wfn.org | West Ohio layman to deliver General Conference Laity Address

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Jan. 25, 2000 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71BP{032}

NOTE: A head-and-shoulders photograph is available. Church editors also
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Jim Nibbelink, lay leader of the United Methodist
Church's West Ohio Annual Conference, has been chosen to deliver the Laity
Address at the denomination's 2000 General Conference in May.

Tim Moss, of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship, announced the
selection of Nibbelink on Jan. 24. Moss is the liaison between the
Nashville-based board and the National Association of Annual Conference Lay
Leaders (NAACLL), the group from which people are selected to give the
address.  

Nibbelink will deliver the address on Wednesday, May 3, during the morning
session of General Conference. The denomination's top legislative body,
which gathers every four years, will meet May 2-12 in Cleveland.

"It is a special privilege to represent the laity of the United Methodist
Church," Nibbelink said.  "I am honored to have been entrusted with this
responsibility and pray that God's spirit will both inspire and sustain me
as I prepare for General Conference." 

Three women and three men, chosen to represent the denomination's diversity,
delivered the first laity address at the 1980 General Conference. A
competition has been held every four years since then for a layperson to
make the speech.

Annual conference lay leaders from around the world, rather than the laity
at large, were invited to submit written manuscripts, which were judged on
their own merit and without the names of the authors attached.

"The address expresses the opinions of a broad spectrum of the laity of the
church as it seeks to explore the theme 'Partners in Ministry -- Making
Disciples of Jesus Christ,' " Moss said.

Nibbelink will present the address for the first time to NAACLL members at
their annual meeting Feb. 18-20 in Eagle Creek, Ore. He will use their
suggestions as he polishes the speech for General Conference.

The spirit of his address centers on the church's need for "dynamic and
creative" partnerships between lay and clergy. He said he formed ideas
around perceived barriers that keep lay and clergy from forging effective
partnerships.  

"Partnerships between clergy and laity enable us to use the education,
skills and experiences of both groups to the best advantage," Nibbelink
said. "When we work together, we can find innovative and effective
strategies to both nurture our congregations and go out to make disciples."

A member of Armstrong Chapel United Methodist Church in Cincinnati,
Nibbelink has served in leadership positions at the local, district and
conference levels. He was elected conference lay leader in 1996. Before
assuming that role, he served as the conference's director of lay speaking
ministry. 

He is no stranger to delivering addresses. He has preached at the laity
session at both the Detroit and Western New York annual (regional)
conferences and has delivered the laity address at the West Ohio Annual
Conference. He was a delegate to the 1996 General Conference as well as a
member of the 1996 and 1992 delegations to the North Central Jurisdictional
Conference.

Beyond the conference level, Nibbelink is serving as secretary of the NAACLL
and as president of the North Central Jurisdiction Conference Lay Leaders'
Team. He also has been an instructor for many church and community seminars
on a variety of subjects, and has led sessions on the power of visioning for
the Board of Discipleship.

Employed by Procter & Gamble, Nibbelink's current assignment involves
installation of a global integrated information system. His work has
included leading personal development and quality seminars. He also has
consulted in areas of personal empowerment and creating organizational
vision. 

Military service and his work at Procter & Gamble have taken him across the
globe, and Nibbelink said he has found "the connectional nature of the
church to be particularly important and supportive, providing a feeling of
home, family and friends" wherever he has been asked to live.

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United Methodist News Service
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