Read the Better Together Final Report
History
Synod 2012 noted the rising number of separations between congregations and their pastor, and requested the Board of Trustees (BOT) to take action to address this issue. At the BOT’s request, the administration asked Pastor Church Resources (PCR) to develop recommendations for action steps. PCR formed the Better Together Delivery Team (BTDT) to determine how to better equip classical leaders for helping churches and their pastors build strong healthy relationships.
Vision
Classes will demonstrate increased capacity to prevent and/or manage tension and conflict between pastors and congregations.
Mission
To assess the needs of classical functionaries and to develop recommendations for better support and resources for them as they seek to nurture healthy relationships between pastors and congregations.
Goals of the project
- Improved support and resources for church visitors, regional pastors, church counselors, and mentors.
- Stronger relationships, networks for communication, and resource sharing among classical functionaries, and between denominational staff and classical functionaries.
- Make recommendations to PCR which are embraced and result in stronger support for relationships between congregations and their pastors.
From the very beginning, the Better Together Delivery Team was committed to listening, learning, and maintaining a posture of support. As of July 2015, the team had connected with a number of regional pastors, church visitors, mentors, stated clerks, and other ministry leaders—over 400 leaders in all!—representing 44 classes across the US and Canada.
Throughout the project, the team maintained a ‘Findings Document’ that detailed what they learned from classis leaders, including the current realities and themes from the comments heard. This document was continually updated and distributed to the classis leaders the team has connected with throughout their work. Read the final report from the Better Together Delivery Team.