New Structure for Vital Change FAQs


(Updated on July 1, 2025) 

Where can I learn more about Vital Change and where can I find Vital Change resources?

In brief, what is the new BWC structure that supports vital change?

  1. All churches will be part of a collaborative hub,
  2. Each hub is made up of five to 12 local churches in a shared, geographically-based mission field with a designated Connecting Church that facilitates collaborative work and vitality,
  3. All hubs will be part of six instead of eight geographic districts, and
  4. Non-mission-related, specialized administrative duties will be centralized to support churches, rather than requiring each district to provide these services.

Collaborative Hubs

What happens to those churches that did not participate in the 2024 collaborative hub survey of pastors and congregations? Does a church's failure to submit the survey result in automatic disqualification for participating in a hub?

Every church will be assigned to a collaborative hub. If a church did not respond to the survey, that church is not eligible to be a Connecting Church. Connecting Churches will facilitate collaborative work within the hubs. Some of the criteria for selecting Connecting Churches are connectionalism and engagement. While all churches will be assigned to a hub some may not be published due to extenuating circumstances.

How many churches responded to the 2024 collaborative hub questionnaire?

416 churches out of 570 churches, or 73% of the total churches in the Conference, completed the 2024 collaborative hub survey. The congregations who completed the survey represented the full diversity of the conference (e.g., size, context, ethnicity).

Will churches in a hub be required to support each other financially? For example, if a church has large maintenance building expenses, will the churches in the hub be required to help the struggling church financially?

No. Each church in a hub will be financially independent and responsible for its own budgets, financial planning and management. As churches work together on building transformational, outward-facing, community-driven ministries, they may agree to contribute funds and resources to these shared ministries. Any sharing of funds or resources must be mutually agreed upon among the parties involved.

Is it expected that individual church administration, such as trustees, administrative council, finance committee, etc. will be changed?

There is no expectation of this unless a local church wishes to change it. A local church isn’t required to mirror the conference’s centralized administrative structure.

In this new configuration, will churches be able to maintain their autonomy regarding their internal and external processes and structures?

Yes, as long as they comply with the denomination’s Book of Discipline. And, we are encouraging churches to be connectional and collaborative instead of disconnective, insular and competitive.

How much of the new hub structure will involve just pastors connecting, rather than all church members connecting?

The strength and effectiveness of each hub will depend on God’s grace and the efforts of all the clergy and lay people in each church in the hub. A collaborative hub is a community with shared values and diverse resources, experiences, and expertise. This combination of shared values and diverse perspectives provides fertile ground for growth, learning, experimentation, and successful innovation. This fertile ground is more likely to yield fruit when the many diverse gifts of the people in the congregations and communities of the hubs are fully engaged.

Will all laity be invited to participate at the hub table or just selected members? Will clergy and elected lay leaders (through the Church Conference) be expected to participate in hub gatherings?

Pastors should invite all laity to be part of Vital Change and to be part of their collaborative hub. Initially, there will be a hub strategy team comprised of the pastor plus 1-2 laity per church to help shape and guide the work of the hub. All church members and leaders are encouraged to actively participate in the collaborative hub. Please also see the answer above.

I wonder if there has been any consideration given to experimenting with a hub that includes non-United Methodist congregations, particularly in the heart of our urban centers — literally bringing together congregations that are within a few blocks of each other?

Collaborative hubs support our values of Love in Action, Strength Through Connection, and Partnering with Purpose. So yes, we would expect that collaborative hubs will partner with organizations in their communities, including churches of other denominations, governmental agencies, non-profits, etc.

What happens if you are already in a charge of two or three churches? Have you thought through how itinerancy impacts pastors and the Connecting Pastor?

In the vast majority of cases, charges will be kept together within a collaborative hub so that a pastor doesn’t have to attend multiple hub meetings. This does not preclude churches from working with churches outside of their hub. A part of the reason why laity involvement is critical is because of our itinerant system. The Connecting Church designation was more than just a decision about a particular pastor, but also about the relative health and vitality of the congregation.

