Some things are memorable for the sheer joy they induce – a baptism, a wedding, the birth of a child. Some things are memorable for the abject pain they unleash – a broken bone, a broken promise, the loss of a loved one. Some things are memorable for the grand interruption to normalcy they bestow – a huge storm, an unexpected crisis, a global pandemic. Just as a winter cannot pass here in Ohio without someone referring to the blizzard of ’78, it is hard to imagine a time when people will no longer be talking about the pandemic of 2020.
The past year unleashed a plethora of challenges upon the churches of CMC. Should we stop meeting in-person? Should we start meeting in-person again? Should we require masks? Who would have thought at the outset of 2020 that these questions and others like them would even be pertinent to the church, much less create so much consternation and division. Add to that the racial and political tensions that seeped into the church from our broader culture, and as one pastor put it, “This has been the most challenging season in all my years of ministry.”
In true fashion, God has used the challenges of 2020 for his good in numerous observable ways in CMC:
- Churches which had previously not had an online presence found creative ways to have meetings, hold services and share the gospel online.
- Avenues for many CMC churches to be the hands and feet of Jesus by meeting practical needs in their communities opened up in new and significant ways.
- Discipleship deficiencies and opportunities in our churches became glaringly obvious as the pressures of 2020 revealed spiritual immaturity that was previously hidden.
- Interruptions to the normal way of doing things taught our congregations that church has to be about more than just the Sunday morning “show.” Consumer Christianity took a hit.
As was the case for each of our churches, CMC as a whole experienced its own set of disappointing cancellations. For the first time since World War II, CMC’s annual summer conference was cancelled. In December, the difficult decisions to cancel the 2021 Pastors Conference and BOOST Retreat were made.
The gathering resulted in a unified desire to see each other’s churches thrive and the kingdom of God expand.
In spite of these cancellations, some really good things happened! In February, a Mature & Multiply Summit was held at the Rosedale International Center. The summit brought together leadership teams from nine CMC congregations for a time of vision casting, story sharing, and goal setting around three areas of focus: church recalibration, church planting, and ministry to the Amish. What a gift for CMC, RI, and RBC to have the privilege of partnering with these congregations to push out the vision of maturing and multiplying in their communities.
In October, leadership teams from five congregations and a church planter in upstate New York came together for another Mature & Multiply Summit. The gathering resulted in a unified desire to see each other’s churches thrive and the kingdom of God expand. “A need in any of our churches is a need in all of our churches,” was a statement made by one of the pastors and heartily embraced by the others. A 5-year vision emerged from the summit to see “Eight thriving, unified churches in New York’s North Country that are transforming their communities.”
Another highlight of the year was the launch of RBC’s Training in Ministry program. It has been a dream of Conference Pastor Steve Swartz to see an opportunity for men and women across CMC to be trained in leadership and ministry without having to leave their home communities, and Steve was able to be a part of the team from RBC, CMC, and LMC that helped launch this online program.
CMC’s church planting initiative also gained momentum. In addition to the aforementioned summits, a team of leaders has been meeting monthly to strategize getting the church planting movement off the ground. Last summer they began meeting weekly via Zoom for one hour of prayer. The combination of four prayer gatherings and one strategy gathering each month is producing forward movement as a plan for assessing, coaching, and supporting church planters is taking shape.
As I reflect on 2020, my mind goes to the words of Jesus who said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18 KJV).
One Response
I have some concern of all the articles in this Beacon being written by women except the president. I have much respect for these women. I am a woman and I am not saying that there should not be any written by women. However, I would appreciate more thoughts from the Godly men in the conference. I wonder if men feel this way, also.