2013 Church Conference Cover Letter (PDF) - Minnesota Annual ...

Minnesota Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
Church Conference Forms
122 W. Franklin Ave. #400, Minneapolis, MN 55404
612-870-0058; info@minnesotaumc.org
August 14, 2013
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
What are we about as United Methodists At both the highest and most intimate levels, we are:
to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
And how does that happen Our direction comes from the three Gospel Imperatives as taught by Jesus:
Reach new people (the Great Commission, Matt. 28:18-20)
Cultivate spiritual vitality (the Great Commandment, Matt. 22:35-39)
Heal a broken world (the Great Proclamation, Luke 4:16-21)
Our Bishop and Cabinet pray for you as we seek to have a Holy Spirit breakthrough of revival and
renewal throughout the entire Minnesota Annual Conference. This is not a one-time event! Unleashing
new life means that we will never be the same, never satisfied with the status quo, never at peace until
we see the dead in body, mind, and spirit, raised to new life.
In the past year, we have seen the power of the Holy Spirit moving through the ministries of the United
Methodist Church to make disciples of Jesus Christ to transform the world. Each church, of course, can
have many different goals for their local area and ministry, but if the three Gospel Imperatives are not
reflected in those goals we are not in alignment with the Conference strategic mission.
We celebrate the success of our new church starts as they use multiple, creative ways to
connect or re-connect folks to a church community. We celebrate with every church where people
have come to profess their faith over the past year.
We celebrate with those who have found a renewed spirit through Bible study, recovery
ministries, and revitalized worship experiences, just to name a few. We celebrate lives transformed
and relationships deepened everywhere that has happened.
We celebrate the success of the global Imagine No Malaria initiative. We lead the
denomination in this effort to heal a broken world. We also celebrate the success of the almost
innumerable local outreach efforts that address the specific needs of each local church community.
Though the forms may look like it is all about our personal effort, the purpose of the Charge Conference
and forms are a time to name and claim those ways that the Spirit has broken through and unleashed
new life into your church, your community, and your own spirit. They are to be a time of sharing your
story of how your church is living out our Wesleyan Heritage of personal and social Holiness as well as
being a vital witness to the world. It’s all about Jesus’ Gospel Imperatives: reaching new people,

Minnesota Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church
Church Conference Forms
122 W. Franklin Ave. #400, Minneapolis, MN 55404
612-870-0058; info@minnesotaumc.org
cultivating spiritual vitality, and healing a broken world. The forms give an accounting—just as Jesus
gave an accounting to God in John 17. Where are you seeing the Holy Spirit moving in your ministry, lay
and clergy Where do you hope to see the Holy Spirit moving As you prepare for your Church
Conference, we encourage you to continue in prayer, trusting that God is working through you and
boldly uses you, no matter what the size of your church. (Jesus started with none, remember.)
The 2013 church conference checklist page outlines the forms to be completed and which require
action, holding us all accountable to God and to each other.
May God’s Spirit move through every one of us with Power and Grace.
Pam Serdar, Dean of the Cabinet