New Church Development

New Church Development

After spending the 2008 year in prayer and discernment, along with other individuals and congregations in Northern Indiana, the District Board at its December 2008 Retreat acted on behalf of the District to employ Co-Pastors for New Church Development. It made a commitment to fund this project for 2009 using Church Extension Funds and Reserve Funds from the sale of closed churches in recent years.

The Board hired Yvonne Riege and Beth Sollenberger Morphew to share one full-time position as Co-Pastors for New Church Development. Together a "Dream Team" has been selected to work with the pastoral team in suggesting new possibilities for ministry within the district and to consider places to begin "church without walls" ventures.

During phase one, the team will seek to connect with congregations throughout the district for listening sessions and dialog around such questions as:

• What ministry activities are you involved in that give you joy and energy?
• What ministry dreams do you have that you may not have the resources for?

A report to the April District Board indicates stories of congregations who have been using "leftover scraps" and turning them into meaningful ministry. The report goes on to add that "there are many leftovers in our world waiting for a creative touch. Jesus was pretty good with leftovers. He treated leftover people of society with respect, and called them to be more than they had been."

The 2009 District Conference approved a recommendation from the District Board to continue this project through 2010.

You are invited to be in prayer throughout the year for Beth and Yvonne and the Dream Team and for the Denominational New Church Development Prayer Emphasis. Additional information

You are invited to keep the Northern Indiana congregations in your prayer through the year. Prayer Calendar