wfn.org | First Urban Leaders Network gathering

[Beth Hawn]

Microsoft Mail v3.0 (MAPI 1.0 Transport) IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1998-09-16 14:09
Priority: 3
Message ID: A3DF42A53E4DD211AAB0006008075ABF
Conversation ID: First Urban Leaders Network gathering

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September 16, 1998
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
219-294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

Ray Bakke will address first Urban Leaders Network gathering

ST. LOUIS (MBM) - A weekend meeting here Oct. 28-Nov. 1 will introduce a
new Urban Leaders Network for Mennonites involved in evangelism, church
planting, development and other ministries in North America's urban
centers.

And for the charter meeting of the Urban Leaders Network, the group is
turning to one of North America's foremost specialists at ministry in the   

urban context: Ray Bakke, author of Urban Christian and A Theology as
Big as the City, and executive director of International Urban Associates   

in Chicago.

Meeting in conjunction with the conjoint meetings of the Council of
Leadership Foundations and the Christian Community Development
Association, the new Mennonite Urban Leaders Network grows out of a
natural progression in the development of urban ministry by Mennonites.

"The central purpose of the Urban Leaders Network is to provide a forum
for identifying, empowering and releasing leaders into ministries in   
urban
centers," said John Powell, Mennonite Board of Missions director for
Evangelism and Church Development.

Since 1893, when it pioneered Mennonite urban work in Chicago, MBM's
work has emphasized God's continuing presence in the city.  In the 1990s,   

MBM's Evangelism and Church Development department intentionally
shifted its strategy: Urban ministry is no longer a specialized niche of
mission efforts, but at the very core of world evangelization.  To do   
this,
Evangelism and Church Development staff established conference-based
urban ministry directors, who carry vision for ministry in eight U.S.
metropolitan areas.  The Urban Leaders Network is an attempt to broaden
that network, empowering even more efforts at church planting and
development.

"The Urban Leaders Network is a place where we can resource each other
and explore models and systems that can be applied to our specific
locations," said Powell, who is based in Buffalo, N.Y., where he is   
director
of Houghton College's Pastoral and Church Ministries Program at the King
Urban Life Center.

In the past decade, urban areas have accounted for 69 percent of the
membership growth in the Mennonite Church, enabling it to rank among the
top quarter of the fastest-growing denominations in North America.

At the Oct. 28-Nov. 1 Urban Leaders Network gathering, Bakke will provide
participants with a biblical basis for their work and will outline basic
principles urban leaders need to have an impact on their cities. There   
will be
open dialogue with Bakke on how to apply the principles and then work at
developing action plans for the cities represented. Participants also   
will have
an opportunity to talk and meet with Bakke.

In addition to the Urban Leaders Network meeting, which will take place
at the downtown Adams Mark Hotel, participants also will need to register   

for the 10th annual national conference of the Christian Community
Development Association.  Founded in 1989, the CCDA grows out of the
ministry of John and Vera Mae Perkins, who lived out the principles of
Christian community development in Mississippi and California.  John
Perkins serves as the chairman of the CCDA, which includes more than
3,000 people and 400 congregations in more than 100 cities.  Bakke serves   

on the CCDA's advisory board.

Registration for the Mennonite Urban Leaders Network gathering is free,
although there is a $75 fee for the CCDA convention.  Deadline is Sept.   
30.
People may register for the conference by telephone (219) 294-7523 or   
e-mail
through Melba Martin <Melba@MBM.org> or Cindy Hartman <Cindy@MBM.org>

Mennonite Board of Missions, based in Elkhart, Ind., promotes the whole
gospel for a broken world as it builds communities of faith through 933
workers and volunteers in 27 countries.  With ministries of witness,   
nurture
and healing, MBM has been a world wide web on behalf of the Mennonite
Church since 1898.
* * *
Tom Price