And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness and Your praise all day long. For almost a year, members of the Florida Annual Conference's Inner City Task Force have been developing a model for ministry to unchurched people in the state's 10 urban centers. The project is a combination of old and new strategies, said the Rev. Charles Courtoy, executive director of the conference's Committee on New Church Development and Church Redevelopment. The old strategy is to reach people through Wesleyan small group or house church ministries.
People feel more comfortable with the support of the house church.
Each house church will be led by a trained lay missioner. Though lay leadership is not new to Methodism, organizing lay missioners under the leadership of a districtwide coordinator of city ministries is a new strategy, according to Courtoy. He or she will be the person who keeps the vision and sees the whole of the ministry. The Miami District Board of Church Extension and Missions is working on the coordinator's job description. Campbell-Evans hopes to find a coordinator who speaks English and either Spanish or Creole.