The Connectional Ministries staff begins taking shape as the position of Outreach Team Coordinator is filled. Steve Taylor, former conference director of missions, is named to the new role.
“Taylor’s experience as a leader in the North Carolina Conference, especially in mission development and teaching in the local church, qualifies him for the new position. He brings skills as a facilitator, coach, mentor, and evaluator – skills already tested in local congregations, districts, church agencies and volunteer teams,” said the Rev. Carol Goehring, executive director of Conference Connectional Ministries and Church Revitalization.
“With a passion for Christ-like service and ministry with the poor, Taylor envisions a church that worships and reaches into the world ‘to proclaim life and bring hope.’ Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is the mission of the church, and Taylor shares the concern for the church’s witness and work,” Goehring said.
In a reorganization of the Conference Connectional Ministries staff in early January, four positions were eliminated. The mission director position Taylor led was one of those four.
With the attention required to coordinate relief efforts for earthquake-stricken Haiti, Taylor’s service in the NC Conference was extended beyond Jan. 22, when other staff positions were discontinued.
Interviews began in February for the Outreach Team Coordinator and the conclusion of that process allows Taylor to continue with uninterrupted service in the Connectional Ministries staff. However, the role of Outreach Team Coordinator brings new expectations and requires surrender of some former responsibilities.
Interviews continue for the other Connectional Ministries team coordinators, Christian Formation and Leadership.
Under the reorganization model, the coordinators will work as a team and will focus on church revitalization through coaching, assessment, vision-discernment and strategic planning for ministry.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Steve Taylor to the Connectional Ministries team. He provides some continuity in the mission and outreach of the Conference and he brings a collaborative style of leadership for the work of transforming existing congregations,” Goehring said.
I applaud this move and know that Steve will continue his excellent work with the North Carolina Annual Conference!
I consider it a profound blessing to have the opportunity to serve as the Outreach Team Coordinator. It is with great excitement and much anticipation that I look forward to the new work we will do as a connectional team, partnering with local congregations in collaboration with lay and clergy leadership, developing new ministry, facilitating increased mission activity, and growing the vitality of the local church. My deep prayer is that together, congregations and Connectional Ministries team, we might increase our outreach into our broken communities as we invite our neighbors into the salvation of Christ, demonstrate the love of God, and live into the life of Jesus … making disciples, proclaiming God’s justice, and transforming God’s world into that place we pray about every Sunday – “on earth as it is in heaven.” Such is the gift that God offers us. It is blessing and it is grace.
Congrats to Steve. Continued service in your areas of expertise will be a blessing to the mission field.
I am encouraged by the personnel committee’s decision to hire Steve Taylor for the Outreach Coordinator. A deeply spiritual person who has a true heart for the local church, the poor, and missions, Steve brings a rich background to this position.
BRAVO!
Glad to hear this news. Steve has so much knowledge about missions that it would have been a sad day to lose him.
Steve, we rejoice that you have been named Outreadh Coordinator! May God contiue to bless you as you continue to do the outstanding job that you have always done!
Ben & Jeanne Rouse
Congratulations Steve!
Having been a member of many of the committees and commissions related to the Office on Missions and Justice Ministries, I have seen the many ways in which you have witnessed to the Gospel both in the local churches, at the Conference Level and in your visits overseas. May God continue to be the focus of your heart and mind.
As a Hispanic/Latino I have also seen your daily support to our office and your efforts to understand and respect our culture. In your struggle for Peace and Justice, in your everyday planning for Outreaching, don’t forget that “God in Christ takes time for us
and interrupts us, throughout the day, if we have the eyes of faith to see it. God takes time from us.”
Great news!
Steve: May God continue to use your compassion and talents for Kingdom Building among us.
Congratulations Steve!
Real glad to hear this. It is a good thing for you and for the NC Conference.
Outstanding…
There are few people in the world with a heart like Steve Taylor! He has a gentle and Christ like heart and I am so pleased that he will be staying on with the NCAC. We not only needed his knowledge and skills,we needed the person. Way to go!
I am thrilled that “we” have enough sense to put the right person in place! I hope and pray that all of the other positions will turn out as good as this position. Blessings on you Steve!
I am thrilled that Steve will serve in this position not just because Steve is so great in his previous ministry with us, but also because he grasps the vision for the entire Outreach Team ministry, not just the missions ministry.
Since Steve is one of the best staff members ever, I’m very pleased that he has been retained in this new position. May God continue to bless his ministry.
While I have only known Steve a short while, it is easy to understand the decision to put his energy and heartfelt passion to work in this important role. May God bless him as he moves forward.