Office of Congregations and Christian Formation
The offices of Christian formation and congregational development have become one office in the Diocese of Ohio, because we recognize the integral relationship between these two areas of our lives as Christians. Healthy, growing Christian individuals form the heart of vibrant Christian congregations. Equally so, vibrant Christian congregations create fertile ground for healthy, growing Christian individuals. The Canon for Congregations and the Canon for Christian Formation work together to provide resources, planning, and assistance to all congregations in the Diocese as we grow in these ways.
This new office was created after the budget process for 2010 was finalized so this year the budget is combined, but still organized in much the same way as previous years. We anticipate the 2011 budget will likely be organized differently. Below, listed in the same order as the full diocesan budget, is a brief explanation of each line item in our office’s 2010 budget.
Administration
The office will continue to operate on the same Administrative budget as 2009. This represents 2% of our expenditures.
Percept Demographics
We are working with Percept to review our relationship with them to provide quality demographic information to us. If your parish is interested in such information please let us know. We will be glad to help you obtain it at no cost to your parish, and your interest (or lack of) will help us make decisions about Percept for the future. This represents 2% of our expenditures.
Assisted Congregations
By far the largest expense for this office comes in the form of financial assistance to congregations and shared ministries for support as they work to become financially self-sufficient. All congregations receiving such assistance are or soon will be involved in Natural Church Development, our primary congregational development process. This represents 51% of our expenditures.
New Initiatives/Evangelism
This year we will begin offering a significant new parish- based evangelism process called “Unbinding the Gospel.” It is a long-term process, based upon prayer and sharing our stories, that trains specifically mainline denomination congregations in real-life evangelism. This represents 1% of our expenditures, though these are not the only funds we use for evangelism.
Mission Enhancement Grants
Grants of up to $5000 are available to parishes to assist them in growing their congregation, creating new formation ministries, enhancing their worship, becoming more visible in their community, and so on. This represents 11% of our expenditures.
College Work Grants
These grants are available to parishes in the diocese wishing to develop a significant ongoing ministry with a nearby college or university. This represents 9% of our expenditures.
Education for Development
This includes all a variety of efforts to educate: Shared Ministry Conversations, the Diocesan Winter Convocation for the entire diocese, occasional educational days for different purposes, and individual continuing-education efforts undertaken by members of the laity. This represents 10% of our expenditures.
Natural Church Development (NCD)
NCD is our diocese’s primary vehicle for congregational assessment and development in vitality and health. These funds support the work of training coaches to work with parishes in our diocese. This represents 5% of our expenditures.
Christian Formation for All Ages
Our primary goal here is to help equip parish leaders and teachers to provide effective Christian formation at a congregational level. We can help you assess your current status and develop specific programming for your congregation, including train the trainer, small group leader training, and more. These funds help us provide resources and training in this work. They are also used to support our annual Kenyon Conference in conjunction with the Diocese of Southern Ohio. This represents 8% of our expenditures.
