Merger Exploration Update

In the District Superintendent’s report at District Conference last summer, I announced that the District Board of Administration would be exploring the possibility of merging with the Northwest District.  If you missed that report, you may want to watch it to get the full context of why we are considering this merger.  You can watch the report here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ey8Xg2G0c&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR02B_gMQa-vIK0Kh4CjsZtEqS5QX99jVHdUTFzHVJQBA9dSVCUSDBgVTn0
 
Or you can read the report in the District Journal, which you can download here:
http://www.iamndistrict.org/uploads/1/1/2/3/112324555/2020_ia-mn_district_journal_final.pdf
 
Since District Conference, the following meetings have taken place:

• DBA subcommittees from both districts met on August 10 to discuss the following:

• Core values and culture alignment.
• How merger could advance the kingdom through church multiplication and ministry networks.
• Positives and negatives of merging.
• Possible leadership roles.
• Possible timelines.

• Pastor Wes Smith (Northwest District DS) and I have had numerous phone and Zoom conversations.
• Dr. Wayne Schmidt (General Superintendent) has been looped in and has provided guidance throughout this process.
• On September 12, our DBA merger exploration subcommittee reported to the full DBA. Though a vote wasn’t taken, the unanimous consensus was that we should continue to pursue the merger exploration process.
• On October 15, nineteen of our pastors and lay leaders were in Sioux Falls for the Exponential Roundtable one-day conference. While there, we invited Pastor Wes to have supper with our team to have a Q & A session around the topic of merger.
• On October 19. I met with the Northwest District DBA via Zoom to share context and to field questions.  At that meeting, the Northwest DBA voted unanimously to pursue merger.  Our DBA will conduct an official vote at our meeting in December.

 
Through our many meetings and conversations, the following timeline has emerged:

• Pastor Wes will be our speaker at our Spring 2021 leadership roundtables.  This will give our pastoral team and Pastor Wes an opportunity to get to know one another a bit better.
• Pastors and lay leaders from both districts will be updated at their 2021 district conferences. No vote will be taken, but questions and input from the conference floor will be welcomed.
• Following the 2021 district conference, we will begin an “engagement year” during which we will start to function as one district. Although we will still be distinct districts with separate officers and finances, Pastor Wes will begin to function as our District Superintendent, and I would serve in an Assistant DS role. In that role, I would still be the “go-to” contact for churches and pastors in Iowa and Minnesota, but I would also be available to Northwest District Churches as a consultant for Church revitalization issues.
• In February of 2022, the two districts would meet together for our annual team retreat.
• In the summer of 2022, both district conferences will vote on the proposal to merge.  If the vote is positive in both districts, we will move ahead with the legal paperwork and logistics involved in making the merger official. I would continue to serve our area in the role of Assistant DS.  If the vote is negative in either district, the IA/MN District will remain a separate entity.

 
We want to be as open and transparent as possible during this process, so please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or other comments you may have. I really believe this merger has the potential to launch us into a new season of Kingdom growth and expansion!
 
Your Partner in the Gospel,
 
Tim