The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Evangelism and Church Planting presented its Report #2 on Resolution A096 (Develop Sustainable Congregational Revitalization Ministries) and moved adoption with amendment.

Original Text of Resolution:

(A066)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,

That the 80th General Convention and the Episcopal Church celebrates and actively supports the revitalization of congregations, seeking not to restore past glories, but to move into the new callings of our loving, liberating, life-giving God; and be it further

Resolved, That the Church continues to prioritize the revitalization of congregations and a church-wide network of support for congregational revitalization work that was initiated by GC2018-A032; and be it further

Resolved, That in the revitalization of congregations, the Church continues to prioritize commitment to mission and evangelism engaging under-represented groups, including youth and young adults, disabled persons, members of LGBTQIA communities, BIPOC communities, poor and working-class people, people with a high-school diploma or less, and/or people with little or no church background or involvement; and be it further

Resolved, That the budget for development of sustainable congregational revitalization throughout the Church will be $2,000,000 for 2022-2024 to be allocated as follows:

• $100,000 to engage Bishops and the diocesan representative(s) they appoint in development of a framework for congregational revitalization, identifying roadblocks that regularly thwart this work and identifying resources that are proven to enhance this work;
• $100,000 to engage clergy and lay leaders in gleaning learnings from congregational revitalization that they have successfully done and/or they have failed in attempts to do, identifying roadblocks that have thwarted their work and identifying resources that have enhanced their work;
• $100,000 for translation services and to facilitate participation of Spanish-speaking lay and ordained leaders in training for congregational revitalization;
• $200,000 for further development of five-phase congregational redevelopment strategy - (1) diagnosing/assessing resources and challenges, (2) discerning next calling, (3) connecting with local and diocesan partners, (4) iterating and continued resourcing, and (5) evaluating, refining and sustaining
• $1,000,000 to support a team of local and regional church-wide office staff to oversee the work; and
• $500,000 to provide mentorship/coaching/training for lay and ordained leaders in revitalization of their congregations.

And be it further

Resolved, That the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget allocation of $2,000,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

Committee Amendment:

That the 80th General Convention and the Episcopal Church celebrates and actively supports the revitalization of congregations, seeking not to restore past glories, but to move into the new callings of our loving, liberating, life-giving God; and be it further

Resolved, That the Church continues to prioritize the revitalization of congregations and a church-wide network of support for congregational revitalization work that was initiated by GC2018-A032; and be it further

Resolved, the Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies establish an advisory group of not more than twelve (12) people, consisting of those with experience in revitalizing congregations, diocesan oversight of such work, working with evangelism and mission, to carry out provisions of this resolution, including making recommendations to Executive Council about grants to be awarded, helping to identify potential revitalizers, and developing a network of coaches, and working with staff on training church revitalizers; and be it further

Resolved, That in the revitalization of congregations, the Church continues to prioritize commitment to mission and evangelism engaging under-served and/or under-represented groups, including youth and young adults, disabled persons, members of LGBTQIA communities, BIPOC communities, poor and working-class people, people with a high-school diploma or less, and/or people with little or no church background or involvement by the Church, for example, people of color, immigrants and refugees, youth, young adults, people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (LGBTQI+), gender non-conforming people, people living in poverty, people with disabilities and/or all others who are disenfranchised from the Church; and be it further

Resolved, That the budget for development of sustainable congregational revitalization throughout the Church will be $2,000,000 for 2022-2024 to be allocated as follows:

• $100,000 to engage Bishops and the diocesan representative(s) they appoint in development of a framework for congregational revitalization, identifying roadblocks that regularly thwart this work and identifying resources that are proven to enhance this work;
• $100,000 to engage clergy and lay leaders in gleaning learnings from congregational revitalization that they have successfully done and/or they have failed in attempts to do, identifying roadblocks that have thwarted their work and identifying resources that have enhanced their work;
• $100,000 for translation services and to facilitate participation of Spanish-speaking lay and ordained leaders in training for congregational revitalization;
• $200,000 for further development of five-phase congregational redevelopment strategy - (1) diagnosing/assessing resources and challenges, (2) discerning next calling, (3) connecting with local and diocesan partners, (4) iterating and continued resourcing, and (5) evaluating, refining and sustaining
• $1,000,000 to support a team of local and regional church-wide office staff to oversee the work; and
• $500,000 to provide mentorship/coaching/training for lay and ordained leaders in revitalization of their congregations.

And be it further

Resolved, That the General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance consider a budget allocation of $2,000,000 for the implementation of this resolution.

Motion carried

Resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #31)