Leadership Team announces plans

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team would like to keep Ohio Conference delegates informed about several developments. Please see the following announcements for details:

Five-Year Plan Review

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team has appointed a four-person team to review the Five-Year Plan*. This team is comprised of Doug Zehr, lead pastor of Oak Grove Mennonite Church in Smithville; Paula Snyder-Belousek, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church in Elida; Wes Graber, a member of the Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team and member of West Clinton Mennonite Church; and Myron Weaver, senior pastor of Berlin Mennonite Church. The team’s first meeting will be June 17.

*Historical note: In 2011 Ohio Conference delegates approved the Five-Year Plan, which was a proposal from the Leadership Team. The plan called for increasing the regional pastor staff from 1.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to 2.0 FTE. Originally, when the regional pastor system was adopted, the regional pastor staff had 3.0 FTE, but later staffing was reduced.

Update on Leadership Review

Conference Minister Tom Kauffman has informed the Leadership Team that this is his last year as Conference Minister, and that he plans to return to pastoral ministry. (For more details on this decision, please refer to his “Conference Minister Musings” column from the May-June issue of Ohio Mennonite Evangel.) The Leadership Team has retained Mennonite Health Services (MHS) to help in developing a process for transition. An MHS representative will be part of the Leadership Team meeting Tuesday, June 2.

Regional Pastor Review

A review is presently being conducted for both regional pastors, Ralph Reinford and Wanda Stopher, through an online survey. The survey will conclude June 5. Conference Minister Tom Kauffman is also conducting a review of Conference staff.

If you have received a request to complete the on- line survey, please do so by the June 5 deadline. If you have questions about completing the survey, please contact Ann Leaman.

Leadership Team Minutes

The Ohio Conference Leadership Team plans to publish minutes of its meetings in both Perspective and Ohio Mennonite Evangel during the current Conference year. A summary of the minutes from the April 13 Leadership Team meeting is available for viewing.