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Soaring – Bishop's Blog
Clergy Gathering and the call for vital congregations
October 14, 2011
Above: Bishop James Swanson leads "Clergy Gathering" at First Broad Street UMC in Kingsport on Oct. 11.
It was a joy to be with our pastors at Clergy Gathering this year, experiencing their responses to the "Call to Action" report and the subsequent "Vital Congregations" project.
Neil Alexander was there to help us understand both the report and project. Both of our worship experiences -- at First Farragut United Methodist Church on Oct. 10 and at First Broad Street United Methodist Church on Oct. 11 -- were spirit-filled.
By now you know the Call to Action report provides data that tells us where we are as a denomination. The Vital Congregations project asks local churches and pastors to look at the data and discuss their responses -- provided that they will be faithful to our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
I am grateful that our conference leaders presented the Call to Action and Vital Congregations project early and often enough that we already have several congregations and pastors interacting with the new information. The questions asked through the Vital Congregations project are generating conversations in our local churches that will help them evaluate their ministries and dream of what they could become.
I have been in some of our small churches lately, and I have seen firsthand our members' excitement as they join in exploring these questions under the power of the Holy Spirit. I thank the pastors and congregations who are among the first to answer the Call to Action. I encourage those who haven't to begin the process through their charge conference reports and through the helpful websites provided by our denomination.
I think you'll be surprised by the results.
See also:
- Neil Alexander's Call to Action (PowerPoint) and Indicators and Drivers (MSWord doc).
- Video clip of Bishop Swanson's Oct. 11 message (YouTube)
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