The Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Conference has a few updates about the RMC’s Transition Period. Please read the letter below to learn more, and, if you’re a local church pastor, please be sure to sign up here for a session of Stewarding Our Future.
Nearly a year ago, as we imagined what it might look like to walk through a Conference Minister transition period, we outlined a process with a herculean task: to be in conversation with each of our nearly 70 churches to understand who you are, what ministry looks like in your context, and where the heartbeat of your church lies. We knew it was a big undertaking, but having one-on-one conversations with each church has been more difficult than we’ve imagined.
When we look at our commitment to bringing you a new Conference Minister candidate at the 2027 Annual Celebration and consider the rest of the body of work before us, it has become clear that those one-on-one conversations might have been a bit aspirational and beyond our current capacity.
So, we’re pivoting. A few weeks ago, we reached out to all local churches with an invitation for pastors and up to two lay leaders to join us for a 1-hour Zoom session in the first two weeks of February. In these sessions, we’ll aim to discuss both missional and financial priorities, and seek to hear about other related issues or desires that you wish to raise as we move forward. We’ll also be sharing a bit about where we go from here. (If you’re a local church pastor and haven’t signed up for a session yet, please do so via this link. If none of our current session times work for you, please reach out to Melissa at admin@rmcucc.org so that we can arrange another time to talk.)
In February, the Board will be assembling a Profile Team whose role will be to bring you a draft profile by Annual Celebration. If that’s something you’re interested in being a part of, you may submit names for consideration to our search coordinator, Laura Gurney (laura@firstconggreeley.org) by February 10.
We’ve also charged the Nominating Committee with beginning to assemble a Search Team, in accordance with our bylaws. If that’s something you’re interested in being a part of, you may submit names for consideration to our Nominating Committee Chair, Kari Collins (pastorkaricollins@gmail.com) by February 15.
We continue to examine and evaluate other transitional priorities, as outlined in our Transition Plan that was adopted at the 2024 Annual Celebration. In particular, right now we are looking at some of the priorities we’ve named around technical and systems work, and are also engaging in work around balancing staffing dreams and budgetary realities.
The truth is this: we’ve set ambitious and lofty goals for a 3-year transition period in which we’re also doing the day-to-day sustaining work of the Conference. But we are faithfully asking hard questions and discerning the work that God is calling the Conference to as we look toward the future. Whether or not this work is complete in mid-2027 is yet to be seen, but we are undertaking it faithfully, trusting that moving slowly leaves space for us to listen to Spirit’s nudge.
Your encouragement and prayers are always appreciated. And if you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and come alongside us in the work, we’d love to have you. Thank you for taking a moment to read this message.
Sincerely,
The Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Conference