What happens to churches that are in cooperative parishes? How will this hub culture affect them?

Current cooperative parishes and other collaborations that are experiencing vitality will not be interrupted. Some cooperative parishes are small and join in a hub with other churches. Other cooperative parishes are the maximum size of a hub, so they will continue to operate as a cooperative parish and will include the hub process as a part of their existing ministry.

What is going to prevent certain hubs from being all one ethnicity? How do we not resegregate the conference?

While certain hubs, from the nature of geography, may be one particular ethnicity, as hubs were being formed, we sought to keep our value of diversity in mind, even if that meant drawing the geographic circle a bit wider.

The name assigned to our hub is problematic. How do we go about changing our name?

The names given to hubs were placeholders until hubs met. To change the published name of your hub, please contact your District Superintendent.

Connecting Churches and Pastors

Will there only be one Connecting Church in a hub or more than one? Will the Connecting Churches be evaluated on an annual basis to remain the Connecting Church of a hub, or are they permanent?

In the vast majority of cases, there is only one Connecting Church in a collaborative hub. Each hub will include 5-12 churches.  The Connecting Church role is not a permanent assignment. All pastors will meet regularly with their superintendent to discuss their work in the collaborative hub. Participation in the hub will be part of the annual performance and feedback process for clergy. Periodically, each hub will also take stock of what is working and what is not working and make appropriate adjustments. Based on ongoing feedback and assessments, changes in assignments will be made as needed. All churches have equal voice and accountability in their collaborative hub.

One of the key concerns that has been lifted is how this restructuring will impact a leader’s workload when they already feel stretched too thin. These feelings of being stretched too thin are exacerbated by the current climate of political discord and the fear and anxiety many vulnerable people are experiencing. How does Vital Change fit with all this? How can it help us deal with this stressful situation?

Vital Change is being undertaken in response to changes in society and in our communities. We have been struggling to remain relevant. Church membership is declining, church attendance is declining, and interest in religion is declining. Many United Methodists have been asking, What can we do to address these challenges? A consensus has coalesced around a bold, brave idea. What if we stopped trying to keep doing what we have been doing? What if instead we rethink what we are doing and refocus on transformational, outward-facing, community-driven ministry, and do so in a collaborative manner consistent with our shared values? What if we work together collaboratively and use our shared values to guide our actions and our decision-making? Taking this approach is more likely to help us be more relevant and have more impact in our communities, especially among the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Given the current political climate and the speed of change threatening our society, our communities, and vulnerable people, Vital Change is needed now more than ever. How will this work, and how will it affect workloads? It will require collaboration, pooling of resources, and making tough decisions. Each church and each collaborative hub will need to consider the challenges they are facing, and use whichever tools and resources are available and best fit their situation, to make decisions and take actions while being guided by prayer and our shared values. We may have to stop doing some things so that we can start doing new things, things that fit our current political, social, and economic environment, things that make us relevant to the times we are in. Each of us will need to question our assumptions, be open to new ideas, and reflect deeply on what we need to let go of so that we can be the hands and feet of Christ in the community, responding to the needs of our time.

Vital Change is the work of figuring out how to be relevant in our communities and how to live out “Love in Action” in today's environment. To quote Bishop LaTrelle Easterling: our work is “an unrelenting focus on disciple-making, nurturing our maturity in Christ, and outward-facing, community-driven ministry that transforms lives and communities. In other words, we do not gather to benefit ourselves; we gather to continue the movement begun by Jesus Christ.” We all have limited time, money, and resources, so we will need to use our shared values to help us decide how to bear the most fruit, given the limitations we face.

Districts and Their Ministries

Why did the members of the Annual Conference only vote on the number of districts?

