Anticipated Start Date: September 10, 2025
Description
We are seeking two Commissioners of the 45th General Council to join this group that will map the church’s ministry needs for lay and ordered leaders in the United Church.
Mandate
The Ministry Leadership Working Group is being formed to identify both obstacles in the church’s response to the current realities, and opportunities to meet the current and future ministry leadership needs that will enable the church to live into its preferred future – vibrant, diverse, resilient communities of disciples with faithful, adaptive, effective ministry leaders (lay and ordered).
The Working Group will:
- map the ministry leadership (lay and ordered) needs of the church to 2035, with particular attention to (but not limited to):
- migrant, diasporic, and emerging church plant leaders
- cooperative ministry models
- Bi-vocational ministers
- welcoming existing communities of faith and ministry leaders from other denominations;
- identify opportunities and barriers to lay and ordered ministry leadership;
- recommend strategies and practices to enable the church to be responsive to the current, emerging and future realities of its context, that can be implemented immediately, in 1-3 years, and in 5 and 10 years
- consult with regional councils, growth animators, emergent communities of faith church plant leads, migrant communities, staff and communities involved in piloting cooperative ministry, francophone communities, communities engaged in ecumenical shared ministries, as well as ecumenical partners (e.g. the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the British Anglican Church), theological schools and global partners
- provide an interim report to the spring meeting of the GCE and make recommendations to the 2026 Annual Meeting of the 45th General Council regarding any necessary changes to policy and practices
To carry out its responsibilities, the Committee will use the following frameworks:
Membership
The Working Group would be made up of no more than 6 individuals:
- One member nominated by the Board of Vocation
- One member nominated by the Theology Inter-Church Inter-Faith Committee who worked on the 2025 Statement on Ministry
- One member nominated from a Candidacy Board
- One member nominated by the General Council Executive
- Two members recommended by the Nominations committee from the Commissioners of the 45th General Council
Member Skills and Experience
Members will have familiarity with United Church polity and practice with regards to ministry leadership and formation (lay and ordered). They will have the capacity to think outside the box and be open to creative and contextual imagination. We are seeking people with abilities in:
- Problem-Solving: Able to identify issues and developing creative solutions to overcome challenges.
- Strategic Planning: Capable of developing long-term plans and strategies to achieve expected outcomes
- Visionary Thinking: Able to envision the future needs of the church and develop innovative approaches to meet those needs.
Committee members will be
- committed to the Call of the United Church and willing to discern God’s yearnings for this work
- predisposed to collaboration and teamwork
- able to listen and discern
- committed to right relations, the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the vision of becoming an intercultural church, and the journey to becoming an anti-racist denomination
- comfortable with and able to participate in electronic meetings
- able to commit the time required for this responsibility
- able to analyze complex problems, identify patterns, and develop strategic solutions.
- have experience with understanding complex qualitative and quantitative data, research, and reports
United Church Relationship: Must be a Full Member and GC45 Commissioner.
For more information about this volunteer opportunity, please see the complete description, below.
To Express Interest
To apply for this vacancy, please express interest or nominate someone.
All submissions will be acknowledged by e-mail. If you do not receive acknowledgement, please contact Member Engagement. Incomplete or late submissions cannot be considered.
For further information or assistance in expressing interest or nominating someone, please contact:
Member Engagement
Toll-Free: 1-800-268-3781
E-mail:
Downloads
- Working Group on Ministry Leadership - Description (168.17 KB) (PDF)