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Mission
Our mission is to assist the Mississippi Annual Conference in fulfilling
its mission of “making disciples
of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
Vision
The vision of the Mississippi Annual Conference’s Parish and Community
Ministries Servant Leadership table is rooted in Acts 2:42-47 – to seek
to become an annual conference where through our teaching, fellowship,
breaking of bread, sharing and through praising God, we participate in
God’s plan of Salvation.
Theme
“Transforming people, transforming churches and transforming
communities for the transformation of the world”
The former Office of Congregational Development has been
replaced by the Parish and Community Development Ministries on the
Spiritual Leadership table (PCDM). This change aligns our conference
with the 2004 Book of Discipline:
The annual conference
shall establish
a committee on Parish and Community Development…The committee shall
include persons involved in significant type of parish and community
ministries, lay and clergy representation of rural town…urban,
small-membership churches consulting with…them in cooperative planning
and strategy and encouraging and supporting the development of new and
established congregations, etc.
(2004 Book of Discipline ¶632.5)
Neville Vanderburg was selected to serve as chairman of the PCDM. In his
role Vanderburg states "This is a transformational effort to assist our annual conference in
attaining the vision outlined in Acts 2:42-47.
We want to ensure that through our teaching, fellowship, breaking
of bead, sharing, and worshiping God, we are truly transforming people,
transforming our churches, and transforming our communities in order to
transform the world."
PCDM is functionally organized around two broad areas of
responsibility: the Small Membership Church – chaired by Lauren Porter
and
Church Revitalization – chaired by Andy Stoddard. Embra
Jackson, Administrative Assistant to the Bishop,
provides staff oversight to the PCDM and ensures their efforts are in
harmony with other annual conference activities.
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