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VOL. 15, NO. 7

NEWS

Council on Ministries meeting emphasizes evangelism

BY LINDA WORTHINGTONUMCONNECTION STAFF

Evangelism was the message as leaders from more than a dozen ministry areas recognized accomplishments or responded to challenges at the Conference Council on Ministries meeting March 13. Topics ranged from new churches to old budgets.

This conference leads the church (denomination) in so many ways, we ought not to lead it in shrinking, said the Rev. Vance Ross, council chairman and a program executive at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tenn.

The shrinking involves next years proposed program budget which calls for reductions of 12 percent.

Council members heard statistics for 2003 that show 148 of about 700 churches have not received any new members on confession of faith, down from 2002 when 198 churches had not fulfilled the mission to make disciples for Jesus Christ in 2003.

Bishop Felton Edwin May has declared that unacceptable and charged the Board of Evangelization, led by Mildred Franklin, to increase efforts to encourage church growth.

Each church was required to submit a plan of their evangelization efforts, but only 80 percent responded and the plans vary in quality, Franklin said.

However, they yielded many useful visions and strategies, which will be studied and sent throughout the conference to aid other churches.

Tim Warner, associate council director for Holy Boldness and Shalom Zone ministries, reported that the Hesed House was opened in Baltimore in February. The short-term facility houses seven men transiting from drug addition to wholeness.

Next we need a facility for women, the fastest growing population of addicts or in prison, Warner said.

The Shalom partnership with Zimbabwe is also a success story, Warner added, largely because of the conference. The Hilltop Shalom Zone has purchased land and is preparing to build a church, using local help and conference funding.

Speaking on behalf of the Board of Congregational Life, the Rev. Ed DeLong, associate council director, reported on the successes of the 20 initiative churches. One of the new church starts is Exit 146, sponsored by First UMC in Berkeley Springs, W. Va., which has acquired 25 acres from another church on which to build a $2 million facility for youth.

DeLong called the initiative a laboratory for giving skills and attention to what any church can do.

The Board of Congregational Life is recommending that every church should form a new faith community in the next two years, including those that meet in peoples homes at any time in the week.

A disciple, Ross said, is someone who witnesses, wanders (journeys), wonders (dreams), works, wins, is Wesleyan and worships together. Your whole life is worship. Thats what a disciple looks like, he said.

With that message in mind, the CCOM turned its attention to the budget proposal.

Martha Knight, director of finance and administration, presented background on the proposed budget:

• Conference reserves, required to be 15 percent of the budget, are nearly depleted, due largely to the heavy costs of recovery from the mold infestation in the former conference center;

• The new conference Stewardship Center and Foundation poses an added expense this year, although expectations are that it will more than pay for itself in the future;

• General church apportionments have risen 12 percent; and

• The Board of Pensions and Health Benefits is seeking a 33 percent hike to handle increasing medical insurance costs.

In addition, annual conference members voted last year to hold the budget increase to 4.9 percent, Knight said.

All ministry areas were asked to reduce their budgets for 2005, resulting in a budget 12.84 percent lower than the 2004 budget. It was accepted by the CCOM and will be voted on by the annual conference in May.

Sandra Ferguson, speaking for the Board of Christian Presence in Gods World, requested that all United Methodist congregations in the District of Columbia test the water of each church-owned building for lead. After churches are tested, they must inform their congregations of the results, she said.

Other items discussed at the meeting included:

• A recommendation that the Hispanic-Latino conference coordinator position become permanent. The Rev. Willie Carballo-Lopez reported that Hispanic/Latino ministries work includes training for lay missioners to become leaders for new congregations.
• ROCK 2004 brought 4,000 youth and their leaders together at Ocean City in February. A ROCK Reunion will be held June 13, at Mount St. Marys College in Emmitsburg.
• FaithFest drew more than 600 people, prompting organizers to look for space to accommodate 2,500 people next year.
• Panravee Vongjaroenrat, a lawyer with Justice for Our Neighbors, reported that three of the 16 clinics in the nation the UMCOR-sponsored ministry operates are in the conference.
• The proposed Council on Young Adult Ministry was reported on by Kim Hall Williams. CYAM is in the development stage, to serve the 19-35 year old population, with a message to local churches, We want to be included.