Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth is pleased to announce that Teri Watanabe, a lay member from the Oregon-Idaho Conference, has been tapped to serve as a ministry consultant for the Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church through the remainder of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watanabe will contract with the Greater Northwest Area to support the Alaska Conference Vitality Team, Oregon-Idaho Conference Congregational Development Team and Pacific Northwest Conference Board of Congregational Development, as each board supports already funded Innovation Vitality ministry projects within its respective conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTeri brings knowledge of the Greater Northwest Area\u2019s culture, priorities, and potential,\u201d Bridgeforth said. \u201cHer understanding of systems and project management will help us navigate this interim period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watanabe, who lives in the Eugene, Oregon, area, has served as a lay member of the Oregon-Idaho Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and spent nine years assisting with the development of a new, more inclusive candidacy process for clergy within the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPart of the gifts that I bring are around aligning the mission and vision of the conference, boards, projects, and local churches,\u201d Watanabe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She currently serves on the Oregon-Idaho Conference\u2019s Board of Lay Ministry and is a certified lay minister. Over the years, she has served as a transition consultant and has been contracted by various congregations and ministries to support their visioning work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know our processes and systems, and I\u2019m also a change agent for our processes and systems,\u201d Watanabe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a consultant, Watanabe will function differently than other staff throughout the GNW Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTeri\u2019s work as a consultant differs from what we would ask of a staff person. She has specific deliverables that relate to the entity in each conference that supports or funds new and innovative ministries,\u201d Bridgeforth said. \u201cMuch of what she will accomplish is related to maintaining what remains while each conference determines how congregational ministries, whether new or ongoing, will receive support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples of those \u201cdeliverables\u201d Bridgeforth mentioned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited about the chance to explore possibilities with the different boards with an area-wide perspective,\u201d Watanabe said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bishop Cedrick Bridgeforth is pleased to announce that Teri Watanabe, a lay member from the Oregon-Idaho Conference, has been tapped to serve as a ministry consultant for the Greater Northwest Area of The United Methodist Church through the remainder of 2025. Watanabe will contract with the Greater Northwest Area to support the Alaska Conference Vitality […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":24078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-greater-northwest-area","8":"category-oregon-idaho-conference"},"yoast_head":"\n