wfn.org | Stewardship leaders share ideas at Florida conference

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

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2000-062
Stewardship leaders share ideas at Florida conference
by Mary W. Cox
     "We are inventing some good wheels around the Church," says Terry
Parsons, national staff officer for stewardship. "Wouldn't it be wonderful
if we hitch them to some axles and actually go somewhere!"
     At the third "Inventing the Wheel" conference in Ft. Lauderdale,
Florida, January 21-23, approximately 90 stewardship leaders from more than
20 dioceses had an opportunity to share their visions of how to do just
that.
     Imagine a stewardship event that began each day with 45 minutes of
intensive Bible study, and had more to say about mission than money. 
     "The [only] reason we talk about money," says Parsons, "is because
money is where we confront the culture."
     "This is a family event," Parsons told the group gathered on the
morning of January 21, explaining that some of those attending had been
together at previous conferences, most came with teams from their home
dioceses or congregations, and all would become a community during the
conference. "You can't sell soap if you don't take baths," she said,
reminding laughing participants that involvement in a vibrant, loving
Christian community is what the church "sells."
     Community-building began with Bible study, following a format called
"Gospel-based Discipleship" introduced by the Rev. John Robertson of the
Episcopal Church's Office of Native-American Ministries.
     After 45 minutes of "engaging the Gospel," small groups--many of them
teams from a diocese or parish--focused on defining and describing the
church's mission.
     Using a process designed by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for
Nonprofit Management, the groups worked toward developing specific plans for
stewardship at both parish and diocesan levels. Participating dioceses and
congregations had been urged to send groups of three or four persons, in
order to have a leadership team to implement the plans they would bring
home.
     After defining a mission statement and reviewing challenges and
opportunities for carrying out their mission, each group moved on to
identifying mission goals and specific plans for achieving them.
     One parish group set the goal of adding 20 new members to the
congregation in the next 18 months. Another group's goals were "to make
stewardship popular," and to increase parish growth and outreach.
     "What struck me," says Tom Fleming, stewardship chair for the Diocese
of Southeast Florida, "is that in a right relationship with God, our plan
for our parish or diocese is God's plan. If we'll just ask God to share it
with us, and then listen for God's response, God will tell us where to focus
our  ministries--and make sure we have the resources to carry them out!"
     Ted Mollegen, past chair of the national Standing Committee on
Stewardship and Development, commented, "This felt like an evangelism
conference."
     Parsons replied, "No--this was a discipleship conference."
--Mary W. Cox is acting communications coordinator for the Diocese of
Southeast Florida.