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Brian Frick is the Associate for Camp and Conferences Ministries with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He has been involved in camp and conference ministry since high school. For the past ten years, Brian has served as program director of Johnsonburg Center in New Jersey, Westminster Woods in California, and Heartland Center in Missouri.

Camp and conference ministry compliments and partners with other ministry aspects of our church to foster faith development and reflection. As our communities and our church changes, our ministries need to grow and adapt with creative and emergent programming and leadership to meet new realities.

These blogs entries, though varied, are intended to spur thought and conversation around the opportunities and challenges before us.

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June 15, 2009

Deep, Wide and Lateral

Brian Frick

I see the PCUSA future....and the future is flat!  (I guess if the world is now flat again, our church future can be?)
Flat_earth edit
Partnerships between ministries, support or "para" church organizations supporting ministries, and a group of folks centrally (GAMC) connecting the dots and pulling people/ministries together in partnerships.
At the Big Tent I had no less than 10 talks with other ministries about how to partner directly with camp and conference ministries to share and spread their ministry in a way that strengthens both ministries.  I know this is not a new idea and has been happening in our current structure, but the pace is accelerating as the financial and other challenges intensify.
What do you think?
Another part of this tension is the fear that if things are not done or controlled centrally, we will lose our "Presbyterian-ness".  Our denominational identity will suffer and dilute.  I hear this and know this could happen.
But - controlling God, faith and ministry is like trying to squeeze sand.  You might get a bunch in your hand, but the more you squeeze to get contol, the quicker it slips through your fingers.
I think people in all levels/areas of our denomination know this even if they can't articulate it and that things are moving that direction.
God is HUGEUNGOUS!  The Spirit uses us and changes us in ways we can't see until later.  I think God is calling us to re-shape and it is so exciting to see it happening.
Waht do you think?