Church Development
The Eastern District Board of Directors has approved a new district leadership structure which has at its heart a "Church Development Team" comprised of five leaders including the District Superintendent, three full-time Associate Superintendents and a Church Development Ministry Associate. In addition to the traditional support of the district's churches, this team has been charged with the responsibility of implementing the Eastern District's new vision titled, Becoming Churches without Walls.
Becoming a "Church without Walls" involves three specific commitments on the part of a church:
- To intentionally seek to engage the community in which the church exists to earn the privilege of sharing the gospel with the lost.
- To seek to remove any unintentional barriers that might cause the lost to feel unwelcome (note: Biblical truth and doctrine, however, are potential barriers that must never be removed).
- To intentionally seek to reproduce itself.
The Church Development Team is committed to working intensely with 16 churches at a time (four churches per superintendent) for a period of 12 to 18 months to help them become "Churches without Walls." Because the Eastern District is strategically placed for Urban-Intercultural ministry, we are particularly excited about helping these churches become "Churches without Walls."
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