Oliver Bala | Discerning Congregational Health, Episode 9
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Olivier Bala
“Anyone that comes in here really feels comfortable. It’s something we have not tried to work hard at. It’s in our DNA.” – Oliver Bala
Oliver Bala has been the Senior Pastor of Mount Hope Community Baptist Church for the past 28 years. Oliver joins Steve today for a conversation around Healthy Church Trait 5: A Commitment to Loving and Caring Relationships. Oliver credits the welcoming and deep relationships to the cultural values held by this multiethnic, multigenerational church: worship, sanctuary, hospitality, discipleship, spiritual formation, and leadership development. Oliver notes that part of his role is to help people get familiar with the content of healthy discipleship over again until it makes a difference in their daily lives.
Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.
Steve Macchia (Podcast Host)
Founder and President of Leadership Transformations
Steve is the author of The Discerning Life, Becoming a Healthy Church, Broken and Whole, Crafting a Rule of Life and several other titles. Steve has over 40 years in ministry and two postgraduate degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Olivier Bala (Season 29 Guest)
Rev. Dr. Olivier Bala was born in Dakar, Senegal West Africa. His parents emigrated from Brava, Cape Verde, an island country on the West coast of Africa, to Dakar in pursuit of a better life. In February of 1977 his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Pawtucket Rhode Island. For the past 28 years, Olivier has been the Senior Pastor of Mount Hope Community Baptist Church, a multiethnic, multigenerational church in the heart of Providence RI. He has been married to his wife Lydia for 34 years, and they have two daughters. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies from Gordon College, and his M. Div. and D. Min. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He enjoys training leaders to equip them with the tools they need to lead their teams well.
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