General Board Business Item #1205

Transcription

1 General Board Business Item #1205 Church Extension Financial & Missional Resources, Inc. (inclusive of Board of Church Extension dba Disciples Church Extension Fund, Erick D. Reisinger, President and Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation Gilberto Collazo, President) Erick D. Reisinger, Co-executive Gilberto Collazo, Co-executive 130 East Washington Street, P.O. Box 7030, Indianapolis IN Telephone (800) ; en español (866) ; FAX (317) Web sites On Jan. 1, 2012, the 129-year-old financial ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) previously known as Church Extension began a new leg in its life journey. Whereas, before the ministry operated primarily as one entity, now it serves Disciples and their churches as two independent, but interrelated entities that share a common goal of helping transform Disciples of Christ congregations into missionally centered and contextually relevant communities of faith. For the last several years, the organization has focused intensely on planning for new things or, at the very least, planning more effective ways of providing services that have been associated with the Church Extension name for many decades. Why? Simply put: because this is a time of massive change for our denomination for churches everywhere. As a faithful Disciples ministry, the former Church Extension decided it can either help congregations grow into living out God s mission or it can watch them continue to struggle and decline beyond a point of no return. The latter was not an option. After much research and experience gained from working with successful new churches and their leaders, the organization determined that if our congregations are to thrive, they must move away from operating in survival mode to preserve structures and unsustainable systems. Instead, they must use structures in new and different ways to prepare Disciples to go out into their communities to meet the needs of neighbors where and how they are. At the same time, we concluded from our research and experience that transformed and empowered leaders will be critical to forming and leading congregations through this challenging era of change.

2 Mobilizing Leadership Resources Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation It was not enough, however, to simply accept this reality. Ministry staff, directors and partners decided to act, to become change agents by serving congregations differently. So, in 2011, the former Church Extension put the pieces in place to form a new entity and approach to leadership and missional development Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation. The purpose of Hope Partnership is to work with all kinds of partners, such as Disciples Home Missions, Higher Education & Leadership Ministries (both of whom bring their leader development and scholarship opportunities and expertise to the table), regions, seminaries, and other congregational and constituency group partners to recruit, equip and support courageous leaders to implement congregational mission. Hope Partnership services include skill development events for new, transforming and emergent congregational leaders; peer learning groups; leader coaching; demographic and relocation services for congregations, ministry planning and New Beginnings Assessment Service. Especially important is that Hope Partnership also will carry the banner of the new church priority for our denomination through the development and support of new church planters, coaches and emerging church leaders. Developing and nurturing this network of partners to fully launch Hope Partnership services is no small feat. But, already staff sees signs of hope in the faces of leaders who are thirsty to lead in new and more effective ways. In the first DARE to Lead event (Discern; Assess; Recruit; Empower) in North Carolina, Hope Partnership worked with the North Carolina region to introduce more than 240 leaders from 44 congregations to the possibilities open to them if they are willing to commit to a process of leader development that will help them move their congregations forward in transformative ways. Hope Partnership is committed to taking the DARE to Lead tour to five or six more regions in 2012! Stewardship of Financial/Capital Resources Disciples Church Extension Fund At the same time the former Church Extension was planning the launch of Hope Partnership, it began revamping its traditional financial services to help congregations become better stewards of their financial and capital resources. Since 1883, the ministry s primary identity has been as the lending and investing arm of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), providing loans funded by individual and congregational Disciples investors to churches for new construction. That won t change. But, in this new century, far fewer churches are borrowing money to build new buildings. Instead, loan resources are needed to remodel facilities for new or different ministries, to relocate to sites or facilities that are better suited for a congregation s call to serve or as mission startup funding to respond to pressing needs in their communities. Most importantly, congregations need to find a lender who is better equipped than the local bank to

3 understand the unique role that church financing and building play in furthering God s work in the world. More than serving congregations with loans, Church Extension recognized that the importance of putting mission ahead of structure dictates helping congregations focus on intentional stewardship of their resources for the sake of mission a discipline that congregations can cultivate through the use of customized tools, such as capital fundraising and building planning services, and with the counsel of experienced financial and building advisors. To concentrate on delivering much needed financial savvy to congregations who require new ways to connect their financial and capital stewardship to mission, the former Church Extension consolidated its financial services building and capital planning, lending, investment services and capital fundraising services under one ministry with a unified focus and new name: Board of Church Extension dba Disciples Church Extension Fund. So, now here we are the same and yet different. What once was Board of Church Extension dba Church Extension is now the financial ministry called Disciples Church Extension Fund. And, other ministry services that Church Extension once provided, such as New Beginnings Assessment Service and oversight for New Church ministry, now roll into Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation, a network of partners, services and the new-church imperative that focuses on the critical work of missional and leadership development. General Church Relationship Church Extension Financial & Missional Resources As separate ministries, Disciples Church Extension Fund and Hope Partnership for Missional Transformation have their own staff and presidents Erick (Rick) D. Reisinger and Gilberto Collazo, respectively. That said, a third entity has been formed to enable the two ministries to report to the wider Church on their common work of helping to transform Disciples of Christ congregations into missionally centered and contextually relevant communities of faith. Church Extension Financial & Missional Resources, Inc. (CEFMR), with Rick Reisinger and Gilberto Collazo serving jointly as co-executives, becomes the general unit reporting to the wider Church, as Church Extension used to do. CEFMR staff provides essential administrative support to Disciples Church Extension Fund and Hope Partnership in the areas of Development, Financial Operations, Marketing, Human Resources, Information Technology, and ensures that both DCEF and Hope Partnership strive to contribute in positive ways to the vision of becoming an anti-racist/pro-reconciling Church. As it was with Church Extension, chief administrative officers and other officers are identified through the Disciples search process outlined in the Design. The General Board confirms directors of CEFMR, Hope Partnership and Disciples Church Extension Fund.

4 Even with these changes, Disciples Church Extension Fund endures as Church Extension has in the past as a secure and competitive place to invest, with ample money to loan. That stability, made possible by investors and generous donors, provides the foundation and confidence to create and pursue a new and independent direction in Hope Partnership, while at the same time providing the lending, building planning and capital fundraising services through Disciples Church Extension Fund that congregations have come to expect and depend on through the years. Recommended Action: The General Board receives the report from Church Extension Financial and Missional Resources.

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