wfn.org | ABCUSA: General Board Affirms Key Ministry Areas =20

["CHANDLER, David" <David.Chandler@abc-usa.org>]

American Baptist News Service (Denver, Colo. 6/30/05)--The American
Baptist Churches USA General Board today voted to affirm Key Ministry
Areas that will help to focus the denomination's ongoing mission and
outreach.

The Key Ministry Areas, which complement a denominational mission
statement voted by the board June 27, include church planting, healthy
missional congregations, leadership, radical discipleship and youth.

The areas grew out of the work of the Seek It! process, an unprecedented
grass roots endeavor that produced input from more than 2,500 American
Baptists.  Additional work on the ministry areas was done by the Mission
Vision Planning Task Force of the ABCUSA General Board.

Excerpts from the definitions produced with the ministry areas follow:

Church Planting: "Church Planting is the primary way the New Testament
church rooted its mission and message in the places where the gospel was
communicated [and] has been a fundamental strategy of all the ABC
mission societies since their beginnings and continues to be one of the
most effective methods of evangelism.... We will partner together to
plant churches through: a renewed challenge to ABC churches to "parent"
new churches;....a renewed challenge to every American Baptist to
support new church planting (volunteerism, prayer, gifts, etc.); greater
collaboration between National Ministries and International
Ministries...to reach immigrant populations within the U.S. and Puerto
Rico;...learning new styles and methods from global church planting
partners and vice-versa from U.S. and Puerto Rico...."

Healthy Missional Congregations: "American Baptists were founded as a
missional people and God is once again calling us to be re-immersed in
mission and ministry...  We will partner together to foster healthy
missional congregations that: celebrate the love of God through vibrant
worship; bring others into fellowship by reaching out to their community
to share the love of Christ; develop lifelong, spiritually vital
disciples of Jesus Christ who maintain an active prayer life with God
and cultivate loving relationships with others; live out their faith
through partnership and involvement in mission and ministry in the local
congregation, community, and nation and the world; embrace and celebrate
diversity in the congregation, community and denomination and look for
ways to develop authentic relationships and nurture cross-cultural
understandings."

Leadership: "....American Baptists expect character and admire
excellence in every leader.  We recognize that no one set of skills and
gifts will meet the broad demands of leadership in the church.	We
recognize that diverse contexts demand differing styles of leadership.
Therefore, we will partner together to identify, challenge and nurture
American Baptist leaders who: discover the unique context of the group
or organization they are leading; study the scriptures as a resource for
living and decision making; prepare themselves for the ministry journey;
nurture, equip, and develop others with a servant's heart; focus the
group or organization toward well defined aims; lead organizations that
produce results that faithfully meet the needs of people; promote
American Baptist mission involvement locally, nationally, and globally;
are competent in multi-cultural/multi-ethnic contexts; excel in
implementing effective ministries of evangelism, discipleship,
transformation and prophetic justice, all rooted in love...."

Radical Discipleship: "...Among American Baptists a commitment to
personal radical discipleship is an essential first step along the road
of living for Jesus.  It is this individual commitment to Jesus Christ
that propels us to attend to our private relationships with Christ by
engaging in spiritual disciplines such as study, prayer, fasting, and
meditation.  For the faithful disciple this relationship with Christ
will grow deeper, richer and become the defining point of our personhood
and daily life.... We will partner together to make disciples who: live
out their identity as radical disciples for Jesus Christ; are committed
to lifelong learning about Christ and the mission of God's church; lead
spiritually vital lives as evidenced by the fruits of God's spirit;
engage in the spiritual disciplines to grow deeper in Christ;
collaborate with others to enhance their learning and growth as Jesus'
disciples; provide resources and offer insights for others to grow in
their discipleship; connect their worship experiences to growth in
discipleship; seek to understand and develop their gifts for service;
engage in ministry and service to others in a variety of settings."

Youth: "Just about everyone who grew up American Baptist has a story to
tell...and most of those stories are about a 'turning point' experience
that they had when they were young. For some, it is summer camps,
conferences, and mission trips that were the stage for the change that
was experienced. For others, being a student at an American
Baptist-related school or participating in the Youth Leader Corps has a
place in these stories. These same people, along with many who did not
grow up American Baptist, are asking the same questions:  where are the
youth in our churches? and, how can we better meet the needs of the
youth in our world?... As the needs, hopes, and ministries of youth are
identified, youth, parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders, and
denominational workers partner together to provide: the invitation and
challenge to accept Christ's call to discipleship; a continued outlet
for the voice and vision of youth; opportunities for multi-generational
interaction; a nurturing and supportive congregational environment for
youth to grow; a safe place to pose questions and discern answers with
peers and mentors; support for ministries by youth and for youth as well
as opportunities for involvement in the entire mission of today's
church...."

American Baptist News Service: Office of Communication, American Baptist
Churches USA, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851; (800)ABC-3USA
x2077 / (610)768-2077; fax: (610)768-2320; www.abc-usa.org;
richard.schramm@abc-usa.org

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