Operations Team to help churches prepare for GC2020

The Oklahoma Conference has appointed a General Conference Operations Team to help local churches prepare for and respond to the 2020 General Conference, happening May 5-15 in Minneapolis. The 10-member team of laity and clergy is led by Revs. Wendi Neal and Chuck Horton.

The team has been tasked with determining what resources would be most helpful to local churches with regards to General Conference and its potential impact on the denomination.

Rev. Derrek Belase, director of Connectional Ministries, said budget cuts and staff retirements have left the Cabinet and the conference staff stretched too thin to take on the work alone.

The Oklahoma Conference currently offers a daily devotion centered on 150 days of praying through the Psalms, questions and answers about General Conference from Bishop James Nunn, a curated list of denominational resources, and ongoing coverage in the Contact. There is also an online class on productive conflict titled, “Healing the Wounds that Divide.”

The Operations Team will help determine what specific resources will help local churches be ready to respond to the 2020 General Conference. Conference staff will be available to help develop resources that the Operations Team identifies.

Belase hopes the team-led approach will prevent the conference from pursuing ideas that are not helpful to local churches.

In addition to General Conference resources, the team is also looking for prayers written by conference members which might be used during a weekly prayer cycle.

Submissions may be sent to the group email address. Resource and idea suggestions from conference members can be sent to the group email address at gcoperations@okumc.org. You can view the resource page at https://www.okumc.org/gc2020resources.