The four Jeremiah Teams commissioned by Bishop Leonard Fairley to help envision a thriving future for local churches and other ministries in the South Carolina Conference, are making progress toward bringing formal recommendations to the 2025 Annual Conference when it meets in June.
Bishop Fairley invited this diverse group of lay and clergy leaders from across the conference to take the lead in developing recommendations in four areas: Missional Priorities, Strategy for the Black Church and Ethnic Ministries, District Alignment, and Conference Staff Alignment.
While the individual teams are focusing their work on four distinct areas, they are sharing information with each other and learning that there are overlaps between those areas. They already have begun joint efforts to work together to ensure a cohesive report to Annual Conference.
Here is a summary of their work to date:
The Missional Priorities Team
Formed to evaluate the effectiveness of all current ministries and missions, identify what things are essential for us to live into Our 4 Priorities and what we need to stop doing to free us up for more imaginative, creative ways to help us reach new people in new places in new ways.
The Missional Priorities Team, led by the Rev. Millie Nelson Smith, director of Connectional Ministries, is broadening its assessment of missional priorities beyond the area of Connectional Ministries. Members are trying to rethink all areas of missional work, rather than just those under the organizational umbrella of Connectional Ministries.
Multiple themes have emerged from their research and conversations, touching on connection, communication and identity.
Communication drives our connection, and local churches don’t always connect and communicate with each other. Districts and churches may not connect and communicate with each other in certain areas. And the Annual Conference and districts may not be connecting and communicating with each other in certain areas.
The team has discussed the need to reclaim who we are as United Methodists, to understand that it’s OK to be United Methodist and not keep our heads down because of a season of disaffiliation and separation. As we come out on the other side of that storm, we want to talk about what it means to be United Methodist.
The Black Church and Ethnic Ministries Strategy Team
Formed to create and resource an effective conference strategy for strengthening the Black Church and other Ethnic Ministries, looking to ensure strong leadership and finding the new thing God is calling us to in this area.
The Black Church and Ethnic Ministries Strategy Team, led by the Rev. James Friday, director of Congregational Development, continued its research into the existing black and ethnic ministries of the conference, and began turning toward looking for what next steps might look like.
Team members discussed opportunities for reorganizing existing ministries around missions or new church starts, as well as revitalizing what is already being done. Beyond their meetings, they are dividing up the work of researching what types of resources may be needed to restart, for example, ministry with Hispanics/Latinos in South Carolina.
The team is investigating the potential for ministry in places across the state where ethnic minority populations have increased significantly in the past decade or two. That includes what we may need to start doing differently, and finding new funding sources to help pay for that ministry.
They also are:
- Exploring development of an assessment tool or framework to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the conference’s ethnic ministries.
- Researching and documenting the narrative of ethnic ministries in the conference over the past 10 years.
- Assessing the current status and funding of the Ethnic Local Church Concerns committee and its initiatives.
- Looking for potential funding sources and partnership opportunities outside of the local church to support ethnic ministries.
The District Alignment Team
Formed to review district lines and reduce the number of districts to create a more nimble, cost-effective structure that will allow district superintendents to truly be a missional strategist in more places, spend more time in communities, and develop new ideas to strengthen our witness and work.
The District Alignment Team, led by the Rev. Cathy Mitchell, superintendent of the Spartanburg District and Dean of the Cabinet, is organized into two sub-teams: one to look into geographical implications in the alignment of districts, and another to consider the work that must be done at the district level, regardless of how the districts are aligned.
Their research has become more granular in recent weeks – such as logging in the actual distances between local churches and district parsonages, and between district parsonages and district offices; and the cost of maintaining parsonages and district offices, as well as the salaries involved.
Currently, 10 superintendents are covering the 12 districts, which means six superintendents are covering extra churches outside of their own districts. The team has determined that, when determining future coverage, it’s not so much about the number of churches, but the distance superintendents have to travel between them to be present.
From a workload perspective, the team is reviewing job descriptions of district administrative assistants, as well as comparing what The Book of Discipline delineates as the responsibilities of a district superintendent with what they actually do.
The Conference Staff Alignment Team
Formed to align conference staff with our missional priorities and resources, compensate our employees properly for their work and leadership, and create more opportunities for staff to be creative and imaginative in their work.
The Conference Staff Alignment Team, led by Bishop Fairley, has been studying a 30-page report from the General Council on Finance and Administration. GCFA conducted a personnel audit of conference staff, which included staff surveys and one-on-one interviews with each conference employee.
Bishop Fairley said the GCFA report provided a solid broad assessment that will inform the team’s continuing conversation and work. He stressed that, while GCFA made some specific recommendations, the Conference Staff Alignment Team will determine what recommendations will eventually be presented to the Annual Conference for approval.
Anxiety during uncertain times is understandable, Bishop Fairley said, but he encouraged everybody “to be at peace.”
