LAKELAND — The Florida Conference sent a proposal Dec. 2 to the denomination’s General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) asking for $2.5 million in grant money to help develop a ministry for urban and urban-like areas of the conference during the first three years of the new millennium.

If the conference gets the money, churches in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa will be the first to begin the ministry.

The Florida Conference City Ministries Plan is the result of nearly six month’s effort by a team of 25 conference leaders whose goal was to develop "a comprehensive plan for the church’s work in the cities…for the first years of the millennium," said the Rev. Gene Parks, retired clergy and member of the Florida Conference’s Inner City Task Force.

The plan, according to the proposal, is inspired by John Wesley’s model for ministry and calls for the development of faith communities or Wesleyan class meetings. The target is unchurched people who may be "uncomfortable in larger settings," the proposal says.

Each faith community will serve as its members’ church, providing regular worship and Bible study and chances to be involved in mission and evangelism in their community. Stewardship will play an important role, with members contributing money and service toward making their faith community self-sustaining.

Faith communities will be connected to an existing charge or church until they develop into new congregations or join with other faith communities to form new congregations. They will be established and led by "lay missioners," volunteer lay people who receive training and work in their own community.

Several faith communities will be organized under the guidance of a "participating congregation," an existing or new congregation that will identify and recruit lay missioners and provide training and ongoing financial, spiritual and educational support.

The pastors of the participating congregations will serve as "pastor-mentors" for the lay missioners, working with district or subdistrict coordinators to help build the faith communities. The coordinators will also provide training and secure necessary resources.

The goal is to have five new or existing congregations in each of the four urban areas using the model to provide ministry in locations that are not being served by United Methodist churches or where churches need a revitalized ministry to their communities.

The cost to establish and support the five ministries in one area for three years is approximately $935,000 or $3.7 million for the four targeted areas. In addition to the money the task force has requested from GBGM, it is asking the conference for nearly $1.1 million.

The four target areas were selected based on the density and diversity of their populations and the districts’ readiness to implement the plan.