The Annual Conference Workbook is Now Available! Click Here to Learn More

Who We Are

Mission, Vision and Values

The Missouri Annual Conference is united around a common purpose. We celebrate Unity in Christ and Diversity in the Kingdom.
 

Download Our Vision Poster


MISSION

Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
 

VISION

The Missouri Conference will relentlessly lead our churches to become outwardly focused and spiritually centered Christ followers.

RACE AND CULTURE PURPOSE STATEMENT

The Missouri Conference desires to be a brave, empowering place for people from diverse cultures and generations so that we can become a Church for all God’s people. We seek to do this by equipping Conference leaders and local churches for multicultural leadership, cross-cultural connection and healing justice.

CORE PRACTICES

Congregational Excellence

Congregational Excellence is one of three core practices for the Missouri Annual Conference. The Missouri Conference believes that churches of any size can create new places for new people to connect with Christ and one another. Congregational excellence includes helping churches plant the five kinds of new places:

  1. Small Group - A group of less than 15 people who gather at least twice a month in-person or virtually with the goal of becoming more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and reaching new people.
  2. Recovery Ministry - A group of any size that meets regularly in-person or virtually and takes a Christ-centered approach to reach new people and help them recover from hurts, habits, or hang ups, e.g., Celebrate Recovery, Divorce Care, Grief Share, or another Christian support group. Churches may also partner with recovery groups they host, such as AA, Al-Anon, Gam-Anon, CHADD, etc., by offering radical hospitality, building relationships with group leaders, praying for requests made anonymously, and/or making available a designated chaplain.)
  3. Missional Community - A group of people that meets regularly in-person or virtually outside the four walls of the church and are united around a mission that allows them to serve and witness to a particular mission field, e.g., neighborhood, region, or network of relationships. The participants of a missional community find their primary identity of “church” within the missional community, rather than an established church or small group and are committed to live out certain gospel identities and rhythms. Missional communities can take place in bowling alleys, fitness centers, restaurants, VFW halls, homes, workplaces, online, or anywhere they can share the love of Christ as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19 and care for each other’s needs.
  4. New Worship Service - A group of 15 or more people that meet at least once a month in-person or virtually to experience praise, joy, mourning, and celebration in a fresh new way with the purpose of reaching people not currently involved in a worshiping community.
  5. New Church or Multi-site - A new body of believers or a new site of an existing congregation that gathers in-person or virtually to reach new people.
     

Leadership Excellence

Leadership Excellence is one of three core practices for the Missouri Annual Conference. The Conference and its local churches develop missional leaders through a variety of Christ-centered pathways and spiritual formation practices that is focused on:

  • Moving from meeting God to an active, growing and authentic faith in Jesus Christ; and
  • Being identified as a leader and is mentored by another leader; and
  • Providing leadership in their local church and/or beyond, and
  • Identifying and has beginning to mentor a new leader
     

Missional Justice

Missional Justice is one of three core practices for the Missouri Annual Conference. The Conference seeks to equip local churches in their engagement of the biblical call to justice. This engagement is always contextual and reflective of the local church’s mission field. The work of justice always seeks to inspire hope, offer healing and reconciliation and create a collaborative movement to transform individuals, communities, the Church and the world.
 

EXPECTATIONS

The Missouri Conference has six expectations of all clergy and lay members: Christ-centeredness, accountability, collaboration, excellence, diversity and fruitfulness. These values are central to our pursuit of Unity in Christ through Diversity in the Kingdom.