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Laity Focus

Welcome to the Laity Page of the New Mexico Annual Conference.

Look for events, resources and laity-related news on this page and the sublink pages found to the right under Laity Focus.

Bishop Max Whitfield has called our Conference to pray for the church. The power of prayer is recognized and is transformational.

 

Laity can be leaders in this prayer ministry. Gather small groups, plan prayer time daily where all those called to this ministry will stop and pray for the church wherever they are.

 

Stepping into prayer is like stepping into the arms of God for that prayer time. The act of praying empowers our future as a church, allows us to feel and see what God calls us to be next.

 

Please pray for our General and Jurisdictional Conference delegates. They are on the front lines of transformation. Holding them in our prayers gives them support and freedom to listen to their hearts as well as their heads.

 

Laity delegates are Donna TeBrink (General Conference), Susan Brumbaugh (Jurisdictional Conference) and Daniel Ivey-Soto, Chelsea Calderon and Karen Wells (Alternates).  Clergy delegates are Jeff Lust (General Conference), Beverly Jones (Jurisdictional Conference) and Jon Moore, Scott Sharp and Felicia Hopkins (Alternates). 

Quote: "Perhaps God brings us to the end of our resources so we can discover the vastness of His." Dr. Neil T. Anderson

 

Scripture: Proverbs 2:9-10 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

  Lay Leadershp Guidelines and Prayer
 

O Christ, do not give me tasks equal to my powers, but give me powers equal to my task for I want to be stretched by things to great for me.  I want to grow through the greatness of my tasks, but I shall need your help for the growing.  E. Stanley Jones

Isaiah 49: 5-6  “And now,” God says, this God who took me in hand from the moment of birth to be his servant,  to bring Jacob back home to him, to set a reunion for Israel – What an honor for me in God’s eyes!  That God should be my strength!  He says, “But that’s not a big enough job for my servant – just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel.  I’m setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!”  The Message
 

Lay Leadership moment

Each person is called to ministry by virture of his or her baptism, and that ministry takes place in all aspects of daily life, in and outside the church.  As a leader among the laity, your ministry is not just a “job,” but a spiritual endeavor.  Others look to you for spiritual leadership.

All persons who follow Jesus are called to grow spiritually through the practice of various Christian habits (sometimes called means of Grace) such as prayer, Bible study, private & corporate worship, acts of service, Christian conferencing, etc.

You as a lay leader model keeping your eye on the main reasons for any ministry – to help others grow and mature in faith in God.

How are you modeling this leadership style?  Or as Donna would say…how are you embracing God, following the Holy Spirit that lives in you, showing love in creative, amazing ways. 

 Paraphrased from the Nominations & Leadership development Guidelines book from Cokesbury.

This Laity page encourages dialog via email or snail mail about the various aspects of leadership laity.  E-mail any of the Lay Leaders or Donna Tebrink our Annual Conference Lay Leader. 

Donna TeBrink
Chris Caldes
Tom Thomas
Carol Bignell

Mail may be sent to the New Mexico Conference Office:
11816 Lomas Blv NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112