During a recent meeting of an auxiliary group I serve on, someone asked the liaison from the primary group how we could best support their participants. He paused and said, “No one has ever asked me that before.” It was an insightful moment for the entire group – our primary task is to support the organization, and no one had previously asked the best ways we could walk along side and support their mission.
Sadly, the lack of awareness about the needs of those we serve is more common than we would like to admit. It’s necessary to be open to the idea that there are items and needs that are beyond our organizational awareness. In which case, the best way to learn is to ask and listen. It’s humbling to admit that we don’t know everything about those we serve.
When we’re in partnership and not competition with those serving the same Kingdom mission, we aren’t the only ones who have insights into how to accomplish the mission. There’s a diversity of ideas and we must admit that we don’t know everything. There are limits to our knowledge and we must be humble enough to ask to learn the things we don’t know. And, if we ask, we must actually listen to the answers.
I wrote last week about a recent gathering with the Churches of God, General Conference Administrative Council. We created the space to be intentional about asking about the needs of the various CGGC regions. One of the questions that was asked was How/When do we examine what we do/don’t teach vs. the actual needs of those we serve? This helped transition into a wider conversation about questions in the room.
Here are some of the other questions that were raised during this time together:
- What is the trajectory of the $300/month subscription tuition?
- Are there examples of churches who do a good job of encouraging students to attend Winebrenner?
- How do we prepare for an uncertain future?
- How does Winebrenner assist CGGC with culture distribution?
- What is the influence of accreditation on Winebrenner’s decisions and curriculum?
- What is the discipleship journey of a Winebrenner student?
During our final session for the day, we collaborated on some opportunities in which we can partner to further our unique, but complementary, missions. I’m hopeful that more will be shared through InDepth as we move forward with some of the plans discussed during this time.
We’re grateful for the Churches of God, General Conference and look forward to serving together as we move into the future!
- Brent C. Sleasman, President