Mission Innovation

Missional innovation is an approach to ministry that allows for the space to dream along with God. 

Over the past  few years, people in the Baltimore-Washington Conference have been considering the thought that,  “You just might be God’s answer to the question your community is asking.”  With this in mind, they’ve begun to view themselves and their congregations as change-makers as they create, discover, connect and imagine.

Missional innovation uses principles of design thinking and some of the best practices of the corporate and nonprofit worlds to explore what God is calling you to invent. 

During the past several years, area churches and individuals have experimented with missional innovation to create a spirit of entrepreneurship mixed with faith. Much of this experimentation has been funded by grants from the Baltimore-Washington Conference.

Their work has shared several traits. It has:

  • put people first,
  • focused on experimenting and not being afraid to fail,
  • put an emphasis on celebrating what you want more of, and
  • measured what truly matters.

With missional innovation, area United Methodists are seeing a gap between what is and what there could be. Using their imaginations, they’re claiming a new future, able to choose action over apathy and boldness over blame.

“God has promised that God will make all things new, and the way that God does that is through us,” said Christie Latona, the Conference Director of Connectional Ministries.  “It is the church’s responsibility to be in a posture of creative co-creation with the Holy Spirit.”

Learn more about BWC’s ministry grants.

Apply for a Ministry Grant

See stories of missional innovations: