Ministry at a Broader Level

I had a meeting with the Bishop yesterday. Don't be too impressed, about 350 people were at the meeting with me. This was an informational meeting about some changes to the Missouri Annual Conference that he is recommending. I'm intrigued by the direction and what it means for the local church.
Honestly, I haven't seen a whole lot that happens on the Conference level that has a positive effect on what we do at Good Shepherd. There are some good things like camps, some training opportunities, conference youth events. Beyond those the number of ministries that come out of the Conference that actually enable the church to do the job Christ created it for is very few. So when someone proposes changes that have the potential to make an impact, I'm listening.
To summarize what it will mean for you let me list the proposals that will have a noticeable impact. Most notable will be the decrease in our apportionments. (The amount we send to the state and international church for the ministries they undertake.) The immediate impact will be an elimination of the "Vital Ministries" line item. Currently we remit $5300 for those ministries. Elimination of that line item will allow us to discern which ministries match best with our mission and support those by our own decision. It doesn't mean we cut our budget, it simply means we get to decide how that amount is spent. Additionally, one of the other line items will be cut in half, which should translate to an additional (approximate) 3% cut in our apportionments.
There is also the recommendation of the creation of two new areas of emphasis in the conference. The first is a Center for Congregational Excellence, whose focus will be to aid congregations who are seeking to become better at reaching their community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The second is a Center for Pastoral Excellence witch will work to make clergy better and more efficient at leading congregations. These are good moves for a conference that is now focused on empowering congregations to do ministry, rather than using congregational funds to create ministries. I like where it's headed.
Overall, these issues will not have a significant impact on Good Shepherd for several years, but the initializing of them will have an immediate financial impact on us. I love change when it signals an opportunity for positive growth.