The Governance Implementation Team continues to move forward in our work of planning and transforming the governance policies and processes at Abiding Love. We have retained the services of consultant Dick Moeller with a company called Enovate Enterprises to help focus and guide us in our decisions about the decisions and timeline for proceeding with the necessary governance and operational changes. Dick is well-known to the Abiding Love congregation as the Executive Director of the international Water To Thrive Program.

The most visible changes to-date are the operations of the revised Fellowship and Outreach Ministry Areas. We are very lucky to have two ministry leaders, Billye Trostel and Steve Kikta who have been doing a great job of forging ahead in the Fellowship and Outreach Ministry areas without the benefit of a clear roadmap. In fact, I would say they are creating maps in ways that are great examples for those who will follow them.

There is also a Staffing Committee chaired by Kurt Lowe that will examine the personnel needs of the church as we move forward. This group has already started meeting and is expected to meet through the remainder of 2016. The Staffing Committee is working in coordination with the GIT.

Good communication is a big part of successfully making these changes. We invite you to speak with any member of the Governance Implementation Team with your questions and comments about the what is happening. We also hope members will use this blog and the Comments section to post any questions or comments.

We have a busy period ahead of us as we prepare the revised Constitution and Bylaws for Abiding Love, communicate with the congregation about all of these changes and what they mean, and submit the revised documents to the Synod for approval. Please pray for God's help with our work.