Diocesan Development ProgramPhase 2 Plansto be presented at Council 2005We have done well, but there is still much to do, especially in the area of New Church Starts. Fewer than a third of the 4 million people living in our Diocese are people like you and me, people who have a church home. Another 30 percent have left their church, and 40 percent have never known the love and security of a Christian community. The missionary challenges right outside our doors remain unmistakable. We must seize the extraordinary opportunities given us by God to grow His church. We must live out our singular character as missionary people. And so, even as we celebrate our success to date, we have already begun the process of developing Phase Two of the Diocesan Development Program to be presented at Council 2005. In it we will refocus our dedication of time and money especially on our New Church Starts program, declaring this our top priority. At the same time we must now consider how to help effectively several of our parishes and missions to renew their passion, restart their programming, or even to relocate to another site. ...we will refocus our dedication of time and money especially on our New Church Starts program, declaring this our top priority. Of course, we will continue to expand the vision we have for our diocesan institutions of Camp Capers, Mustang Island Conference Center, and Texas Military Institute (our diocesan school). We are also investigating ways to replicate Good Samaritan Centers across our diocese, even as we examine opportunities available for the creation of a Youth Ministry Training Program in San Marcos in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. New possibilities are open for us as we consider ways to train and grow our next generation of servant leaders to carry forward our tradition of being a determined missionary people. And finally, it is time to claim anew our Mission Integrity by creating a World Mission Endowment structure. We - right now, right here in this place |