General Board
Title:
Business Item #GB-14-0850
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)
Youth Ministries Staff Person - Nisha Warbington (female)
Administrative Assistant/Office Manager - Susan Henderson (female)
Number of Congregations:
60 (including one congregation-in-formation)
Total members:
6,909 (per 2013 Year Book and Directory)
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 six new congregations that have been established in
the past decade, along with one additional congregation-in-formation that we have
currently. Our committee that gives oversight to new congregational establishment will
make a formal recommendation in February to start another new congregation in 2014.
Our work with congregational transformation continues as we offer support and
assistance with a variety of approaches to congregational transformation. The Region
has awarded matching grants to congregations that have partnered with Hope
Partnership to participate in The Journey, a two-year process that seeks to equip leaders
to be agents of transformation in the congregation. Other congregations have employed
the services of consultants and/or coaches as they seek transformation.
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 efforts to establish Colleague Groups has brought great results
as clergy leaders become more informed and better equipped to give leadership in their
ministry settings. Our commitment to anti-racism/pro-reconciliation is strong and is
evidenced by the involvement of our clergy in required anti-racism education and the
involvement of our congregations and lay leaders in building “true community,” crossing
unnecessary barriers created by racism.
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. In particular, the Region’s formal partnership with two groups
in Honduras has helped the Region maintain its global commitment.
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 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/Northwest Florida.