reach the world equipping servant leaders OUR MISSION COVENANT The Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church

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1 reach the world equipping servant leaders OUR MISSION COVENANT The Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church 2015

2 Eli Ministry How can we help our youth discern God s calling in their lives? The taskforce that worked on the recently awarded Young Clergy Initiative grant from the General Church answered this question by looking to the story of Samuel s call (I Samuel 3). From this story, we see that Samuel hears and responds to God s call through engaging in ministry and having Eli as a mentor. We proposed an Eli ministry whose purpose is to help high school and college-aged young people discern their call to lay or ordained ministry through structured events and ministry opportunities within a mentoring community based on this biblical example. In 2015, we will host two regional retreats for high school students discerning a call into ministry. The retreats also lay groundwork for ministry grants funded by the Young Clergy Initiative of the General Church, for those ages who want to initiate a ministry in their local church. Our goal with these mentored retreats is to equip our youth to hear God s call and respond, Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.

3 Camping Ministries Each year, dozens of pastors come to Loucon s Kittinger Cottage for rest and renewal. The Kittinger Cottage has been utilized as a pastor retreat extensively since its completion in Everyone s evaluations of the cottage have been very positive. It has been an affirming influence on the lives and health of those pastors and their families. It is our hope that Loucon will host 40 to 50 pastor retreats this year, and that it will be a wonderful resource for our pastors for many years to come. Thank you for making this possible. Thank you for seeing the need in the lives of our pastors. This will be a blessing to our guests, their families, and the congregations they serve. Warren Hopper, Director of Camp Loucon I finally got away for an overnight retreat at the Kittinger Cottage and I am so glad I did! What a gift Loucon s Kittinger Cottage is to the ministers of our ocnference! Rev. Jim Robinson, Brandenburg UMC

4 The average new church start will bring 6-8 times more new people into the congregation than an established congregation of the same size. New Church Development New Church Development, first and foremost, is a faithful response to God s redemptive act in Christ Jesus and not primarily a strategy for denominational growth or survival; however, we believe starting new faith communities will help revitalize existing congregations and our entire denomination. Denominations that are growing plant churches at a rate of two percent. That would mean starting 16 new UM faith communities every year in Kentucky. At one time, between 1870 and 1920, we were doing so, but since then have fallen to reaching less than 3% of the population. Kentucky United Methodists have the goal of planting 46 new faith communities in this quadrennium ( ). We believe this strategy for reaching new people may be the most effective means of evangelism we have, and we are seeing potential increases in attendance, professions of faith, young people, and diversity within our conference as a result. We are grateful for your prayerful support of introducing these new faith communities to new and diverse groups all over Kentucky.

5 Young adults are often living away from home for the first time when they arrive on one of the 10 Kentucky college campuses represented by our Campus Ministries. The seven Wesley Foundations and three campus ministers are in ministry to 800 students on a weekly basis. These ministries extend throughout the campus life, impacting 1,000 additional students each week. Students from Kentucky Campus Ministries dedicated their spring break to service with urban ministry centers in St. Louis, Haitian orphans, and home repair projects. They even served on Florida beaches! Rather than lying on the beach, these young adults prayed with fellow college students and provided free, safe transportation which reduced the risk of others drinking and driving and offered a church on wheels. It was awesome to see God working even in the craziest of places. I also realized that without grace, I would be on the other side of this trip. Emily, College Junior Wesley Foundations

6 Our Mission Covenant Through Our Mission Covenant we join together in Reaching the World and Equipping Servant Leaders. Each local church is invited to a covenant of 13% of operating income. This is a reduction from 15% in recent years and results in over $1,000,000 remaining in local churches throughout Kentucky. Not every dollar received by the local church is part of the Mission Covenant calculation only operating income. Amounts received for capital campaigns, amounts that support debt retirement, and special offerings for mission projects beyond the local church are excluded. On the next page, you will see how your 13% will be used in Kentucky and in Reaching the World. For more information on the ministries of Kentucky United Methodist Churches, please see the report from the Council on Finance and Administration in the 2014 Journal. We join together in Reaching the World and Equipping Servant Leaders.

7 Our Mission Covenant How is our 13% used? New Church Development Starting new faith communities throughout the Kentucky Conference is the work of New Church Development. Their work is carried out in rural and urban areas using district teams. $812,000 Over 86 of every dollar supports local church ministries. Connectional Ministries The support of Higher Education and Campus Ministries, Camping and Retreat Ministries, Urban Ministries and our age level ministry programs is the responsibility of the Connectional Ministries Team. $1,700,000 4% 8% 1% Board of Ordained Ministry and Primary Task Discovering, developing, sending, and supervising pastors for the health and vitality of the local church is the collective work of the Board of Ordained Ministries and Primary Task Teams. $1,930,000 87% Stewardship and Administration The Stewardship and Administration team is responsible for finance and operations, and administers healthcare and retirement plans of active clergy. $864,000 Annual Conference The gathering of clergy and laity of the Kentucky United Methodist Church for worshipful work and our yearly business meeting. $176,000 United Methodist Church beyond the Kentucky Conference Kentucky United Methodists are part of a connectional 8 million member global church. Beyond Kentucky, we join in ministry with the Southeastern Jurisdiction and the worldwide United Methodist Church, making disciples of Jesus Christ for transformation of the world. $2,477,000 Local Church Ministries 87% Districts 1% Annual Conference Ministries 8% General Church & SEJ Apportionments 4%

8 reach the world equipping servant leaders The Kentucky Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church 7400 Floydsburg Road, Crestwood, KY (502) or (800) Bishop Lindsey Davis Joni Way, Conference Treasurer & Director of Administrative Services