The earliest structure of Methodism
in American history was communal and
creative. The isolated frontier churches
shared clergy and operated in cooperatives
in which teams of itinerant circuit elders
(usually a trainee and a slightly older
mentor) would traverse the countryside on
horseback preaching, visiting the sick, and
holding the many classes and bands to task
in their Christian discipleship.
The cooperative parish concept has been
knocked around in the United Methodist
Book of Discipline and annual conference
staff organizational charts for decades.
And yet, either out of fear, distrust, or
selfishness, few congregations have seen
fit to actually live into the possibilities
of sharing ministry intentionally. Sure,
churches may begrudgingly share a pastor
when a district superintendent comes in
for consultation and asks nicely. But the
powerful impact of intentional regional
ministry represented in the cooperative parish model is so much more than
just operating as a charge for the clergy
appointment-making purposes.
In An Effective Approach to Cooperative
Parishes, Kay Kotan and Jason Stanley
offer a roadmap for discernment and implementation for congregations to cooperate
strategically and creatively to make a
bigger Kingdom impact. Readers will be
challenged, directed, and coached by the
pages of this book. But all this work begins
and finds momentum in the willingness
of disciples to serve Christ together in
community.
