September 23, 2002
Virginia convention reorganizes, downsizes
___By Robert Dilday
___Virginia Religious Herald
___RICHMOND, Va.--The Virginia Baptist Mission Board staff will take on a dramatically new look next year if a plan unveiled Sept. 12 is approved by Mission Board members at their October meeting.
___The proposed staff restructuring will facilitate implementation of Kingdom Advance, a new missions vision adopted by Virginia Baptists in May.
___The proposed structure mirrors the four emphases of Kingdom Advance--empowering leaders, emerging leaders, "glocal" missions and evangelism, and courageous churches. "Glocal" is a word used by Virginia Baptist leaders to encompass both local and global mission endeavors.
___At the same time, because of reduced contributions from affiliated churches, the total number of board employees will be reduced by 11.
___Among other things, the plan transforms the current mission resource consultants into Kingdom Advance field strategists, whose primary role will be to help match churches and ministers. The plan also eliminates specifically age-based specialty positions--such as youth and children--and reassigns those ministries to other parts of the board structure.
___Some of those age-based ministries will be accomplished through partnerships with churches, associations and Virginia Baptist agencies and institutions.
___The plan will dramatically expand Virginia Baptists' connections to the global Christian family. It aims to fund several categories of mission workers in Virginia and the United States; aggressively start new churches in Virginia and rejuvenate existing ones; identify and develop a new generation of leaders for Virginia Baptist congregations and ministries; and empower pastors and other church staff to carry out their ministries more effectively.
___The reduction of 11 staff members is the result of financial limitations and not specifically due to the new Mission Board structure, said Executive Director John Upton. The positions to be eliminated include three professional staff positions and eight support staff positions.
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