One way in which TMF stewards potentialis by investing in leaders, with anexpectation that the dividend to be paidis in their purposeful outcomes andincreased courage and effectiveness.

THE FORMATION OF LEARNINGCOMMUNITIES:

One platform we provide takes the form ofa learning community, meeting regularlywith a facilitator over a minimum of twoyears, strengthening leaders for deepchange.

Filters by which we form groups:

� Gathering leaders who are inpositions to leverage change in theirown settings and in the largerlandscape of the church’s mission

� Addressing adaptive rather thantechnical or pastoral issues

� Aligning our learning agenda withthe identified needs of annualconferences and local churches

Expectations which guide our formation ofgroups:

� Instilling an expectation of impactbeyond the participant’s currentsetting

� Engaging primarily in verticallearning, moving from information topraxis

� Providing exceptional facilitators andoutside resources to stimulateconversation and growth

CURRENT TMF GROUPSReversing the Field Group, facilitated byCarole Somers-Clark, comprised of seniorpastors who are committed to engagingtheir mission field in a way thatunderstands the church as an integralpart of the gifts and assets alreadyavailable in the community, rather thanthe provider of such resources (beganmeeting in 2017)

Ministry with the Poor Group, facilitated byCarole Somers-Clark, comprised ofleaders who are deeply committed to thework of making disciples among thosewho make less than $30,000 and helpingcongregations engage in ministry withthose living in asset poverty

Entrepreneurial Pastors Group, facilitatedby David McNitzky, comprised of youngerpastors appointed to larger congregationsin order to encourage an entrepreneurialspirit in their leadership for the church(ongoing, under their own initiative)

Executive Pastors Group, facilitated byMike Bonem, comprised of executiveassociates in larger churches who haveresponsibility for implementing deepchange in and through their church

Deep Change Group, facilitated byMike Bonem, comprised of executiveassociates in larger churches who haveresponsibility for implementing deepchange in and through their church

L E A D E R S H I P M I N I S T R Y U P D A T E

To work for change in the church through

facilitating conversations of courage, learning and

innovation among leaders

STEWARDING POTENTIAL

OCTOBER 2017

Second Chair Leaders Group, facilitated byMike Bonem, a third group comprised ofexecutive associates in larger churcheswho have responsibility for implementingdeep change in and through their church

Worship Leaders Group, facilitated by DavidWilson, comprised of leaders who haveresponsibility for non-traditional worshipin their church and focused on how musicand worship can facilitate reachingbeyond the walls of their church

Bishops Conclave, facilitated by Gil Rendle,comprised of the SCJ active Bishops forthe sake of creating balcony space tofocus on leadership in a changingenvironment

First Year SCJ District Superintendents,facilitated by Lisa Greenwood, focusing onunderstanding the role of a MissionalStrategist

Continuing SCJ District Superintendents,facilitated by Lisa Greenwood, focusing onliving into the role of a Missional Strategist

Texas Large Congregation Senior Clergy,facilitated by David McNitzky, focusing onthe unique role of the senior leader of alarge church and on providing balconyspace for peer learning and support

President’s Advisory Council, comprised oflay persons from across Texas and NewMexico for the purpose of expandingthe purpose, generosity and courageconversations

Board of Ordained Ministry Leaders,facilitated by Lisa Greenwood, comprisedof SCJ Board of Ordained chairs andselected leaders for the purpose ofre-envisioning their work in light of theneeds of a changing landscape

A Conversation among Large ChurchPastors, facilitated by Bishop Janice RiggleHuie and Lisa Greenwood, comprisedof leaders of churches striving to stayfocused on the mission of the churchwhile maintaining a wide diversity ofperspectives under one umbrella; theinitial meeting was March of 2017 withanticipation of another meeting in 2018.

“The kingdom relationships built within this group have truly been the most formative of my ministry! This group has changed the way

I see the world, how I live in ministry, how I experience God, and ultimately how I pray.” - Sarah Squires, Ministry with the Poor Learning

Community member and Executive Director, Wesley-Rankin

Dave Wilson, facilitator, with WorshipLeaders Learning Community

LEARNING PROJECTS:

Another platform we provide is learningprojects, which may take the form of aone-time event/conversation or an on-going experiment for the purpose oflearning around a significant issue facingthe church’s ability to live out its mission.These projects are often the place whereTMF engages its own learning agenda.

CURRENT LEARNING PROJECTSLegacy Church Project: In the first year ofthis project, two annual conferences,Upper New York and Cal-Nevada, weretasked with creating a model foreffectively closing churches within theirconferences while conserving conferenceresources — staff, time or money. ANational Network Team, comprised of non-TMF staff, helps resource and connectparticipating conferences, as well as togather learnings, which can be sharedwith other conferences. In July of 2017,TMF hosted a learning event, facilitated bythe National Team, comprised of sixadditional conferences who havecommitted to creating a new cohort.

