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Church reaffirms Four Areas of Focus

Posted on by Michigan
Rosie Rios holds an electronic candle as delegates are encouraged to "let your light shine before others," at the 2016 United Methodist General Conference in Portland, Ore. Rios, a delegate from the California-Pacific Conference, was listening to a presentation about the denomination's Four Areas of Focus ministry priorities. umns photo/Mike DuBose

Priorities first affirmed in 2008 were revisited and made more robust by delegates in Portland.

MARY ANDREOLI
United Methodist News Service

Monday morning’s session of General Conference included a 15-minute presentation on the achievements, vision, and work that is part of The United Methodist Church’s Four Areas of Focus. The four focus areas — engaging in ministry with the poor; improving health globally; developing principled Christian leaders; and creating new places for new people — were first affirmed at the 2008 General Conference.

Undergirding the Four Areas of Focus presentation was a resounding emphasis on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in every place by following the Wesleyan tenets of taking the church to the people, creating a culture of disciple-making, and taking ministry to people who need it most and often. According to Emily Innes, lay representative of the Southeast Jurisdiction for the Connectional Table, “Disciple-making isn’t something you graduate and retire from… it’s who we are, not what we do.”

Achievements of the last four years named by the diverse group of lay and clergy presenters included the creation of more than 2,000 faith communities, the training of thousands of laity for ministry with the poor, and the establishment of 1,000 health  workers around the world to eliminate preventable diseases of poverty. The vision for the Four Areas of Focus for the next quadrennium is:

  • Developing principled Christian leaders: Engage 3 million plus people in world-transforming activities
  • Creating new places for new people and revitalizing existing congregations: Form 1 million new disciples of Jesus Christ
  • Improving health globally: Reach 1 million children with lifesaving interventions and engage 10,000 churches in the United States in developing support systems for treatment, education, and prevention in their surrounding communities
  • Engaging in ministry with the poor: Transform 400 communities for vital, abundant living In addition, there is a direct connection between the four focus areas and a church’s vitality.

The more churches participate in the four focus areas, the more likely they are to become vital congregations. The goal for vital congregations is to double the number of highly vital congregations in the next four years.

Read more.

Last Updated on January 12, 2023

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The Michigan Conference