By Jay Therrell
July 29, 2022
The Wesleyan Covenant Association is excited to announce two strategic initiatives that will enable it to better carry out its mission of advocating for theologically conservative churches to depart The United Methodist Church for the Global Methodist Church.
Today, the WCA is launching the No Church Left Behind Fund. This fund will provide block grants to the WCA’s regional chapters to better empower them to ensure every church that wants to depart The UMC can do so. Through these valuable resources regional chapters will be able to choose among a couple of options to help them in their ministry. Chapters may choose to hire a staff person to better connect their congregations and help them get through the disaffiliation process. Chapters may also elect to use funds to assist local churches that wish to pursue a joint legal strategy because their annual conference has chosen to place punitive and onerous requirements on departing faith communities.
To accomplish raising resources for the No Church Left Behind Fund, as well as the WCA’s operating budget, the WCA joyfully announces the hiring of the Rev. Ronnie Jones as Vice President for Advancement. Vice President Jones comes to the WCA with decades of experience in advancement and development ministry including spending three years as Vice President for Advancement and Development for Asbury Theological Seminary. His most recent work has been in assisting Asbury to complete their very successful capital campaign celebrating their 100th birthday.
“Ronnie and his wife, Brenda, first and foremost bring a deep love for Jesus to their ministry. Their passion for seeing the kingdom grow and their heart for seeing local churches be free to blossom in the Global Methodist Church will be key to the success of the No Church Left Behind Fund,” said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the WCA. Chairwoman of the WCA Global Council, the Rev. Carolyn Moore, also expressed her enthusiasm, “I’ve known Ronnie and Brenda Jones for more than 20 years. I’ve been in their home, and they’ve been in mine. They are all about relationships, and all about Jesus. I stand in awe of the love and care they give to the ministry of developing givers for the Kingdom of God, and I am beyond excited to have Ronnie on our team.”
Vice President Jones expressed his excitement for his new duties when he shared, “My Christian Life for the past 40 years has been all about ‘Seeking first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33).’ Joining the WCA team has rekindled that fire in my being and given me an insatiable passion for what our Lord has already done and will continue to do—for that, I am eternally grateful.”
If you feel God has called you to partner financially with the Wesleyan Covenant Association to help free churches to fulfill their true biblical mission and purpose, please contact Ronnie Jones. He can be reached at rjones@wesleyancovenant.org. Ronnie would like to get to know you better, hear how God is at work in your life, and prayerfully discern with you how God wants to use what he has given you for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.
The Rev. Jay Therrell is president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association.
East Ohio WCA is not affiliated with the East Ohio UNITED METHODIST CHURCH.
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