In the run up to my first Allegheny Conference Session no less than 4 people told me that Allegheny, more than other regions of the CGGC, feels like a family. Perhaps because of its size, or perhaps because of its culture. Whatever the reason, I was told that ARC Sessions often looked and sounded as much like a family reunion as it did a church business meeting. Having now been to the 2024 ARC Sessions, held at Kingwood Church of God in Southwest, PA, I understand better what a family of pastors looks like, and I feel blessed for it.
Without a doubt, all of our regional conference sessions have a familial tone to them. You can’t do a lifetime of ministry with a group of people and not develop a family relationship. On the other hand, maybe there is something special about the Allegheny Region’s sense of community. Throughout the conference, pastors were called to the front of the stage to be recognized for their service, not as a group, but as individuals. Likewise, alumni ministers and their spouses were asked to stand and, again as individuals, were applauded for their years of service and thanked for their fidelity to the region and attendance. The choice of worship music by the Devine Family, a family of 5 singers, dancers, and musicians, clearly signaled “family” as a theme at the heart of the conference sessions. Even little things, like the choice to have lunch and dinner served on actual Corelle plates and bowls (fun fact: the same kind I have in my house) with metal silverware, was a homey touch. Not just the tableware, the food too was family style, lasagna for one meal, sandwiches and soup for another. All of it felt, quite sincerely, like a family reunion. That sense of family had pastors hugging, spouses catching up, and children running through the isles during sessions.
Of course, what’s a family reunion without a little contention? The familiarity and closeness of a family also begets a certain comfortability with direct rebukes and vocal disagreement. While some conferences might be more comfortable to stifle their disagreements and air them through votes, disagreements at the ARC were more up front. During the business sessions on Saturday, two changes to the constitution were up to vote which produced considerable discussion. The first vote, a proposed change to a section of the constitution which currently outlines a pathway to remove pastors from the region if they miss two consecutive annual sessions, was a close vote. The amendment sought to soften this language and some pastors spoke up, calling for the amendment to be rejected on the premise that more could be done to encourage pastors to attend conference, and that the pathway toward removal should be maintained and enforced. The amendment did not have the 2/3 vote and so it was not passed. Ultimately, the region compromised and passed the second amendment, which lowered the requirement for new ministers’ eligibility to hold an elective office from two sessions (two years) to one session, provided they’ve served in another region of the CGGC already.
Outside of the business sessions, the conference was full steam ahead on the theme of discipleship. Pastors from Rust City church, a church in eastern Ohio with a thriving and clear discipleship pathway, explained their process, and how intentional pathways for discipleship were a necessity if we want to continue making disciples like Jesus has called us to.
And elderly pastor responded to the session with tears in his eyes and said that “we are called to be pastors, leaders, disciples” and that while his church was a small country church, he was ready to get up and “kick butt”. He continued by saying that “a lot of us have evangelistic backgrounds, but it’s time to get back to that. It’s a great thing to keep the saved saved, but we’ve got to get past that.”
He finished by exhorting the conference to get back on mission with discipleship, adding, “I want to try and encourage you to try and do the same in your community.”
Rust City Pastor, and session leader, Doug said that before they ask people to lead in their church, they ask them to demonstrate that they can lead their own lives. He said that “these are the works I believe a disciple of Jesus should demonstrate daily in their house: study the bible, prayer and worship, godly fellowship, serving, and generosity.” Rust City leadership walks up-and-coming leaders through a survey of these 5 things, asking them to continually evaluate themselves over the course of multiple weeks to see if they are ready to faithfully lead others. Pastor Doug was clear that, “this is not salvation, but this is how you build your life to be a disciple of Christ… It’s the habits you create that make you who you are. This leads to transformed lives.”
Leaders from the Allegheny Region had already met with Rust City before the conference to visit the church and see how they were discipling their people and how they were reaching out to their community, and they were inspired by the church. One takeaway was the importance of contextualizing the ministry. It’s common for churches to see, say, a backpack program work on one community and believe they need to replicate that in their own. But Pastor Doug believes that a church needs to dig deep into their communities’ actual needs and start there, rather than just copying another churches strategy. For instance, Rust City came to realize that the biggest need in their community was food scarcity, and so started a food outreach program which some ARC pastors were able to see in person.
After the session with Rust City, newly elected ARC President Mike Bobula shared that Rust City's method might not work in every church, but that this is another tool that churches can utilize if it fits their context. He used the metaphor of a drill saying "all of these are different kinds of drills to help you drill a hole. Different kinds of tools to help you do discipleship." This is something that we echo here at the CGGC office. When we make partnerships, or bring in speakers, it's not a pivot towards 'next big thing', but a new tool that some churches might find useful, and which might help a portion of our churches find a path forward.
I was personally excited to see the theme of discipleship once again being championed loudly at ARC sessions just as it was at ERC sessions. It’s encouraging to see each part of our denomination moving in the same direction and it gives me hope that we can continue to build on the momentum of our shared vision.
Interested to hear more about what's going on in the ARC? Our recent issue of the The Global Advocate was all about the diverse ministry happening in the Allegheny Region. The ARC Advocate
CGGC eNews—Vol. 18, No. 21
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