General Board
Business Item # GB-12-0763
Title:
REPORT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF
CHRIST) IN ALABAMA-NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Origin:
John Mobley, Regional Minister
The following is provided for information to the General Board of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ).
Staff:
Regional Minister - John Mobley (male)
Associate Regional Minister - Dale Braxton (male, African American)
Women’s Ministries Staff Person - Betty Wright (female)
Youth Ministries Staff Person - Nisha Warbington (female)
Administrative Assistant/Office Manager - Susan Henderson (female)
Number of Congregations: 60 (including two congregations-in-formation)
Total members:
7,593
States included in Region: (2) - Alabama and the panhandle of Florida
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The four priorities named in the 2020 vision continue to be priorities for the AlabamaNorthwest Florida Region. Our commitment to new congregation establishment is
demonstrated in our support of the three new congregations that have been established
in the past decade, along with four new affiliations. Each affiliating congregation has
come to us within the first two years of its life. Our work with congregational
transformation continues as we offer support and assistance both on a congregationby-congregation basis and also as we develop events that provide opportunities for
transformation to many congregations at the same time. We are committed to
leadership development, which is demonstrated by the programs of support and
enrichment we offer to persons in ministry and to those who may pursue ministry in the
future. Our commitment to anti-racism/pro-reconciliation is strong and is evidenced
by the involvement of our clergy and lay leaders in anti-racism education and the
involvement of our congregations in building “true community,” crossing unnecessary
barriers created by racism.
During the past year the Committee on the Ministry in the Region has worked
extraordinarily hard to prepare for the changes that the Church approved when it
adopted the new ministry guidelines in the document “Theological Foundations and
Policies and Criteria for the Ordering of Ministry in the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ).” Changes have taken place in governing documents, new policies and
procedures have been developed, and new forms have been created to be in
compliance with the new guidelines. All of this effort, we believe, will strengthen our
care for ministry candidates and will provide guidance and accountability for them as
they engage in ministry.
At the heart of the Region’s commitment to the four priorities is the commitment to
healthy and strong congregations. Healthy and strong congregations are intentional
about their mission in the communities where they exist. The Region invests in healthy
congregations by partnering with them in leadership development, assisting them in
finding suitable ministerial leadership, promoting spiritual growth and vitality for their
members through the Region’s programs, encouraging spiritual and missional formation
for children, youth, young adults, and older adults through camps, conference, retreats,
workshops, and mission trips. The Region also helps its congregations embrace a
global mission, far beyond their local communities. Encouraging congregations to look
beyond themselves to support global mission promotes healthy congregations, and this
is an ongoing task of the Region.
Regional gatherings are opportunities for spiritual growth for all who participate. Such
spiritual growth provides a foundation of commitment for the four priorities that the
Church has identified. Regional gatherings are opportunities to promote unity, to affirm
one another, and to challenge one another to greater faithfulness in the name of Christ.
The Region provides pastoral care to clergy and lay leaders. It partners with
congregations to help them clarify and claim a mission for today that is relevant in the
communities where they live. The Region encourages the establishment of new
congregations and the nurturing of affiliating congregations so that they can develop the
best practices for becoming healthy instruments of mission in their localities and far
beyond. The Region is present with congregations when they veer off-track and get
mired in polarization and conflict. Similarly, the Region administers processes of
discipline with clergy, providing much-needed accountability so that those who lead
congregations can be at their very best as they engage in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
In the past year the Region has joined with the Tennessee Region to provide Colleague
Groups for ministers with a year-long focus on congregational transformation. Other
partners in this important ministry were Disciples Home Missions, Church Extension,
and the Oreon Scott Foundation.
In these ways, and many others, the Alabama-Northwest Florida Region engages in
meaningful work that addresses the priorities of the Church and gives witness to our
calling to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.
Recommended Action: The General Board receives the report from the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) in Alabama and Northwest Florida.