Report of the Assistant to the Bishop- Mission Catalyst ELCA Director for Evangelical Mission (DEM) Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. Go forth without fear, for the One who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. St. Clare of Assisi PURPOSE As Mission Catalyst, I lead the Gulf Coast Synod in starting new churches, invigorating and renewing existing ministries, and cultivating generosity, hospitality and diversity. OUR SYNOD S MISSIONS AND REDEVELPOMENTS As part of the ELCA, our synod has several designations for congregations in various stages of mission development or redevelopment. We also have our own synodical designations. Currently, our synod has 12 ministries in development or redevelopment: Congregations Under Development (CUDs) Officially-designated ELCA congregations and ministries being developed. Mesa Abierta New Orleans, Louisiana The Rev. Rachel Ringlaben Order of Lutheran Franciscans Dispersed Community Brother Chris Markert
Synodically Authorized Worshipping Communities (SAWCs) Synod-approved missions, preaching points, probes, and experiments. Agape Cleveland, Texas The Rev. Dennis Shaw Umoja Houston, Texas Mr. Absalom Nusawe, TEEM Sagrado corazón Pasadena, Texas The Rev. Adriana Johnson-Rivas Redevelopments Congregations and communities officially designated as Redevelopments by the ELCA or Synod. Bethlehem New Orleans, Louisiana The Rev. Ben Groth Covenant Houston, Texas Newly Approved Gethsemane Chalmette, Louisiana The Rev. Sandra Barnes Memorial Drive Houston, Texas The Rev. Will Storm Spirit of Joy The Woodlands, Texas The Rev. David Hansen St. James/Santiago Apóstol Houston, Texas The Rev. Arthur Murphy The Rev. Alejandro Montes Revitalizing Congregations Congregations that have chosen to enter an intentional process of revitalization. Lakeside League City, Texas The Rev. Cheryl Lamaak Restarts Congregations that have closed and restarted as new missions designated by the synod. Kindred Houston, Texas The Rev. Ashley Dellagiacoma Other Mission Highlights: Our Synod financially supports Faith-Bellaire s Faith Chinese Fellowship (The Rev. Junfeng Tan, Mission Leader). We have two congregations in discernment about birthing new missions, including a new Latinx ministry. We have one congregation in discernment about Redevelopment.
All Saints- Stafford: Sometimes, part of mission includes the difficult process of concluding that an existing ministry is no longer viable. In April, the remaining members of All Saints in Stafford, Texas voted to faithfully close. In turn, they have passed their property and assets to the Synod for use in future mission. We have appointed a Team of Trustees to help manage and make decisions concerning these assets. PILOT PROGRAM Our synod is in its third year in a pilot program to experiment with new ways of supporting local mission and growing mission support. This pilot program includes five synods that are designated to retain the portion of mission support that the synod sends to churchwide that returns back to us in the form of mission grants and salary for the synod mission leader. Together with the other pilot synods, we continue to learn some important things during this pilot. Across the pilot synods, we have learned that we: are able to more quickly get funds into mission; are able to create contextual ministry covenants, systems of accountability, and expectations for new missions and redevelopments; have more ownership of new missions because we see the direct relationship that is created through the grants that are allocated; are able to re-imagine how we do mission leadership training beyond the basic training provided through the ELCA; have significantly less bureaucracy (i.e. paperwork) to do on a weekly, monthly and annual basis; and engage across synods to re-imagine how to do mission. As we finish out the third year of the three-year pilot, all five synods have requested that the pilot be extended. The Directors for Evangelical Mission and the Bishops of these synods are in agreement. Rather to reverting to old ways, we are asking that we continue this pilot, and perhaps expand it to other synods. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH LEAD We are proud to partner with LEAD in providing resources to congregations seeking to grow in missional vitality and leadership. The Synod Mission Table has authorized $10,000 towards grants for congregations seeking to participate in LEAD cohorts or events. Currently, the Coastal Bay Conference (Rev. Richard Rhodes, Conference Dean) is participating in a conference pilot with LEAD, and we are using a portion of these grant funds to help allay the cost for participating congregations. Please contact me directly if you would like more information about these LEAD grants.
GENEROSITY Thank you to all the congregations that have provided their mission support estimate for this fiscal year. This is so very helpful to the synod office, as we work to be good stewards of our resources. If you haven t yet sent your 2018 mission support, you can do so online at: http://gulfcoastsynod.org/congregations/stewardship/estimate/ Also, the Gulf Coast Synod has joined the Delaware-Maryland Synod and LEAD in applying for a Stewardship of Life Institute (SOLI) Grant to initiate a stewardship pilot project. Our goal is to empower emerging church leaders to explore, experiment and maximize resources to address stewardship challenges including time, talent and resources. To further enhance stewardship ministries throughout our synods, we plan to offer an intensive flexible learning module focused on equipping first call pastors and deacons, and strategic congregational lay leaders actively focused on stewardship, generosity and mission planning. We will develop a 5-tier training series to be implemented over an 18-month period, beginning at the end of 2018. More information to come soon. MISSION PARTNERS We are excited about the network of partnerships between and among congregations that support new missions and redevelopments. We continue to challenge every single congregation to be a mission partner with a new mission or redevelopment. This commitment is for one year and includes the following minimum expectations: Pray at least once a month for your mission partner during worship; Encourage members of your congregation to worship at least once during the year with your mission partner; and Give a financial gift to your mission partner. This can be as simple as a special one-time offering during worship or adding the mission partner to your budget, for example. The amount does not matter; the relationship does. These are only the basic expectations for mission partner. You can also do joint fellowship or service events, swap pulpits, engage in joint ministry the sky is the limit! For more information visit: https://gulfcoastsynod.org/congregations/new-missions/companion/
SYNOD MISSION TABLE The Synod Mission Table s purpose is to tend to the collective work of mission in our synod. The Mission Table s responsibilities include: Allocating grants for missions and redevelopments; leading the synod in discerning potential new mission starts; participating in ministry reviews for new missions and redeveloping and revitalizing ministries, and providing leadership in the area of growing generosity, hospitality, and diversity. The current members of our Synod Mission Table include Pastor Adriana Johnson-Rivas, Jason Thomas and Deaconess Jennifer Tinker. For 2018, the Synod Mission Table allocated $157,500 to support 7 new missions and ministries and 5 redevelopments, as well as providing funds for leadership training. We also allocated nearly $50,000 of unused pilot funds from the previous two years to support existing ministries, specifically Mesa Abierta and Bethlehem in New Orleans. THANK YOU! It is a holy honor and a privilege to serve you as your Mission Catalyst. I thank you all for being open to the Holy Spirit, who is constantly on the move in the church for the sake of Jesus Christ. I rejoice in your prayers and your generous support for the work we do together as the church. Thank you! To God be the Glory! Chris Markert, Mission Catalyst