The APCE Strategic plan…what’s new?

APCE Mission, Vision, and Values (new in 2024)

Mission

The mission of APCE is to connect, enrich, empower, and sustain persons who serve in and advocate for lifelong faith formation and educational ministries in the Reformed family of churches, partnering and collaborating with others in witness to Christ’s ministry of love, justice, and peace.

 

Vision

The vision of APCE is to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive Christian community of leaders where growing in faith matters and lives are being transformed.

 

Values

As an association living into our mission and vision, we express our values through:

  • Service to Christ and the Church
  • Support and advocacy for faith formation and educational ministries and their leaders
  • Commitment to Reformed theology
  • Commitment to lifelong discipleship
  • Nurturing the importance of relationships
  • Actively living out justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (*)
  • Engaging in critical thinking and dialogue
  • Promoting leadership development and organizational best practices

(*) Diversity, Equity and Justice – Association of Partners in Christian Education (apcenet.org)

We, the Association of Partners in Christian Education, value faith formation for all ages, stages, and walks of life. As we continue to learn and grow as baptized people, we acknowledge a lack of diversity in our organization. As followers of Jesus Christ, we admit we fall short in acting upon what we hear, not listening to all voices at the table. We acknowledge that our actions, both implicit and explicit, have stifled these voices long silenced. Jesus calls us to inclusiveness, which we seek to embody as we wrestle with how to achieve diversity, equity, and justice. (*)

The Strategic Planning Task Force worked for three years, at the direction of the Coordinating Council, to ensure that APCE remains vibrant, relevant, and useful into the future.

CLICK HERE FOR A DETAILED OVERVIEW OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

Q&As about the New Structure:

Why do we need a new structure?

        We need a new structure to accomplish APCE’s priorities going forward

o   Strengthen Relationships and Community Building

o   Affirm Our Calling to be a Diverse, Equitable, Inclusive and Just Organization

o   Curate and Create Faith Formation Resources

o   Support the Annual Event

o   Be More Intentional Regarding Leadership Training and Newcomer Mentoring

o   Improve Communication

o   Build Sustainable Administrative and Funding Capabilities

In order to accomplish APCE’s priorities, we are following these Organization Design principles:

o   Establish a right-sized structure that is guided by our priorities;

o   Balance workloads and capture efficiencies wherever possible;

o   Reduce the number of teams or units to minimize costs and redundancy while
 facilitating improved communication across the organization.

o   Ensure individuals continue to feel they have agency and influence on our work;

o   Establish co-moderators for all teams;

o   Manage the Annual Event as a separate unit given its importance and the complexity involved, under the oversight of the governing body

o   As we live into the new structure, as ad hoc issues arise, establish short-term project teams which are comprised of those with relevant, specialized skills. Specific target completion dates will be set.

Something new: an Executive Director!
  •         Why does APCE need an Executive Director?
     To provide: Consistency, Continuity, Coordination, Connection, and Confidence in APCE. An Executive Director would be responsible for keeping track of ministry teamwork and holding them accountable, managing fund development efforts, making day to day decisions for the organization, and retaining information and institutional memory. This person would be the primary point of contact and the face of the organization and accountable to the elected leadership.
  •         Is it possible to put the new structure in place without an Executive Director?
     No, the proposed plan is based on having a full-time Executive Director.
What is the Executive Team?
  •   What is the role of the Executive team?
     This team is responsible for creation and oversight of an ongoing 3-year strategic plan. It
     has administrative and governance responsibilities including:
     • Oversight of the Executive Director, including compensation
     • Review of governing documents and policies
     • Approval of Annual Budget
     • Oversight of contracts
     • Review and recommend Covenantal Partner agreements
     • Oversight of membership fees
  •   What role does each of the elected officers play?
    • Co-Presidents – Convenes the Executive Team, the Team Leadership Council, and the Nominating Committee. Carry out the duties of the current Presidents that are not assigned to the Executive Director
    •  Financial Officer – Carry out the duties of the current Treasurers that are not assigned to the Executive Director
    •  Administrative Officer – Carry out the duties of the current Secretary.
      • Taking minutes at the meetings of the Executive Team and the Team Leadership Council.
      • Maintaining document storage and access for the organization.
    • Communication Officer – responsible for coordinating all internal and external communications.
  •   What role does the elected officer play on each of the Mission Teams?
     An officer will serve on each of the Mission Teams in a liason capacity. The main function is to keep the lines of communication open between the Executive Team, the Team Leadership Council, and the Mission Teams.
How does the Team Leadership Council (TLC) work?
  •   Who will convene the meetings of the Team Leadership Council?
     A Co-President will convene the meetings. This team will meet regularly with the frequency yet to be determined.
  •   Who is on the Team Leadership Council?
    • One Co-Moderator of each Ministry team
    •  The Executive Director
    •  The Executive Team
    •  The Historian
    •   A representative of the JEDI Advisory Council
    •  A representative of the Denominational Advisory Council
  •   Can both Co-Moderators of each Mission Team attend the TLC meetings?
     Both Co-Moderators of each Mission Team may attend the TLC meetings with voice, but each Mission Team gets only one vote.
The Mission Teams
  •   How are the new Mission Teams different from the current Ministry Teams?
     One of the goals in this plan was to right-size the organization. Each Mission Team will have 6 members – three rotating classes of two members each. There will be Co-Moderators for each Mission Team. Members of the teams (including the Moderators) are appointed by the Nominating Committee.  A Mission Team can appoint project teams as needed to fulfill the priorities APCE has identified for their team.
  •   What happens to those currently serving on the Leadership Council?
     Each member of the Leadership Council will be encouraged to apply for a position on one of the Mission Teams.
  •   Who appoints the members of a project team?
     Each Mission Team appoints members to serve on a project team. Teams are comprised of those with relevant and specialized skills. Specific target completion dates will be set, rather than having term limits. Commitment to JEDI initiatives is imperative.
  •   How will the Annual Event Mission Team be different from the others?  Because of the importance APCE places on the Annual Event, the Annual Event Mission Team will continue to operate as it has in the past.  There will be Co-Moderators and 14 member team.  An Executive Team officer and a member of the JEDI Advisory Counceil will serve as liasons.
What happens to Regions?
  •         Now there are Networks! Networks are groups that gather around interests or geography to meet the particular needs of our members.
  •         Will there still be Connectors?  Connectors will continue to meet with their current regions until each region decides if it wants to continue as a Network during 2025.
  •         How will the Networks connect to APCE? Each network will have a contact person that will meet twice a year with a member of the Connect Mission Team to report on what is happening in their Network.  These contact persons will not serve on the Connect Mission Team.

·         How can a group become a Network?  Watch for an application process   from the Connect Mission Team the first half of 2025.

Click here to submit a question or comment

Town Hall meetings about the Strategic Plan

Join your APCE colleagues for an hour of information, inspiration, and to engage with the APCE Strategic Plan.  Come see how APCE is reshaping how it does its work to better meet the needs of those involved in Christian formation ministries now and for years to come.  Join Implementation Team co-chairs Anne Wilson and Von Clemans to learn more and ask your questions about the plan.

Here’s a Town Hall we recorded