Renovaré (from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

'': to renew''; ''to restore'';) is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

engaged in "intentional Christian

spiritual formation Spiritual formation may refer either to the process and practices by which a person may progress in one's spiritual or religious life or to a movement in Protestant Christianity that emphasizes these processes and practices. The processes may inc ...

Overview

The organisation is based in Englewood

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in the US and draws on the experience of the Christian church across all denominations throughout Christian history. Renovaré's team is

ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

, composed of members from a wide variety of Christian denominations including

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, Church of God,

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, and

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

. The ministry is international with affiliates in the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Renovaré's stated ministry is to lead people toward a balanced vision of faith, and to encourage development of practical strategies for spiritual growth with classical activities such as

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

Bible reading In Christian communities, Bible study is the study of the Bible by people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. In many Christian traditions, Bible study, coupled with Christian prayer, is known as doing devotions or devotional acts. ...

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

and

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

. They state that; ''"Renovaré is Christian in commitment, ecumenical in breadth, and international in scope. We seek to resource, fuel, model, and advocate more intentional living among Christians and those wanting a deeper connection with God. We have been a foundational presence in the

movement for over 20 years.".''

History

Renovaré was founded by

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Richard J. Foster in 1988. After publishing ''Celebration of Discipline'' () in 1978, Foster was invited to a number of churches and conferences to speak on Christian spiritual formation and spiritual disciplines. He was encouraged by people's interest in the subject, but concerned at an apparent lack of substantive teaching in the area (particularly in

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

churches in the US). In 1986, he withdrew from public ministry to explore how a more systematic and intentional renewal movement might be formed. This led to the foundation of Renovaré in November 1988. Dallas Willard was one of the early members of the team. Over the following years, Renovaré held a number of conferences about spiritual formation around the US. In 1994 the ministry relocated its offices from

Friends University Friends University is a Private university, private Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield Uni ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

(where Foster had been teaching) to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. International activities started in 2002 with the founding of Renovaré Britain and Ireland; this was followed by the establishment of Renovaré Korea in 2004, and Renovaré Brazil in 2008. In the summer of 2008, Foster retired as Renovaré’s president (although remaining a member of the Board and Ministry Team). Christopher Webb, an

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

and a member of the Board of Renovaré Britain & Ireland, was appointed as the new president. In early 2012 the Renovaré Board approved the "restructuring of the leadership" which resulted in the appointment of Rachel Quan as Executive Director. In July 2015 Chris Hall became the new Renovaré president.

Activities

Renovaré publishes print and online resources, including books, articles, messages and podcasts. They also run retreats and spiritual formation groups. The Renovaré Institute for Christian Spiritual Formation runs a two-year online and in-person school. ''Institute homepage''
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International Conferences

In addition to conferences around the US, Renovaré has held a series of International Conferences attended by delegates from around the world, including: * 1991: Lake Avenue Congregational Church,

Pasadena, CA Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial ...

* 1999: George Brown Convention Center,

Houston, TX Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...

with a focus on Dallas Willard's book ''The Divine Conspiracy'' * 2005: Adams Mark Hotel,

Denver, CO Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of ...

focusing on the ''Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible'' * 2009: Municipal Auditorium in

San Antonio, TX San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the U ...

. The focus of this conference was Eugene Peterson's book ''The Jesus Way''

References

External links

Renovaré USA official siteRenovaré Canada official siteRenovaré Britain & Ireland official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renovare Christian parachurch organizations Organizations based in Denver Christian organizations established in 1988