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A New Adventure!

We are cultivating new leadership, new places, and new people across the Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church!

Together, with the Bishop, Cabinet, local churches, and local communities, we want to embody “love in action.” This will require each of us to step out faithfully in new and innovative ways. To help guide us in our work, we have a new team!

Click the button below to meet the Innovation Vitality Team for The Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church!

Questions?

Contact Patrick Ferguson, Program Assistant for Leadership and Congregational Development, 206-870-6802 | Email

What are the natural practices of a VITAL place?

We believe there are three practices present in every vital place or church. These three practices are inclusion, innovation, and multiplication all encompassed by the mystery of God. Vitality is present when these are woven into practice collaboratively with both our communities of faith and our neighborhoods/wider communities.

Inclusion

  • Emotional intelligence in the midst of diversity
  • Healthy respect for differences and the effects of power, privilege, biases, and isms
  • Cultural humility and resilience for the work of justice

Innovation

  • Modified behavior and practices
  • Community development
  • New leadership: new ways of leading in a post-Christian context
  • Culture shift within communities of faith and within our wider context/communities/neighborhoods — “common good for the neighborhood.”

Multiplication

  • Reestablishing a culture and expectation of multiplication, reflecting the origins of our Methodist movement 
  • Cultivate disciples that cultivate disciples 
  • Develop leaders that develop leaders
  • Create ministries that spark ministries
  • Planting churches that plant churches

What are hopeful outcomes in VITAL places?

  • New Leadership

    The mission of the annual conference, and by extension the Greater Northwest Area, is to equip leaders for the work of the church in today’s context. Leaders are naturally wired differently. Some lean toward planting new ministries while others provide support for the faithful as the ministries move into the last phases of life.

    The ministry context in the Greater Northwest Area requires leaders with heart and skills for all phases of ministry — new ways of leading in our contexts.

  • New Places

    Just as we want to develop leaders that develop leaders, we are creating a culture that intends to develop new places that develop new places.

    Whether new ministries, new faith communities, or new churches, our vision of new places will reinforce the expectation of multiplication. When we talk about developing new places, we intend the reflect our Wesleyan heritage. All new places will be committed to making disciples of Jesus Christ.

  • New People

    “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

    Your best plans without understanding culture won’t go far. In our vision of new people, we arecreating a foundation for understanding community and culture. This means resourcing our leaders and churches with tools to engage the people around our communities of faith and in our cities/towns.