Leadership within an institution like The United Methodist Church can often feel detached from the day-to-day work of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. And truthfully, the critical work of campus ministry is done each day by our Wesley Foundation directors and college chaplains, and their staff and students leaders.
And yet, we who serve on BHECM have an important role in supporting their work. Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School asserts that: “The purpose of institutions is to generate creativity by organizing human efforts to a common end. The generative organization of people’s work, then, is not about creating bureaucracy but about creating the networks, systems, principles and practices that allow for human and institutional flourishing.”
The Book of Discipline requires that all Annual Conference Boards and Committees (Para. 610) ask of their ministry/program areas: “How are we intentionally reaching new people for Jesus Christ through our ministries?” and “How are we helping new people grow and mature as disciples of Jesus Christ through our ministries and areas of responsibility?”
Our goal, then, is to create and oversee "networks, systems, principles and practices" that allow for our campus ministers, their staffs, their students, and their local Boards, to flourish in their mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ on college and university campuses across the Florida Conference.
We do this work in a number of ways:
- Cast a conference-wide vision and strategy for advancing our collective work on campus.
- Evaluate Wesley Foundation directors and ministries for effectiveness and excellence
- Encourage and support Wesley Foundation directors and Chaplains in their work and ministry
- Provide direct financial support to United Methodist schools and Wesley Foundations
- Ensure the maintenance and upkeep of Wesley Foundation property and buildings
- Advocate and advance the awareness and support for campus ministry throughout the annual conference.