Closer to the Ground: A team approach to Superintendency

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ.

As we continue to adapt to this season’s needs, we are moving more fully into a team-based model of superintendency across the Greater Northwest Area. This change is both practical and missional. Our churches and pastoral leaders need connection, support, and guidance that are closer to the ground, more collaborative, and more sustainable.

The traditional district superintendent model has carried more than any one person can faithfully sustain. At the same time, our ministry contexts are changing quickly. We need superintendents who can work together, lead from their gifts, stay connected to local ministry, and help congregations and leaders remain connected to one another and to the wider United Methodist connection.

This new model does not mean every superintendent will do everything. It means superintendents will serve as part of a team, under the authority and direction of the resident bishop, for the sake of the whole Area. We are not centering districts or teams for their own sake. We are centering the mission of the Church across Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Attached is the list of churches and their primary superintendent designations. Your primary superintendent is your first point of connection for congregational support, pastoral leadership matters, appointment-related conversations, and connectional care. That superintendent is not working alone. Each one serves as part of a team, and those teams serve with the Cabinet in support of the whole Area.

This shift will require patience, clarity, and grace from all of us. Superintendents will not be able to attend every meeting, respond to every need personally, or serve as the only source of support. Their work will be to connect, guide, strengthen, and help build healthier patterns of ministry and leadership.

I am grateful to those stepping into this work, to the congregations making space for their pastors to serve the wider connection, and to the faithful leaders who have helped bring us to this point.

Finally, a request for us all. Transitioning into a new role brings with it additional work, for which your prayers are certainly welcome. You can also help by delaying any questions or requests of the new superintendents until after they begin their new roles on July 1. 

Please review the attached list and use it as a starting point for the next season of shared ministry. We will continue learning, adjusting, and leading together.

With gratitude and hope,

Bishop Cedrick D. Bridgeforth
Greater Northwest Episcopal Area