East Coast Conference Unveils 2020 Vision Plan

Post a Comment » Written on May 5th, 2008     
Filed under: News
CROMWELL, CT (May 5, 2008) – Delegates to the East Coast Conference Annual Meeting celebrated winds of change over the weekend as they adopted an ambitious long-range vision plan, rolled out a new logo, welcomed a new church, and installed a new assistant superintendent.

LogoThe 101 delegates from 51 of the 68 conference churches met Saturday at The Children’s Home and unanimously approved the 2020 Vision plan that was unveiled by the Conference Revisioning Task Force.

The vision plan outlines benchmarks (goals) that include:
•    More than 100 congregations
•    Dozens of dynamic new churches in every state and the District of Columbia
•    Five thousand new followers of Jesus being discipled
•    Churches doubling the number of people they serve outside their congregations
•    Growing ethnic and cultural diversity
•    Churches and districts partnering together in local ministries and global mission
•    Regionally expanded Christian camping and spiritual retreat ministries.

Looking to make the benchmarks a reality, delegates approved a 2009 budget of $719,237, which is a 15 percent increase over current spending. A new strategic giving initiative seeks “direct household support of both church planting and general conference support by 100 percent of households in the conference each year,” according to Superintendent Howard Burgoyne.

During the Friday night worship service celebrated at Bethany Covenant Church in Berlin, Connecticut, Burgoyne unveiled the new conference motto and logo. The slogan, “…on the move” is rooted in the understanding that the East Coast Conference is a “movement of God,” Burgoyne said.

The logo depicts an America’s Cup sailboat under full sail. “We are a movement of God – that means we must be on the move with him,” Burgoyne said. “All living things were created to move; if we’re not moving, we must be dead.”

Burgoyne said the word “move” will frame future emphases of the conference:
M – multiplying congregations by planting new churches
O – orchestrating ministries by connecting churches for shared mission
V- vitalizing congregations by coaching leaders towards renewal
E – empowering leaders by building a trustworthy culture of Christian leadership

Evidence of the conference’s commitment already was evident, as delegates adopted one congregation and introduced three new church planting missions. Delegates approved the adoption of Paradise-Holtzschwamm Covenant Church of Thomasville, Pennsylvania. Conference leaders also highlighted new church planting projects in Harlem, New York; Brookline, Massachusetts; and Sanford, Maine.

Peter Sung, who was installed as the new associate superintendent, will lead the church planting and vitalization efforts. He previously was senior pastor of Queenswest Covenant Church in Queens, New York. To read a previous online Covenant news story about the new associate superintendent, see Sung.

Even the format of the conference was new this year. For the first time, workshops for church leaders were held on Friday.

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