ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE
RMC Boosts Creativity and Innovation in the New Normal
Courtesy Rocky Mountain Conference
Officers comment on how the church has fared in the past six months and share their hopes for the new normal
Ed Barnett President Incredible changes have taken place in our conference in the last six months. They are changes that will require us to take a new look at how we do church. From a leadership perspective, this offers an opportunity for our conference and the church itself Rajmund Dabrowski
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to carefully and prayerfully look at how we can do church better as we move forward. In the era of “new normal,” all our congregations have engaged in embracing technology and virtual worship. Looking into the future, we expect to continue live-streaming worship services in all churches. It is amazing to see the number of hits some of our churches are getting. In the last few months, the church mission, including our traditional evangelistic outreach, experienced a pause in many of our plans, but also received a boost with a variety of new methods. Over the years, we have talked about innovation. Now, we cannot engage in the “tried and true,” but must
continue to update and retool using new technology and social media to reach thousands of people rather than the low numbers we were reaching in the past. And there is more. To effectively reach our audience, we need to rethink the content of our preaching and teaching. Jesus has to be the center of our churches, homes and messages. Meeting new needs In recent months, we have seen an increased interaction with our neighbors as we have responded to their many needs—both physical and spiritual. It is vital that we refocus our public presence and strategize ways to best meet the needs of our
communities while sharing Jesus and His love. Among the biggest challenges in our conference is the effect of the pandemic on our schools. There will be the required readjustment in how educational programs meet the cognitive, social and spiritual needs of our students, besides also meeting the financial obligations. From a management perspective, we must continue to hold more virtual meetings rather than spending thousands of dollars traveling throughout our vast territory of Colorado, Wyoming and the northern part of New Mexico. Our new circumstances call us to rethink how we conduct large gatherings, including town halls and camp meetings.