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Petition to the General Conference, 2004, In accordance with the instructions for preparation of petitions, PAGE NUMBER: Page 1 of 4 SUGGESTED TITLE/SUBJECT MATTER: Conference Stragetic, Comprehensive Plans for Hispanic/Latino Ministries PETITION CONCERNS: New Resolution FINANACIAL IMPLICATIONS: None PETITION TEXT: Whereas, God calls us to proclaim God’s mighty acts (1 Peter 2:9) and to be good stewards of God’s manifold grace, serving one another with whatever gift each has received (1 Peter 4:10), and to organize ourselves for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:7-13); and Whereas, our United Methodist heritage integrates missional action with organizational support; and Whereas, the Book of Discipline 2000 declares that “the mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the good news of God’s grace and thus seeking the fulfillment of God’s reign and realm in the world” (121) and that “Each annual conference is responsible to focus and guide the mission and ministry of The United Methodist Church within its boundaries by envisioning the ministries necessary to live out the mission of the church in and through the annual conference;…providing encouragement, coordination, and support for the ministries of nurture, outreach, and witness in districts and congregations for the transformation of the world;…developing and strengthening ethnic ministries, including ethnic local churches and concerns….” (607); and Whereas, according to the 2000 United States census analysis, the people group in the United States called Hispanic/Latino has increased 58% from 1990 to 2000 and is projected to be 25% of the United States population by 2040; and Whereas, these figures represent an undercount and do not reflect information about undocumented persons; and Whereas, according to the General Board of Global Ministries Office of Research’s analysis of the census data, every annual conference of The United Methodist Church in the United States has within its boundaries a growing Hispanic/Latino population; and Whereas, for three quadrennia the General Conference has approved the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry as a mission initiative of the whole church and it is a comprehensive plan of evangelization with Hispanic/Latino communities by the whole church; and Whereas, in direct relationship to the implementation of the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry, 600 faith communities have been established in 52 conferences, 900 lay missioners have been equipped and deployed, 75 new Hispanic/Latino congregations have been started in 35 conferences, 70 existing Hispanic/Latino churches in 35 conferences have been strengthened, and 900 outreach ministries have been established in 52 conferences; and Whereas, according to the Office of the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry’s estimates, the Hispanic/Latino membership in The United Methodist Church has increased by 40% from 1996 to 2002; and Whereas, according to the Office of the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry’s estimates, Hispanic/Latino persons represent less 1% of the total membership of the United Methodist Church and Hispanic/Latino congregations represent approximately 1% of all United Methodist chartered churches; and Whereas, these figures represent an undercount due to difficulties in reporting the number of Hispanic/Latino members in multicultural churches and non-Hispanic/Latino congregations and the number of Hispanic/Latino congregations sharing facilities with other ethnic and cultural churches and due to difficulties in the lack of reports from some Hispanic/Latino congregations; and Whereas, in spite of the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry and other missional efforts’ advances and success in reaching the people group called Hispanic/Latino and the increased presence of Hispanic/Latino person in The United Methodist connectional system, the people group in the United States called Hispanic/Latino represents a huge mission field, Therefore, let it be resolved that by December 31, 2006 every annual conference in the United States will develop a strategic, comprehensive plan for Hispanic/Latino ministries within its boundaries and this plan will include but not be limited to socioeconomic, cultural and religious analyses of the Hispanic/Latino communities that will be served; and strategies to strengthen existing Hispanic/Latino ministries and congregations, to start new ministries and congregations, to identify, equip and deploy clergy and laity leaders, and to identify and deploy material and financial resources. Therefor, be it further resolved that the Council of Bishops, the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry, the General Board of Discipleship and the General Board of Global Ministries ensure that the conference comprehensive plans are in place by the indicated date and to provide support and consultation in the development of the plans. DATE: November 24, 2003 SUBMITTED BY: Kathryn J. Johnson, on behalf of PETITIONER IDENTIFICATION: Methodist Federation for Social Action TELEPHONE: 202-546-8806 |
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