CARU Entities Will Focus on Discipleship in Evangelism
At its first in-person meeting since 2019, administrators, directors, and staff of the Caribbean Union Conference took time to celebrate each other at the office in Maraval, affirm the leading of God in the life of the Church across the territory, and review strategic initiatives for the next four years.
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At its first in-person meeting since 2019, administrators, directors, and staff of the Caribbean Union Conference took time to celebrate each other at the office in Maraval, affirm the leading of God in the life of the Church across the territory, and review strategic initiatives for the next four years. During the four-day meeting, administrators and directors reviewed all evangelistic plans and reaffirmed their commitment to lead an intentional, collaborative discipleship campaign.
The administrators of the Caribbean Union Conference (CARU) passionately appealed for each ministry and department to become engaged in conserving the gains of the Church. Dr. Kern Tobias, President, expounded on the vision to be realized over the next four years. Each director shared the events and activities scheduled for 2023, and attendees were briefed on methods for strategic planning by Pastor Johnson Frederick, Executive Secretary. Pastor Bertie Henry, Treasurer, presented ideas for constructively funding the mission and giving priority to the seven strategic initiatives of the Union.
“It is not time for business as usual,” said Dr. Kern Tobias. “As we begin the working phase of the quinquennium with the compelling theme, Faithful in Service, I Will Go, it is necessary that all the thought and ministry leaders, the administrators and directors of CARU, the conferences and missions, the institutional leaders, pastors, teachers, and all other categories of workers understand the monumental challenges that, as a Church, we are contending with. The work before us is great . . . but as church leaders and members unite with the Holy Spirit, we can move forward in fulfilling the Great Commission entrusted to us by God Himself.”
Quoting from Discipling, Nurturing, and Reclaiming, (a compilation of the Nurture and Retention Summits hosted by the General Conference in 2013 and 2019) Dr. Tobias reminded the team of the bleak report of the Church’s ability to nurture and retain its evangelistic gains. Since 1965, 40,421,554 people have been members of the SDA Church. Of those, 16,240,069 have chosen to leave. Our net loss rate is 40 percent. In other words, 4 of every 10 church members have left the Church.” He continued, “We must embrace a discipleship curriculum [to] produce disciple-makers who will become effective witnesses for Christ. The program must help develop ministry skills for the discipling and equipping of members for ministry. We must admit that in the CARU, we have focused on the number of baptisms. Good as that may be, there is a greater concern that has now become not only urgent – but also important.”
Dr. Tobias continued, “We must come up with concrete strategies and ideas to determine how each department and ministry is doing, and to better involve the church membership in this initiative. Perhaps, it is time to tweak our monthly report. Pastors who nurture and equip the newly baptized have no way to report that. Since nurture and disciple training are not generally reportable, there is little incentive to train new believers. Pastors in their many pressing duties find it easier to concentrate on winning souls rather than discipling, educating, and training. If the reporting system is the wrong thing, a change of the reporting system is in order. Even more is needed—a change of focus. Get out of the numbers game and embark on the biblical model of discipling, that is embodied in the mission statement of the Church.”
The Ministerial Secretary of the Caribbean Union Conference, Pastor Ammaran Williams, welcomed the focus expressed by the administrators, and added that there is already a system of accountability developed by the Inter-American Division which is designed to track the discipleship growth of local congregations, and that church leaders are encouraged to use the resource. To support the strategies for growing disciples among the entities of the Caribbean Union Conference, a Doctrinal Defense Committee was organized and will be coordinated by Pastor Ammaran Williams; this group will clarify doctrinal ambiguity, provide answers to controversial social, moral, and ethical issues that confront the Church, and serve as a defender of the faith.
Dr. Tobias referenced an Evangelism and Discipleship Consultation to be held in March 2023, which will engage the field leaders and related ministries of CARU to establish a plan that can eventually reverse the net loss rate and improve the retention record of the Church in the Caribbean Union. Dr. Claudius Morgan was appointed to serve as the Evangelism Coordinator of the Caribbean Union Conference. The President will lead a Nurture and Discipleship Committee that is tasked with providing a framework to retain the gains of evangelistic and mission initiatives of CARU; this body will also recommend reporting standards that encompass and capture the nurturing and consolidation efforts of the spiritual shepherds.
In his parting exhortation, Dr. Tobias said, “We are a team working to complement each other. We want us to get the best and encourage members of the Church to faithfully go in service, discipling members for the Kingdom.”