the development of internal and external ministry elements. Each development step is taken two months at a time with consistent evaluation points and ongoing support from our REACH Leadership Team. We start with strengthening or implementing consistent internal discipleship measures to ensure the care and health of the current congregation members. We then progress to community connections, hearing community needs, and brainstorming resolutions that provide targeted service and resolution to those needs. We close with ensuring the programs in development are sustainable, making necessary adjustments, and being intentional to map out the steps forward for continued growth at the close of month 12. Upon completing REACH, church leaders are connected to the REACH Network of CAUSA Affiliate Organizations in order to sustain community and have continued access to discipleship, encouragement and community as they lead their congregations forward in Relational Evangelism And Community Hospitality!