This
past week, the newly formed Executive Committee met for the first time
since the Annual Meeting. I don't want to bore you with all the
details, but I did want to share with you some of the highlights of
our time together.
There are a number of major initiatives currently underway in the
Conference, each of which is looking to next year's Annual Meeting as
a target date for reporting. We spent a good deal of time addressing
these, and building a timeline and a strategy that ensures that we
will accomplish these tasks on time.
Among those initiatives are the following:
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The renewing of
the Justice and Witness Committee's commitment to empowering all
Covenant Partners to be engaged fully in the work of peace and
justice |
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The rebuilding
of the Church Growth and Development Committee and the renewal of
their efforts to enable Covenant Partners to be fully engaged in the
mission of revitalizing existing congregations and planting new
churches |
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The
establishment of a Lay Academy in the Southwest Conference
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The
implementation of a strategy designed by the Financial Development
Task Force, whose sole purpose is to answer a single question: how
do we fund the Mission of the Southwest Conference
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The development
of a strategic plan to bring on and fund an additional Staff Person
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A proposed
restructuring of the Conference |
I
don't intend to suggest that the reports at next year's Annual Meeting
will mean the completion of any of these initiatives - only that by
April we should be able to help our delegates understand both what
directions and what progress has been made in these critical areas,
and how they fit into the larger picture of our future and shared
ministry.
What is becoming clear is that the work of revitalizing our existing
churches and planting new churches is going to be the central ministry
around which we construct our future.
It is also clear is that one Committee can't do both of those tasks -
they each need and deserve a separate, an empowered, and a capable
team of individuals focusing on them. In order to do that we are going
to need an additional staff person (by the way, what is not yet quite
so clear is how we fund that position - but don't despair, some of the
most creative minds we know are working on that).
What
is becoming clear is that in order to succeed at either the work of
revitalization or church growth, we need to establish a whole new set
of patterns, behaviors, and practices that will ensure a greater
degree of success in these critical ministries.
The Executive Committee talked about all of this. They are fully aware
of how much work needs to be done in the coming year, and are looking
forward to engaging the full Board of Directors when they meet in
September.
Rev. Dr. John C.
Dorhauer, Conference Minister