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Congregational Development - CD

Welcome to

Congregational Development


Congregational Development is a holistic approach to the development and growth of a congregations ministries, participation, and impact on its community and world.  Merging the studies of missions, evangelism, leadership, discipleship, and organizational development, Congregational Development seeks to extend the Gospel of Christ by supporting the work of congregations of Christians in their core tasks of making more and better disciples and having a greater and deeper impact on the world.


ACT 242 - 2009 New England School of Congregational Development 
www.newenglandschool.org


Get started! 

You will find much of the information, materials and resources you need right here on the site!  Here is an overview of the Congregational Development areas - click on one of the links below:

What we do 

The work of Congregational Development is organized into three areas, depending on the lifecycle of the congregation.  Local congregations were not created to last forever, and they move through regular cycles of growth, leveling off, decline, and revitalization.  The work of Congregational Development is divided into three areas:

  • starting new churches,
  • supporting and revitalizing existing churches, and
  • shepherding churches in decline and crisis

Resources for congregational development 

The work of developing congregations is supported in the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church through five areas of resourcing:

 

1.  District Superintendents

District Superintendents can be a fount of helpful advice and guidance, and their support and permission is necessary for most development activities.  Keep them up to speed through regular and helpful communication, and involve them in praying for the work of your church.


2.  Conference and District Congregational Development Teams

Our connectional structure has teams of people prepared to resource local churches in their work.  These teams on the Conference level include:

  • New Church Starts Committee
  • Local Church Transformation Team
  • Town & Country Committee (Small and Rural Churches)
  • Urban Ministries Committee
  • District Congregational Development Ministry Area Teams

3,  Office of Congregational Development

This office is basically the work of our Director of Congregational Development, Curtis Brown.  He is committed to spending at least 1/2 of his time working directly with local churches, so feel free to call him out when you think he can be useful.  Curtis is also available for conversation about congregations, leadership or organizational questions:


      Curtis Brown
      Director of Congregational Development
      978-682-8055 ext. 210 
      curtis@neumc.org


4.  Parish Consultant Network

The Parish Consultant Network provides an independent pool of experienced consultants to local, district and regional church bodies.  This group has been a primary resource for congregational development for many years, and they continue to play a critical role in developing our churches. Contact Evelyn Johnson Moore, the coordinator, to begin an assessment and work process with our consultants.

        Evelyn Johnson Moore
        Parish Consultant Coordinator
        978-263-1059
        ejohnsonmoore@comcast.net

5.  Denominational, Connectional and General Board Resources
Many denominational resources are available to support local churches.  You can find many of the United Methodist resources online at:
    Path 1 Center for New Churches - www.path1.org
    The General Board of Global Ministries -  www.gbgm-umc.org
    The Genral Board of Discipleship - www.gbod.org
    Igniting Ministries - www.ignitingministry.org & Rethinkchurch.org




___________________________________________________________________
congregational development office      978-682-8055 ext 210      curtis@neumc.org