A meeting of leaders of the largest Church of the Brethren congregations, in terms of in-person worship attendance, is being convened by Discipleship and Leadership Formation on Feb. 23-25 in Orlando, Fla. Spouses of the leaders also were invited.
Bethany Theological Seminary is helping to sponsor the gathering. Bethany president Jeff Carter will lead a session and be present throughout. General secretary David Steele will attend by Zoom and bring greetings.
“I am looking forward to learning more about all these churches,” said Nate Polzin, executive director of Discipleship and Leadership Formation, who is a main organizer. He reported that congregations were invited to send representatives by their worship attendance figures.
“Having an average in-person attendance for worship of 200 or more puts a congregation in the group,” said Polzin. “There were a couple other churches that either did not respond to the invitation or chose not to send someone.”
Nine of the 12 congregations that were invited are expected to send leaders to the gathering:
— Ephrata (Pa.) Church of the Brethren
— Lancaster (Pa.) Church of the Brethren
— Liberty Mills (Ind.) Church of the Brethren
— Mechanic Grove Church of the Brethren in Quarryville, Pa.
— Miami (Fla.) Haitian Church of the Brethren (Eglise des Freres Haitiens)
— Mill Creek Church of the Brethren in Port Republic, Va.
— Mount Hermon Church of the Brethren in Bassett, Va.
— Parker Ford Church of the Brethren in Pottstown, Pa.
— Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren in Decatur, Ind.
Polzin said that some of these congregations are the result of mergers with other Church of the Brethren congregations or with congregations from outside of the denomination. “I think all of these churches are multi-staff, most are navigating challenges that come with growth, and several have initiated new ministries recently,” he said. “Also, many of these churches are multi-cultural and bi-lingual, or at least they have many non-native English speakers.”
A questionnaire to help set the agenda for the meeting included the following questions, among others:
— What would you most like to get out of this time together with other leaders of large churches?
— What two things have helped you most as a leader this past year?
— What is the biggest strength of your church?
— How has your church changed over the past five years?
— What are the biggest struggles your church is facing right now?
— What three books would you recommend to other leaders?
— What is one ministry adaptation/innovation that has been fruit bearing in the last three years?
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