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The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) ? United Methodist education officials took initial steps toward making the Methodist Global Education Fund for Leadership Development a reality during meetings in Panama, Korea, and Japan, and a task force set three primary goals for the fund's development.

The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry collaborated with national and regional Methodist educational associations to bring together representatives of Methodist-related schools, colleges, and universities in the three countries to hear the case for the proposed $4 million fund.

"The United Methodist Church in the U.S. as the resource provider, and United Methodist churches and the affiliated churches outside the U.S. as the receivers, is the model of the past," said the Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, the board's top staff executive, or general secretary. "Leadership development must be a shared mission, responsibility and resource.

"This initiative holds a key for the United Methodist Church and Methodist churches to become a truly global church and creates a new generation of Christian leaders who will transform this troubled world," he said.

At a Sept. 11 meeting in Nashville, the Methodist Global Education Fund in Leadership Development Task Force set three primary goals for the financial campaign:

Ken Yamada

Del Pino said the fund will play an important role in leadership development, with more than 750 Methodist educational institutions in 69 different countries involved.

Far-reaching potential

Yamada told educators and church leaders who attended the meetings in Panama, Korea, and Japan that Christian congregations are rapidly growing around the world. He added that United Methodist congregations are dramatically expanding with more than 10 million members worldwide.

"The potential here is far reaching," Yamada said. "We have the opportunity to foster a powerful sense of global connectedness that could allow millions of Methodists to share their knowledge, their energy and their faith. They, in turn, can become leaders of congregations, communities, businesses and eventually nations."

The fund will build on the role the United Methodist Church has played for 200 years in developing educational institutions around the world, Yamada said. "We must leverage that resource to create leadership development programs that will provide precisely what Methodist congregations and communities across the globe are hungry for: dynamic, principled leaders who are guided by Christian faith and Christian principles."

He said the fund is being organized in five regions ? Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. He noted that the different political climate in each of those regions means the pace and structure are different too.

"Educators and church members in each of those regions will raise the funds and use the funds to support institutions and provide scholarships that will further the goal of leadership development," Yamada said.

Korea

In Korea, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry staff and the Board of Education of the Korean Methodist Church met with 30 representatives of Methodist-related schools, colleges and universities to present the case for the fund.

"The participants responded positively and enthusiastically," Yamada said. He said the group is discussing the steps that need to be taken to make the fund a reality in Korea, and the Korean Methodist Church Board of Education, with the assistance of the United Methodist board, is planning a retreat in January.

Japan

At a July 27-29 summit hosted by Japan's Hiroshima Jogakuin College, 50 representatives of 17 educational institutions established by Methodist missionaries and the Methodist Episcopal Church came together for the first time in 65 years. The representatives of these schools organized a coordinating committee for planning the future activities of the group, which will focus on efforts to overcome a sharp decline in the number of college-bound students in Japan.

Yamada said information about the fund was presented by the United Methodist board, and the agency will provide technical assistance to the group and the individual institutions for their work.

Panama

In Panama, the Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges and Universities in Latin America held its 2006 General Assembly at the Institute of Pan America in Panama City, with more than 120 representatives of member institutions in Latin America attending. "The association is expected to function as the agency to plan and implement the fund in Latin America," according to Yamada.

Approved by General Conference

The money raised for the fund over the next three years will provide institutional support and scholarships for Methodist-related institutions around the world, and Yamada said the meetings this summer represented important initial steps toward fulfilling that goal. The fund was approved as an unfunded mandate by the 2004 General Conference, the top legislative assembly of the United Methodist Church.

Each of the five regions will have a governing and administrative organization, and each region will be responsible for raising a pool of money to be shared with the others.

Del Pino said he hopes the United Methodist Church and Methodist churches around the globe understand how powerful the possibilities are.

"We can strengthen a global system of Methodist-affiliated institutions to drive both the global expansion of the Methodist Church and the stability and leadership of communities around the world," he said. "By helping guide the development of the next generation of leaders, we can help fashion a better future for our church and for the world."

*Brown is an associate editor and writer in the Office of Interpretation, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

News media contact: Linda Green or Tim Tanton, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org. Related Articles

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