A new strategic plan for the Great Plains Conference took its first steps thanks to the approval of $40,000 in funds Nov. 8 by the Connecting Council.
It would be the first strategic plan for the conference since 2017, when a study resulted in the consolidation of the three legacy conference offices into one headquarters in Topeka, Scott Brewer, executive director and assistant to the bishop, said.
“What we're seeking to do here is much more of a classic strategic planning process, a more broad approach seeking to really determine, develop and establish with the members of the conference, what are the strategic priorities and direction for the Great Plains Annual Conference?” Brewer said while introducing the concepts for the strategic plan.
Bishop David Wilson opens the Nov. 8 meeting of the Connecting Council over Zoom.
The Connecting Council is comprised of about 50 people who make timely decisions between annual conference sessions and includes district superintendents; district lay leaders; directors of administrative services, congregational excellence, clergy excellence and communications; conference committee representatives and at-large members.
Brewer told the Connecting Council, which met over Zoom, that a new plan was needed following years of disruptive change in and outside of the church.
“We really do find ourselves at a crossroads,” he said. “We find ourselves at a place where there are all kinds of changes that are about us not only within the church, but obviously outside of the church as well.”
The Connecting Council meeting came days after the announcement that regionalization, as well as other amendments passed by the 2020/2024 General Conference, were overwhelmingly ratified by United Methodists worldwide.
“This new era in the United Methodist Church requires us to really be looking at who we are as an annual conference with fresh vision and clarity,” Brewer said.
The update is needed in part because, as a result of disaffiliation, the conference has lost nearly 30% of the 1,000 churches it had five years ago.
“And the churches that we do have, many of them are facing increasing financial difficulty as the cost of doing church continues to rise,” Brewer said. “Unfortunately for too many of our congregations, the financial base that they have, the number of active and contributing members has continued to diminish and decline.
“In addition, we have changing demographics not only in our local churches, but in our communities at large that require us to continue to innovate and to find new ways that we can encourage innovation in local churches, to reach out to both the unchurched and to the nominally religious as well as to those who, maybe, have really felt like they were done with church for a good while now,” he added.
Scott Brewer, executive director/assistant to the bishop, is shown here during annual conference. File photo
Brewer said he’s increasingly heard from a number of people who think the conference needs to define a direction of how it’s moving forward.
“If we're not able to do that, then we do run the risk of misallocating our limited resources, putting money towards things that are not going to bear the fruit that we most need in this time,” he said. “We're also going to miss out on some emerging opportunities for ministry that we should be considering and keeping our eyes open for and finding ways that we can support that.”
Not having a strategic plan in place, Brewer told the council, would be detrimental to the churches, clergy and laity in the conference.
“That then means that we would fail to respond to the evolving needs that we see in our communities around us, as well as in the broader mission field in Kansas and Nebraska,” he said.
Brewer has asked Mark McCormack, former director of research and evaluation for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, to conduct the survey, interview, and focus group research that will gather information and ideas from more than 1,000 people inside and outside of The United Methodist Church.
Council members unanimously approved $40,000 from the missional opportunities fund for research to develop the strategic plan, which is scheduled to be completed and ready for review by the Great Plains Annual Conference session, May 27-30 in Kearney, Nebraska.
In other business, the council:
Approved the reallocation of Mercy & Justice funding to support campus ministry for the 2025 budget year. The money comes from what had been allocated to The Big Garden, which is no longer eligible for mission service funding.
Received a report from Christy Bogner, chief financial officer/conference treasurer, that the mission shares at the end of October were paid at a rate of 64.77%, ahead of 63.9% at the same point last year. Bogner said a 30% increase in health insurance premiums had been budgeted for 2026, but that the increase would be less, 12.9%.
Received information about the delegation of duties formerly held by Rev. Dr. Ashlee Alley Crawford, associate director of clergy excellence. Rev. Dr. Shelly Petz, clergy health and wellness coordinator, will assume leadership of the Transition into Ministry program, and Rev. Melissa Collier Gepford, intergenerational discipleship coordinator, will work with members of Board of Ordained Ministry and on the Culture of Call programs. Alley Crawford began a position with Discipleship Ministries on Nov. 1.
Heard Bishop David Wilson announce that the theme of next year’s annual conference session would be “Serve Joyfully,” one of the three tenets of the new United Methodist vision statement.
Bishop David Wilson opens the Nov. 8 meeting of the Connecting Council over Zoom.
Scott Brewer, executive director/assistant to the bishop, is shown here during annual conference. File photo