LAKELAND — With 10 identifiable inner-city areas in the Florida Conference, church leaders have set their sights on developing "a comprehensive plan for the church’s work in the cities…for the first five years of the millennium," said the Rev. Gene Parks, a retired clergyman and member of the Florida Conference’s Inner City Task Force.

The first step toward that goal was the Inner City Initiative Planning Retreat Sept. 2-3 at First United Methodist Church here. The 26 participants included Inner City Task Force members and people in the conference who are currently involved in inner-city and related ministries, according to Miami District Superintendent Clarke Campbell-Evans, chairman of the retreat.

"The goal [of the retreat] is a comprehensive plan," Campbell-Evans said. "How are we going to be the church in the city today?"

The conference’s Inner City Task Force is a 14-member team appointed by Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson and approved at the Dare to Share Jesus 1999 Florida Annual Conference Event to create a strong ministry to urban areas of the conference, according to Campbell-Evans.

Eight district superintendents, staff and chairpeople from the conference’s Missions and New Church Development committees, and representatives from the conference’s two ethnic caucuses make up the task force. Their goal is to "support and develop comprehensive ministries that introduce people to Jesus, nurture vital ministries, alleviate suffering and advocate for peace and justice" in "urban and urban-like areas within our conference," according to a motion passed at the last annual conference event.

The initiative to study and develop a model for urban ministry was generated by the possibility of receiving grant money from the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM), but Campbell-Evans said retreat participants did not focus on money. Instead, they looked at models of ministry to determine "what do we already know to be true and what do we need to learn?"

Listening was an important part of the process, he said. Participants shared stories and gave the team a glimpse of what existing inner-city ministries are like.

The Rev. Candace Lewis told the group about the success New Life Community Mission in Jacksonville is having connecting people with social service agencies and help they need and reaching children in the community. The Rev. Montreuil Milord shared how his church is reaching Haitian immigrants and refugees through immigration services and door-to-door evangelism efforts.

"We really listened and tried to hear the voices," Campbell-Evans said. "We shared ideas and talked about the obstacles that get in the way of doing ministry in the city. We looked at: what does that mean for us and how can we design and support ministries that take into account the realities and opportunities?"

Parks said one outcome of the retreat was the recognition that Florida Conference laity need to take an active role in addressing the needs of inner-city residents.

"We got clarification of important issues related to the development of inner-city ministries," Parks said. "Leadership is a key component — and acknowledgment of the necessity for the laity’s active involvement in…birthing new congregations, faith communities and faith fellowships."

The next step in the process is for an eight-member committee led by Parks to take the information presented at the retreat and develop a proposed model for urban ministries. The proposal will then be presented to the 26 retreat participants for revision and approval. Final approval will be given by the 14-member task force, which will forward the proposal to GBGM for a funding grant.