The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Evangelism presented its Report #8 on Resolution A065 (Convening and Supporting Evangelists) and moved adoption of a substitute.

Original Text of Resolution:

(A065)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to gather the voices and wisdom of evangelists, encourage the sharing of information and deepening relationships through all available ways, including, but not limited to social networking sites, conference calls and meetings at conferences; and be it further

Resolved, That all dioceses are urged to develop training programs for evangelists, including web-based resources, appropriate to the demographic and theological diversities of their geographic area; and be it further

Resolved, That General Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to support the training and development of evangelists by developing training materials and programs; creating and making widely available resources to identify and develop the gifts and skills of effective evangelists; and establishing mechanisms for sharing locally developed best practices, experiences and resources; and be it further

Resolved, That the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life report on the gatherings, diocesan programs, training materials and resources and on their effectiveness in developing skills of evangelism to the 77th General Convention.

Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention affirm the Church’s teaching that all Christians are called to bear witness to Christ wherever they may be and to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, and that this Convention equally affirm with Saint Paul that Christ has given to the Church evangelists to build up the Body of Christ; and be it further

Resolved, That this Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to gather the voices and wisdom of evangelists, and encourage the sharing of information and deepening of relationships among them through all available ways, such as social networking sites, conference calls and meetings at conferences; and be it further

Resolved, That all dioceses are urged, through their Commissions on Ministry or other appropriate bodies, to identify and call forth evangelists, and to ensure that there are adequate training programs and materials available for evangelism, including web-based resources, appropriate to the demographic, cultural, and theological diversities of their geographic area; and be it further

Resolved, That this Convention direct the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life to support dioceses in the training of evangelists by developing training materials and programs; by creating and making widely available resources in different languages, for example Spanish, French, etc., to identify and develop the gifts and skills of effective evangelists; and by establishing mechanisms for sharing locally developed best practices, experiences and resources; and be it further

Resolved, That the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life solicit from Commissions on Ministry or other appropriate diocesan bodies information on local programs utilized for the identification and development of evangelists, so that such resources can be widely shared among dioceses; and be it further

Resolved, That the Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life report on the gatherings, diocesan programs, training materials and resources, and on their effectiveness in developing skills of evangelism to the 77th General Convention.

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #126)