Research Shows Support for Four Areas of Focus

NASHVILLE, TN: Research conducted by United Methodist Communications on behalf of the Connectional Table reveals widespread denominational support for the Church’s four Areas of Focus, adopted by the 2008 General Conference.


“The research shows that most respondents believe that the Areas of Focus are very important for the church,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications. “But we also heard that knowledge about the areas is still somewhat limited.”

"General Conference affirmed the four Areas of Focus because they are essential areas of ministry most of our vital local churches are already doing,” said Bishop John Hopkins, chair of the Connectional Table. “It is more important that we do the work than know the language of the areas of focus. Our heartwarming response to the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile demonstrates that United Methodists understand the importance of sharing the love of Jesus Christ to those who are poor and without adequate medical care."

Support is uniformly strong for three of the four areas: engaging in ministry with the poor, developing principled Christian leaders, and creating new places for new people/revitalizing existing congregations. Fewer people indicated that combating diseases of poverty is very important for the denomination, although many who indicated that initiatives are not important said they lacked enough information to have an opinion.

Although respondents reported limited knowledge of the four Areas of Focus, they indicated greater familiarity, however, with initiatives affiliated with the areas, including the Nothing But Nets anti-malaria initiative and the Rethink Church advertising and welcoming campaign.
Survey participants reported that their local churches are active in many of the areas associated with the Areas of Focus, including 54 percent of pastors who said that their church had participated in Nothing But Nets during the last year.
“This feedback reveals opportunities to align the messaging of the church more closely with the positive work it is doing,” said Hollon.
Hollon points to a survey question that asked respondents if their church understands the concept of connectionalism. Just 18 percent of pastors, 14 percent of leaders, and 12 percent of members agreed strongly that their church understands connectionalism.
“As a connectional church, we are united by a common mission and governance that allow us to reach into the world as the hands and feet of Christ,” said Hollon. “This research points to the need to build understanding about the connection by communicating how it extends our reach and the scale of our abilities to create change as followers of Jesus. The connectional reach of The United Methodist Church empowers each of us to achieve more together than we could achieve individually or as a single congregation. It makes us much bigger than ourselves, able to do much greater work.”

The study, conducted in December 2009, includes survey results from 2,895 pastors, 805 church leaders, and 1,416 members.

Rethink Church and Charting the Course to be held at Lake Junaluska

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Do you long for your church to “rethink” its mission? Do you want change and growth to be evident in your part of God’s Kingdom? This April, Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center will host the Rethink Church workshop which poses the question, “What if Church was a verb?” Rethink Church will be held in combination with Charting the Course, another workshop designed to give attendees specific tools and ideas to reshape the way their church invites, welcomes, and reaches out. Rethink Church and Charting the Course will be held from April 25-29, and those interested have the option of attending either workshop or both.


“I hope participants will take away practical information and practices to put into use in their local churches to make them more welcoming and to learn how to become more inviting,” said Rethink Church leader Reverend Mark Barden, Western North Carolina Conference Director of Communications. Workshop training will cover the areas of welcoming, connecting, and identifying. Barden sees the workshop as “a catalyst that moves the denomination…into dialogue – and ultimately, into transformative, collaborative action.” In addition to answering the question “What if Church was a verb?”, the workshop will “[prod] us to consider church as more about what we do than simply a place to go on Sunday mornings. Grounded in Wesleyan theology, Rethink Church encourages us to move beyond the walls of the church and engage those outside the walls in the action of Christ in the world.” Similarly, Charting the Course will offer practical ways these ideals can be put into play in the Church.

Rethink Church and Charting the Course will feature several leaders, each of whom have experience in discipleship and facilitating personal and church growth. Leading Rethink Church in addition to Reverend Mark Barden of Western North Carolina staff will be Reverend Ms. Dawn Hand, Associate Pastor of Matthews United Methodist Church; and Reverend Mr. Gregg Plott, Pastor of Warrensville Charge and Chair of WNCC Commission on Communications. Leading Charting the Course will be the Reverend Ms. Donna Gaither, who has served as Christian educator and currently serves on the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Gaither also helped develop the Charting the Course materials with the Little Rivers Conference in Illinois.

Registration fees vary from $70-$85 for early registration, depending on workshop or workshops being attended. After April 1, late registration fees apply and prices vary from $85-$100. More information about the retreats, leaders, and registration can be found at www.lakejunaluska.com/charting, where a printable brochure and lodging information can also be found, or by contacting Pam Naplen at 828-454-6656.