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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, who is the vision to which we aspire, and so we pledge ourselves to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Planning, dreaming and visioning – the common theme among these words is that they look forward into the future and reflect on the past, all while working towards something new. When we engage in these activities, God blesses us with renewed hope and purpose.

In the 29th chapter of Jeremiah, it says: "I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."

One of the many blessings of the Call to Action is that it shines a light on the importance of vision and setting goals to achieve our vision. Sometimes we are hesitant in establishing a vision and setting goals to achieve the vision. God wants us to plan, to dream and to vision so that together we grow vital Acts 2 congregations that are growing over time, engaging more of our people in ministry and engaging in community ministry. While goals and metrics do not warm our hearts, their outcomes certainly do – they tell the story of our work as disciples of Jesus Christ because they depict the number of souls we touch and bring closer to Jesus each and every day.

Currently United Methodist congregations around the world are setting five discipleship goals:

1. Disciples worship – average worship attendance;

2. Disciples make new disciples – number of professions of faith;

3. Disciples mature in their faith – number of small groups;

4. Disciples engage in mission – number of disciples involved in community ministry and mission teams;

5. Disciples give to mission – amount of money given beyond the local church.

The Zimbabwe East Conference and West Conference churches have all completed their goals. Already 254 of our 660 congregations have completed their goal setting. These are inspiring efforts. We are thankful for your faithfulness.

At the end of October, continuing through December, we are holding 12 listening/town hall meetings with the laity and clergy of the Baltimore-Washington Conference to help create our conference's future as we vision for 2020. You'll remember in 2005 when we held four days of "great discernment" to set goals and plan through 2012.

These four days shaped the direction and goals for our Conference. The Discipleship Adventure reflected the deep desire in our conference for vital Acts 2 congregations. Our Conference Vision "to become more like Christ" and our mission "to call, equip, send and support disciple-making leaders to grow Acts 2 congregations for the transformation of the world" emerged from those listening sessions.

The Big Holy Audacious Goal to have 600 Acts 2 congregations by the end of 2012 was a direct outcome of those conversations and demonstrated a trust in God and a commitment to measure our progress to end the trend of decline. By the end of 2010, 408 of our congregations became Acts 2 congregations. Progress has been made in each of our districts in the face of a multitude of challenges. We already accomplished six of our eight 2012 goals. We want to continue the strong progress we have made toward our goals.

I encourage you to be a visionary along with us as we make plans for the great future that lies ahead for the Baltimore-Washington Conference. This is an opportunity to be informed and build on the planning and goal setting that occurred this charge conference season. Building on the Discipleship Adventure, the Call to Action and your ministry plans are the pathway for a fruitful future.

I pray you'll join us as we dream together.

Keep the faith!