Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota IX Bishop search
Where We Are Going
The Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS) evolved in 2006 from a Metro Mission Strategy group. The BCMS worked for more than a year, gathering historic and current data and receiving input from congregations and other diocesan entities. Eventually, more than 2,000 individuals and more than 76% of the congregations of the diocese took part in the BCMS study, which included an all-day summit in the spring of 2007. Finally, the BCMS report, Rethinking, Reframing and Reclaiming Our Identity, Purpose and Mission, was presented to representatives of the diocese as a whole at Diocesan Convention on October 27, 2007, where it was overwhelmingly affirmed.
The BCMS report approved at Convention articulated Four Key Goals along with 12 Recommended Mission & Ministry Initiatives.
Next, a new group needed to be created to help in the implementation of these goals. This committee included some BCMS members but has also welcomed new members from around the diocese. One of the group’s first actions was to rename itself the Mission Strategy NETWORK. It was felt that working with existing networks and creating new ones if necessary would be more effective than trying to fit such work into a geographical model, especially in the large area covered by our diocese.
During the summer of 2008, four Task Teams were formed, one for each of the four BCMS goals. These teams have been meeting to develop work plans for the implementation of their particular goals. In addition, every congregation in the diocese has been contacted to learn of its relationship to the BCMS goals.
The “network” aspect has not been forgotten, either. Another initial project was the establishment of a system of regular online communiqués (approximately two per month), giving regular reports on the work of the task teams and/or stories of congregations and how they are living into the BCMS goals.
A new website was also set up highlighting the work currently being done and providing an online space for dialogue about where God is calling us. The site contains all the communiqués, as well as background material and other resources. It also includes a link to the diocesan social networking site, with an MSN blog and set of forums.
To find out what has been happening since we adopted this plan, and to read the complete Bishop’s Commission on Mission Strategy (BCMS) report visit the Mission Strategy Network.
