That bear witness to the in-breaking Kingdom of God. This shapes the way we think about our lives, our churches, and our leadership. It has implications for what we do on a daily basis, how we communicate with one another, how we teach and resolve conflict, and even how we think about suffering. Our goal isn’t to replicate ourselves, gain attention and influence, or become powerful; it is to show the world around us what God’s reign means.
When we talk about building healthy and thriving Christian congregations, what do we mean? Is there anything about healthy churches and healthy leadership that’s distinctly Christian?
Yes: the end.
When we speak of the the end of our churches and of the leadership of those churches , we’re speaking of the telos, the goal, the purpose—of leadership. The end is what shapes Christian leadership. The end is what makes it uniquely Christian. And the end is what forms our ideas of what thriving communities look like.
Our end is to cultivate thriving communities that bear witness to the in-breaking reign of God that Jesus announces and embodies, in all that we do and are. That is our goal: Christian communities that are a picture of and testament to God’s reign.
We have identified four needs in the care of our clergy:
Our strategy for clergy care involves both proactive and responsive approaches to meeting these needs:
Supporting the overall wellbeing of our clergy through a variety of initiatives meant to encourage and nurture them in their lives and ministry so they can flourish. This includes: annual clergy days; annual wellbeing assessments with one of our bishops; and consistent check-ins with bishops, bishop’s chaplain, and deanery care.
Responding to clergy in our diocese who are in need and seeking care on their own initiative. This includes: connecting clergy to spiritual direction paid for by the diocese; companioning clergy in need of pastoral ministry, prayer support, and encouragement; financial support in emergencies.
Throughout Anglican Church history, annual parish visits by the bishops of dioceses have been customary. The purpose of these visits is fundamentally pastoral and relational—a time when the bishop, clergy, and congregation can come together around the spiritual and strategic needs of each church community.
Our Bishops consider it a great privilege and blessing to visit parishes each year. This is a highlight of their ministry—central to their desire to serve our clergy and churches—and, we pray, a highlight for our churches and their clergy as well.
The mission of the Diocesan Prayer Ministry is to empower, encourage, and equip the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Christ our Hope for the ministry of prayer.
We long to be a people of prayer on a journey of intimacy and union with God, growing into the fullness of Christ, and increasing cooperation with the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
This team consists of prayer ministers from each Deanery who intercede for deanery and diocesan prayer needs. The Deanery Prayer Team will also intercede for the calendar of events in each deanery and the diocese. They will pray for the mission of diocese by praying regularly for new church plants. We will also look to this team to help create and distribute cycles of prayer for our diocese to ensure our churches and clergy, as well as our mission, are being prayed for on a consistent and regular basis.
This consists of prayer leaders from our diocese who have been recognized by our clergy. They work with the Bishops and Diocesan Council to identify and pray for the unique needs of the diocese. These prayer warriors cover the mission of our diocese in prayer, joining our leaders ‘in the spirit’ as they forge ahead to break new and hard ground for the Gospel. They also pray for for the spiritual wellbeing of our diocese and protection from spiritual attack.
Interested in Joining a Prayer Team?