Executive Committee seeks Strategic Plan

Our network of congregations called South Central Conference has been on the move in 2018. In many ways, we are experiencing some really cool momentum. Last summer at our annual assembly, we invited 5 additional congregations into the conference. We continually hear stories of how God is impacting many lives throughout our conference. Many of our congregations have embraced a renewed focus on missional engagement in their local communities. It’s both exciting and humbling to be the moderator during these dynamic times.

Over this last year, we meet to discuss our “why” and “what” in a couple of day long retreats. We succeeded in more clearly defining the ministry and mission of our network of congregations. For me, this was an invigorating event. However, our work doesn’t end there. Nobody wants to settle for a mission statement on the wall that is just destined for stagnation. As I talk with many of you, I sense that our congregations are in a season to move beyond stagnation toward more fully participating in a movement to experience God’s mission in our communities. I am pleased to share with you that South Central Conference executive committee is also entering a new season. During the next several months, will be focusing on the “how”.  How do we best put our unique mission into action? In order to gain some traction for this quest, we have invited several people to form a Strategic Planning Team. Judy Miller is the facilitator along with Mitch Stutzman, Clarence Rempel, Gabe Pennington, and myself. Our first assignment will be to gather some helpful data directly from our congregations. We will ask some tough questions so that we can determine a path toward a healthier, more relevant South Central Conference. We will use surveys as one of our tools. Instead of relying only on an online survey, we have asked our regional conference ministers to initiate face to face conversations with the leadership teams of our congregations. If my schedule allows, I also look forward to join some of these interviews. Our deadline for this phase of our assignment is December 15th. We will then look for themes that will inform our suggestions for the executive committee to consider going forward. Our congregations, will be informed of our findings.

This is only the first step. There will be much more to come.

God invites us to keep moving.

-Tim Sweigart

SCC Moderator