Final meeting of Council of Boards

The final meeting of the Council of Boards of the Canadian Conference of MB Churches took place Jan. 28 in Abbotsford. It was a time of listening and celebrating but not decision making.

Begun in 1966, the Council of Boards has been governing the work of the Conference in a comprehensive way. It was begun at that time to present “a more united and a more effective witness” (Canadian Conference Yearbook 1966). The council was comprised of the executive committee and all members of the six boards. It functioned as the conference-in-interim in meetings between the regular meetings of the Conference in convention.

Within the past number of years it was felt that this system of governance was becoming too cumbersome and a new governance structure was sought. This new system was presented and approved at the 2004 convention in Toronto.

Moderator Willy Reimer

Moderator Willy Reimer chaired the Jan. 28 meeting, beginning with reflections from a recent church planting seminar held in Henderson, Nevada, where the speaker said, “If nothing else happens, is Jesus enough?” He continued, referring to John 11, that Jesus was in such an intimate relationship with God that when He heard Lazarus was sick, He knew He needed to wait and deliberately did not go to him. Reimer ended by saying, “We need wisdom, we need to pray for God to move, and that informs what we plan for the future. It’s got to be for the development of our personal lives, not to rush into things but to wait for God’s go-ahead.”

Les Stahlke, the consultant who helped develop the new governance structure, was present to help plan for the future. He reviewed the results of the recent survey of the membership of the Conference. The survey had been available online as well as in hard copy and 1015 responses were received. This was a good response, Stahlke said, and it indicated a sense of ownership in the Conference. He also stated that from the responses, the Executive Board would need to decide a) what services the Conference should give b) to what people and c) in what order.

Consultant Les Stahlke

These three components guided the ensuing discussion. Stahlke suggested some strategic decisions that would need to be made on each of these components.

Round table discussions gave everyone opportunity to weigh in on the questions. Out of these discussions, several key ideas arose.

It was noted that coordination with provincial conferences is needed. Services should not be duplicated but should complement each other. Stahlke suggested that provincial conference executives need to meet together to go through a process of strategic planning as well.

Stahlke also indicated the Conference needed to help the membership understand the benefits of belonging. It was felt there is a lack of awareness of what the Conference is and what it provides for its members. Ontario moderator Vic Thiessen stated that people give to what they feel good about rather than to an administrative budget. The Conference needs to help people understand the services it offers by marketing and communicating the benefits available. The language used to communicate the services is also important. Churches need to understand that the denomination is there to serve them, not the other way around. The concept of service and the servant model were emphasized as well as the fact that there is a distinction between services and programs. The programs are the vehicle for conveying the services.

The relationship between the Canadian MB Conference, Mennonite Brethren Missions and Services International and Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary was touched on. Since the latter two do fundraising apart from the Conference, it will be important that they still be seen as part of one body and that communication between them continues to happen.

The Executive Board was encouraged to take a leadership position in the new structure: “Lead us, take us forward and we’ll support you,” was said, but, stated Board member Kristen Corrigan earlier, “we need to involve our people in the churches in the dialogue.”

Final Council of Boards

Closure of COB

The second part of the meeting was the formal closure of the Council of Boards. The work of the boards was acknowledged by moderator Willy Reimer. Executive director Dave Wiebe read John 15:1–2, saying that trees (or vines) need to be trimmed to be even more fruitful. He continued, “There is excitement and nostalgia. New vistas will be developed, but we will lose the old ones. There is a new configuration but we are still part of the vine.” He indicated there was limitless longing for God’s healing to flow into the world.

Gifts were given to members of the Council of Boards to commemorate the occasion and communion was served.

The afternoon ended with prayer, for the people present, for the new board and for the staff that works to implement the direction of the board.

—Susan Brandt