The Mountain Sky Conference is committed to starting new faith communities, large and small. As the populations in our area change, one way we respond is creating new faith communities where new opportunities are present. Ranging from small, lay-lead, house churches, to more traditional clergy lead projects, we aim to create a diverse economy of churches that will meet the needs of the great cultural, ethnic, and age diversity present throughout our area.
New faith communities can be initiated by individuals, existing congregations, or the conference. They take a variety of forms but hold some basic things in common.
Source: http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/new-church-starts/characteristics
New Faith communities take various forms and can be initiated in a number of ways. The Mountain Sky Conference aims to use a variety of strategies including Partner/Parent Church and Multi-site expansion. You can find a good overview of various strategy from Discipleship Ministries.
To aid in the development of new faith communities we offer different forms of support.
If you are interested in exploring church planting in your area, or you have an idea for a new church project you’d like to explore, you can apply for an Exploration Grant. These are one-time grants intended to help you explore, evaluate, and experiment.
Any group wishing to organize under the New Faith Community provisions of the Book of Discipline (Paragraph 259) should first contact their local District Superintendent. After that, you can submit a New Faith Community Implementation Application to the New Church Development Committee. Once approved, projects can access support like professional coaching, training events, and in some cases, salary and program financial support.
For existing churches interested in participating in a Parent/Child church plant or multi-site expansion we offer support to help discern your readiness for that project. This includes a congregational survey utilized nationally by more than 700 congregations. It can also include an onsite consultation. If you are interested, please contact communications@mtnskyumc.org.
For individuals interested in exploring the possibility of being a church planter we offer scholarships to attend a discernment event. We also have an evaluation process that helps you identify your strengths for church planting. If you are interested, please contact communications@mtnskyumc.org.