Ministerial Departmental Report 2016–2020

Fast Facts:

• There are 349 pastors in six conferences tending to a membership that spreads through five states and six conferences.
• Ministry modality has shifted from pulpit dependence to the establishment of organic relationships in search of meaningful spirituality.
• People are seeking spiritual development in many other places except our churches.

Accomplishments:

• Leadership Development — Assisted conference counterparts in designing and conducting continuing education programs and events for pastors, including the support and promotion of the Andrews University off-campus intensives, held at our NPUC office, for the educational advancement of ministerial workers through the MAPM degree (in both Spanish and English).
• Partnership with WWU — The ministerial department collaborated and financially assisted Walla Walla University School of Theology and worked closely with professors to coordinate the functions and training for the junior class internship program.
• Summer Ministerial Internship — Establishment of a summer ministerial internship program for WWU theology students, exposing them to 10 weeks of ministry mentorship and hands-on experiences in the areas of church administration, church liturgies, youth programming and soul-winning.
• Ministerial Retreats — Facilitated training and continuing education for conference ministerial directors, evangelism directors and evangelists during the annual Ministerial Networking Retreat. This retreat facilitates interfacing experiences of several conference departments and administrators.
• Ministerial Services — Mentoring and advising administrators, department directors and pastors in the areas of leadership, family, ministerial, finances etc. Encouraging cards are sent to conference administrators, NPUC staff, Hispanic Coordinators and their pastors and spouses for BD and wedding anniversaries.
• Leadership Newsletter & Gleaner — The department was responsible to manage, write, and provide monthly articles for the NPUC Leadership Newsletter and the Gleaner magazine.
• Evangelistic Mission Trip — The department organized a mission trip to Guatemala for WWU theology students, newly hired pastors and conference administrators to hold an evangelistic series in different churches in the Southern Guatemala.

Opportunities:

• Mission Focused, Equipping Pastors — Pastors and the churches they serve will benefit exponentially by being intentional about training and equipping every church member to become a mission-focused disciple that makes mission-focused disciples.
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality — It is critical that we assist and empower our pastors to stay mentally healthy and spiritually strong as they face the post-pandemic lethargic condition of many and the drastic decline in regular church attendance.
• Social Media Outreach — Our pastors will need to adapt to the new rules of ministry engagement. They will need to become increasingly savvy and creative in the use of social media platforms, the latest streaming software and realize the church needs to leave the four walls of our buildings and go to the marketplace where people are living their lives.