Celebrate and Reaffirm Our Commitment Towards The Vision of Church Planting

NO. 0917

Adopted

(OPERATIONAL BUSINESS ITEM)

CELEBRATE AND REAFFIRM OUR COMMITMENT TOWARD
THE VISION OF CHURCH PLANTING

WHEREAS, the Biblical witness of scripture calls us toward "making disciples" in the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and in the practice of the early church as it spread throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, the historical record of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) demonstrates a practice of spreading the gospel through the formation and adoption of new congregations since our very inception; and

WHEREAS, our formative documents within our church demonstrate a long-term commitment to evangelism and acceptance of the mantle of "...our mission of witness and service to all people"¹; and

WHEREAS, our church has adopted a vision of being a "faithful, growing church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian Spirituality and a passion for Justice" (Micah 6:8)²; and

WHEREAS, we have adopted our Mission "To be and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving and serving from our doorsteps "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8)³; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly has adopted the 2020 vision of establishing 1,000 new congregations by the year 2020; and

WHEREAS, we have repeatedly reaffirmed our commitment toward establishing new Disciples congregations in General Assemblies since 1969; and

WHEREAS, Disciples celebrate the planting of more than 600 new and affiliating congregations since 2001 with more than 80 percent of these congregations chartered or still in formation; and

WHEREAS, Disciples new congregations represent tremendous growth in the racial/ethnic diversity of our church, allowing Disciples to look more reflective of the face of America; and

WHEREAS, Disciples have depended on the service and commitment of more than 600 new church pastors, who have sacrificed personally in the establishment of these new congregations with little financial backing from denominational sources; and

WHEREAS, Disciples have supported new congregations by an average of only $3,500 per congregation each year through our offerings and Regional support, with only half of all existing Disciple congregations supporting the Pentecost offering; and

WHEREAS, new congregations of the past 20 years represent the most growth and giving towards our common mission fund and the greatest number of new additions and baptisms of all our congregations⁴; and

WHEREAS, there are still four states in the United States without a Disciples congregation and 25 metropolitan areas in North America that do not have a Disciples presence⁵; and

WHEREAS, sixty-five percent of the U.S. population still does not live near a Disciples congregation⁶;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) celebrates at this assembly that the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has welcomed more than 600 new and affiliating congregations that are listed in this docket; and

FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED that this assembly will encourage the church to fulfill its long-term mission - not only in word, but in deed - to form more congregations through financial support, congregationally initiated projects, the recruitment and training of gifted planters, and prayerful support of robust Disciples church planting.

New Church Ministry

The General Board recommends that the General Assembly
ADOPT Business Item No. 0917. (Debate time: 12 minutes)

1 The Design of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

2 The Mission Imperative of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

3 The Mission Imperative of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

4 The Yearbook

5 The Yearbook

6 PERCEPT