The Work of Religious Social Entrepreneurs:TMF is exploring our role, as an edgeorganization, in identifying andencouraging the work of religious socialentrepreneurs and “intrapreneurs” (oneswho drive positive change within anexisting organization) who are alreadycutting new paths for faith communitiesand discipleship outside of the limits of theorganized church. We are learning all wecan about the arena of religious socialentrepreneurship and exploring the notionof TMF as a platform for learning andnetworking so that those who are doingthis work might find space and resourcesto flourish and move the church (and,therefore, the Gospel) beyond the edges ofits current reach.

This work is an extension of what wasbegun with the Forum on WesleyanPotential, a TMF-hosted event inDecember of 2015.

TMF is collaborating with Angie Thurstonand Casper ter Kuile (who were speakersat the Forum and are the co-authors of“How We Gather,” “Something More”

and “Faithful”). TMF hosted a gathering inJanuary 2017 of denominational leadersfrom 11 faith traditions. The purpose of thisgathering was to explore the appropriaterole of denominations in the realm ofreligious social entrepreneurship andinnovation. The monograph, entitled“Faithful,” highlighting both the challengesand opportunities for traditional institutionsand denominations in the arena ofinnovation, was released in June of 2017with the intent of providing a tool forconversations and learning.

In July, TMF participated in a gathering,hosted by the Fetzer Institute, of othertraditional foundations and funders whofind themselves facing both the challengesand potential of supporting innovation onthe edges of the church.

Outcomes and Metrics: For the past fouryears or so, TMF has engaged in the workof helping leaders, congregations andconferences name and measureoutcomes. It is some of the most difficultwork we have experienced, and yet it isvital for the church’s ability to direct

Leadership Ministry participant Rev. Hannah Terry, center,with TMF Leadership Ministry staff, Bishop Janice Riggle

Huie and Lisa Greenwood

resources and steward potential. In August 2017, TMF hosted anintensive learning lab related to this metrics and outcomes work.A national leadership team (BT Williamson, Texas; Hector Burgos,New Jersey; Lovett Weems, Wesley Seminary in DC; and our TMFteam, Bishop Janice Riggle Huie and Lisa Greenwood) worked togather 15 annual conferences from across the nation toparticipate in this deeper learning around outcomes and how tomeasure progress and direct resources.

Reversing the Field: A significant paradigm shift is occurring inthe realm of congregational engagement with its mission field, asthe language and practice of Asset Mapping and the relatednotion of Toxic Charity are challenging inherited patterns ofchurch mission work. TMF’s Ministry with the Poor group and thenew Reversing the Field group both provide platforms for leadersto engage in peer learning and exploration of the issues andpotential that exists in this arena, all for the sake of deep changein their own context and in the larger church. In LeadershipMinistry at TMF, we see this arena as on ongoing part of ourlearning agenda

Year-round Stewardship Pilot Project: A collaboration of TMF &Horizons Stewardship to give churches a platform for peerlearning and resources by which they might establish a year-round stewardship process in their church for the sake ofcreating a culture of generosity. In 2016, seven churches from theNorth Texas Conference were involved and all but one arereporting positive shifts in their discipleship and stewardshippractices, as well as in the generosity of their congregations.Currently, eight churches in the El Paso District of the NewMexico Conference are engaged in this work, and TMF AreaRepresentatives are planning new projects in other conferencesin Texas.

Hispanic Ministry: As the demographics shift in the United Statesand particularly in the south central region, the United MethodistChurch cannot be faithful to its purpose without directingadditional resources and attention toward ministry with Hispanicand Latino persons. This ministry is as varied as ministry withAnglo persons, or any other ethnic demographic, and yet we havetended to relegate it to a “program” of the church and oftencombined the efforts with ministry with the poor. In October, TMFfacilitated the Bishops and teams from each of their conferencesin a conversation around ministry with Hispanic/Latino persons.

This initial conversation, called Encuentro, was held in the RioGrande Valley of Texas along the border in order to exposeparticipants to the diversity within the Hispanic population,including varying levels of economic status and assimilation intothe culture. The bishops and their teams sought to gain a betterunderstanding of who the church is trying to reach, when itcomes to the Hispanic community, and why. At the same time,TMF gained a better understanding of this edge of the church’sministry and the bright spots, assets and resources available forthis adaptive issue.

www.tm f- fdn.org/gi fts � 800 .933 .5502

Encuentro participants learn from the ARISE ministry staff andcommunity in Alamo, Texas on October 12, 2017.