Making Christ Central to Men

Report to Summer Management Team – June 2004

There has been agreement among a core group of men within the Central Pennsylvania Conference, including outgoing President Bob Wolfgang, that we will make every reasonable effort in the coming year to reorganize the Conference United Methodist Men program. The model for organization shall be the one offered by the General Commission on United Methodist Men, developed in 1996 and expanded through subsequent issues of The Book of Discipline. Highlights of that model will be as follows.

The President shall be the leader of a group of District Presidents, one in each of the 9 Districts of this Conference, whose chief aim is the Centrality of Jesus Christ in the lives of men in Central Pennsylvania. We will achieve this goal only if we function in a connected manner, very much imitating the model provided by the Bishop and the Cabinet. We will write and adopt a new Constitution and By-Laws for the Conference and the Districts that will make clear the systematic process by which we will become a connected ministry to men within the United Methodist Church in Central Pennsylvania.

The President, as leader of the Conference will rely heavily upon the existing structures and ministries of the Central Pennsylvania Conference in order to avoid duplication and isolated efforts and to create proactive, symbiotic relationships with other ministries and programs in this Conference. District Presidents will work with District Superintendents, as will the Conference President, to assure that UMMen fulfill their purpose as an essential asset in the development of Christ’s kingdom. It shall be a goal of the Conference President to visit each of the nine Districts in the Conference at least once in the coming year, attending and participating in either a local unit or district level event.

The President shall also serve as a member of various Jurisdictional programs that are in place to connect this Annual Conference with the larger church. Inter-Jurisdictional efforts are underway to connect outlying Districts of Conferences within the Northeast Jurisdiction in joint projects for the promotion of this ministry to and for men. Together with other Conference leaders, the President will seek training and guidance from the Commission based in Nashville.

Through local charters and the EMS national individual membership program, we will increase the number of participating UMMen by 50% as a minimum goal. This increase is our most important task for the year. Based on current demographics, this must lead us to reach into the untapped pool of younger men in our communities who have not made Christ central in their lives --- or who have made Christ central in their lives but have found no place in our church to act this out.

And there will be other key leadership positions developed at the Conference level and in each of our nine Districts.

A Conference Prayer Advocate will be appointed and a retreat to train Prayer Advocates for each District has been developed with the help of Center for Spiritual Formation. This retreat, lead by Dr Russell Hart on October 14 and 15 in Frenchville, Pa will also serve as a tool for Prayer Advocates within the NEJ.

A new Conference Scouting Coordinator, Robert Peel, has made meaningful contact with the coordinator of the National Youth/Scouting program. He is ready to work with Scouting Coordinators in each District.

Conference, District and local Hunger Relief Advocates will connect us with the ministry opportunities created by the Society of St Andrew.

MENistry training tools developed by the General Commission on United Methodist Men over the past 7 years offer a range of small group accountability models and bible studies geared toward empowering men in the church that have not been utilized. Following the example of CCOM in the past year, the leadership team will take MENistry training “on the road” and make it available not only at central retreats but at District and intra-District locations.

There were two 50-year anniversary men’s rallies held in the conference this year. One was in the York district and one in Lewistown. The Lewistown event drew 700 men and was lucky to have Dr. Tony Campolo as a guest speaker, mainly due to the efforts of the Conference UMMen leadership. The York event took place without any communication or connection with the Conference UMMen leadership. Though both gatherings were relative successes, neither event was shepherded and nurtured in a way that would make it useful to a Conference wide men’s ministry. This mistake will not be repeated.

The UMMen of Central Pennsylvania are looking forward to an opportunity to work with and through the Conference to make Christ central in the lives of men in central Pennsylvania in 2004/2005.

David Blontz

Conference President