Thank you to everyone who attended C4SO’s Diocesan Convention 2019!
On November 9, 173 people gathered at our annual online Convention, a vital part of engaging in communal leadership of C4SO. We celebrated our 2019 growth and progress, Bishop Todd shared his vision for 2020, and we heard reports of the fruitful work happening around the diocese.
2020 Vision
Bishop Todd described C4SO’s 2020 vision as “Taking on the characteristics of a movement within our denomination.” We aren’t a certain sort of Anglicans—our calling is to find something transcendent. We discover that transcendence in serving the purposes of God in the Church and the world by practicing the marks of a missionary movement.
Some of the characteristics of a movement include a consistent commitment to evangelism; maintaining a tension of distinction from the world but connection with it; building relationships inside and outside the Diocese in non-anxious ways and in complete dependence on the Spirit. As we move forward, we cohere around C4SO’s missional DNA while at the same time being respectful of the various Anglican models around us.
New Canon Theologians
The Rev. Canon Dr. Esau McCaulley
The Rev. Canon Dr. Emily McGowin
Bishop Todd announced the appointments of Rev. Dr. Esau McCaulley and the Rev. Dr. Emily McGowin as new C4SO Canon Theologians, joining the ranks of the Rev. Canon Dr. Scot McKnight and the Rev. Canon Dr. Dennis Okholm in training clergy, administering ordination exams, and working with Bishop Todd on theological content.
Welcome, Esau and Emily!
Staying Connected
Since we are a national diocese, communicating digitally keeps us connected throughout the year. In 2019, we reorganized our website and revamped our resources section to make them more user-friendly. We also created a Spiritual Directors page to connect you with a spiritual director in your area and a C4SO Authors page to share the work of our clergy and laity. Events like Convention and this year’s Clergy Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains also play a key role in keeping us connected.
Revamped Ordination Process
As our diocese grew from 3 to 13 states, we sought to improve the ordination process for the increasing numbers of men and women seeking ordination to the Diaconate and the Priesthood. It’s a journey we take together as a community of faith, exploring what God has for an individual as an aspiring member of C4SO clergy, how He has uniquely equipped them for the sake of others, and where He is leading them to serve. We are committed to prayerfully considering individuals from the beginning of the journey to the end, making sure we are thorough and intentional as we walk alongside them, letting the Holy Spirit lead us together.
Developed over the last 18 months, our new Path of Discernment to Holy Orders increasingly emphasizes local discernment, clarifies stages and leaders, and adds a Candidates’ Cohort with the Bishop. We also launched a new ordination site and resources. In 2020, C4SO will be working to strengthen the Ordination Preparation Team, offer stronger preparation for the Transitional Diaconate, and improve the Ordination Exam.
Church Planting Updates
The Rev. Dr. Kris McDaniel, C4SO’s Church Planting Resource, shared updates to the way C4SO will approach church planting in 2020.
- C4SO will now define a “church plant” as a church in the conceptual stage up to 3 years after a visible launch.
- C4SO will offer funding to church plants that have reached critical mass: in a smaller area, 35 adults, and in a major city, 50 adults. The goal is to invest C4SO’s limited resources into churches moving into missional impact.
- Church planters will receive coaching throughout their 3-year window. Kris will be building a team of people who can coach and mentor church planters.
- In 2020, Kris will be creating a step-by-step process to assess, discern and get someone ready to be approved to church plant. This will empower local Rectors to discern would-be church planters in their context.
Child and Youth Safety
At C4SO, we care deeply about the children and youth placed in our churches’ care. Churches play a vital role in children’s intellectual, social, spiritual and physical development. God has entrusted us to nurture and care for these children, a task we accept with gratitude and seriousness.
Designed to protect the most vulnerable in our midst, C4SO’s Child and Youth Safety program has done an excellent job training churches to manage their children and youth according to safety guidelines, to work with insurance and local authority, and to screen and train staff and volunteers before they minister to children.
We are happy to announce that C4SO is now 100% compliant across all of our churches! Every summer, we will ensure each church has updated their Child and Youth Safety protocol and retrained their staff and volunteers. Your church’s 2020 Certificate of Compliance is due September 30, 2020.
C4SO NextGen Leadership Initiative
In 2019, the Rev. Aaron Buttery, C4SO’s NextGen Leadership Associate, began a Leadership Initiative equipping C4SO churches to raise up Next Generation leaders.
- Aaron built a national team of thought leaders focused on the special challenges of raising up leaders among today’s students.
- This NextGen Leadership Team regularly contributes articles and resources to the C4SO blog, generating ideas and insights for ministry to children, youth and college students in the local setting.
- Aaron speaks to leaders at C4SO and Telos Collective gatherings and beyond about connecting more effectively with students in their community.
In 2020, Aaron invites you to raise up leaders within your own church through C4SO’s new partnership with Asbury University’s Youth Becoming Leaders. A Lilly Endowment-funded institute, Youth Becoming Leaders (YBL) is a strategic way for C4SO’s NextGen Leadership Team to empower, encourage and form students in the diocese as well as bless local churches. The YBL program invites high school sophomores, juniors and seniors to apply for a two-week intensive on the Asbury campus focusing on leadership identity, spiritual formation and project management. Encourage a student to apply now.
2020 Dates to Remember
2019 By The Numbers
Approved 2020 Diocesan Budget
Approved 2018 Convention Minutes
Welcome to C4SO, Trinity Northside!
We are excited to welcome our newest church, Trinity Northside, a campus of Trinity Anglican Church in Atlanta, under the leadership of the Rev. Tripp Prince.
Donate
Contribute to the work of raising leaders and planting churches.
Get Involved in 2020
If you would like to get involved in any way in the life of the diocese, please contact us.