Meetings move toward goals of Methodist Global Education Fund
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The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino |
The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino |
Oct. 11, 2006
By Vicki Brown*
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:
Create awareness of this initiative and how it will be carried out
among local churches.
Create a leadership development model.
Establish a steering committee for cultivation and fundraising.
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Ken Yamada |
Ken Yamada, special assistant to the general secretary for Global
Education and New Initiatives, said he hopes to see all three tasks
completed within the next six months.
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.
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