Agenda Volume 3 - Methodist Conference

57. The Fruitful Field Project
and Local Churches as they change
and grow as Christian communities of
faith, hope, love and mission.
5 The Conference last reviewed its
strategy in the fields of formation,
learning, training, theological
education, scholarship, research and
development in 2008, in the light
of decisions about the allocation
of resources made at the previous
meeting of the Conference in 2007. 1
In response to the timescales laid
down by the 2007 Conference,
a process of reassessment of
Methodist activities in these fields
was requested by the Conference in
2010. This process was named The
Fruitful Field, and an interim report
about The Fruitful Field project was
brought to the 2011 Conference. The
Conference tasked the Ministries
Committee with oversight of the
project during 2011/2012. The
Conference agreed a timeline
for activities during 2011/2012,
including an open consultation period,
and asked the Committee to report
to the 2012 Conference. This report
about The Fruitful Field offers the
Conference a comprehensive picture
of the issues at stake, a careful
exploration of the ways forward, as
well as the Committee’s developed
recommendations.
Section B: Our Starting Point
6 We start where many Methodists have
done, by reflecting upon scripture in
the light of our tradition as part of
the one Church of Christ and mindful
of our present experiences and
contexts in order to seek to discern
and pursue God’s will for us. The
New Testament is filled with material
pertinent to Christian believers and
Christian communities as they seek
to be faithful and obedient. For our
purposes here a good and appropriate
place to begin is with the twelfth
chapter of the letter to the Romans.
I appeal to you therefore,
brothers and sisters, by the
mercies of God, to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God, which
is your spiritual worship. Do not
be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewing
of your minds, so that you may
discern what is the will of God
– what is good and acceptable
and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I
say to everyone among you not
to think of yourself more highly
than you ought to think, but to
think with sober judgment, each
according to the measure of
faith that God has assigned.
For as in one body we have
many members, and not all
the members have the same
function, so we, who are many,
are one body in Christ, and
1 Stirring up the Spark of Grace: Connexional Training Strategies, Agenda 2008; Talking of God, Acting for God:
Report of the Training Institutions Review Group, Agenda 2007
646 Conference Agenda 2012