The Book of Discipline requires a vote when an Annual Conference changes the number of districts.  The overall plan was built on deep listening and input from members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference. The plan recasts a vision of how we might better work together to develop disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Members from the Discipleship Council and Connectional Table, which are composed of an equal number of lay and clergy from across the conference, selected a plan to be brought before the Annual Conference after much lively discussion. Since the plan is a departure from our current district structure, the full plan is needed to understand how moving from eight districts to six districts with Connectional Hubs and Vitality Strategists provides more connection and support, not less.

Initially, in the planning, districts were not going to be geographical but population-density-based. Could you talk a bit about why this was changed?

Restructuring is a dynamic work-in-process, and as we worked through the details of having geographically based hubs and non-geographically based districts, we realized that the complexity of “matrixing” hubs and districts would take away from the deep relationship-building people longed for and require more effort than the benefits sought. Hubs and districts will be geographically based, reducing complexity while encouraging relationship-building and collaboration. We will seek to gain the benefit of networking and learning from those in similar but geographically separate contexts through other means.

How will district and conference ministries like District United Methodist Men, United Women of Faith, and Scouting be affected by the structural changes?

The goal is for all these ministries to continue and grow stronger. Some adjustments may need to be made as change occurs. The leaders of these ministries and the many leaders involved in planning for change will work together to address any issues that may arise.

How will district committees, such as DCOM and Church Buildings and Locations, be handled?

Transition plans for major district committees (e.g., DCOM, CBL, District Boards of Lay Servant Ministry, etc) are being worked on. The bishop has issued assurances that the process of those currently involved in the candidacy process will not be interrupted by restructuring. We have a current example of a regional board of Church Buildings and Locations with representation from two districts. We do have existing examples of district committees combining to form a regional committee.

Centralized Administration 

Can you provide more clarity on centralized administration? What are a few examples of district administrative functions that will be shared? Initially, I heard chatter that this would help us with the local church administration. Is that still in the plan?

Non-mission-related, specialized administrative duties, which include things like church statistics, church conference forms, property and personnel questions, and other matters, will be centralized to support churches, rather than requiring each district to provide these services. This will ensure that these non-mission-related specialized administrative duties are executed efficiently and effectively when needed. The centralized administration will be led by qualified conference personnel. Details of how this will be done will be announced as plans are finalized. 

Other Questions

Are other conferences already doing or planning to do this?

Other conferences are restructuring; however, the Baltimore-Washington Conference’s plan is unique. It is important to note that while many restructuring initiatives are focused on cost savings, the BWC plan is built around creating vitality and strengthening the local church for discipleship.

Will this plan save the conference money?

While the plan is designed to be budget-neutral and will not raise churches’ mission shares, cost savings are not the intent of the restructuring. Extensive feedback from people throughout the conference led to a plan designed to keep our mission of cultivating world-transforming disciples as the main thing, streamline administrative tasks, and positively impact the way we engage with one another and resource local churches for more missional impact.

How might we pray for the Bishop, conference leaders, advisory team, pastors, leaders, and laity during this transitional season and in anticipation of and beyond the 40 days of corporate prayer?

We can all pray for open minds, loving hearts, and sincerity as we seek to do God’s will. For example, we might pray:

Gracious and loving God, who leads, teaches and transforms, who offers compassion, grace and mercy, be with us now. 
We passionately seek Your presence during our challenging times and in our times of rejoicing.  We trust that You are moving in and around our lives. 
We, as one part of your Body, the Church, go into the season ahead seeking to discern Your deep desire for us as The United Methodist Church.  Give us courage as we continue to live and respond to Your invitation to be Your hands, feet and voice.
We ask for a fresh wind and an anointing of the Holy Spirit to guide us into and through a season of change and growth as we seek to do Your will. 
We ask for Your wisdom, presence and strength as we revive our connection with one another, our neighbors and with You, God.
Give us the faith to lay aside our personal wants and needs so that we can be truly present to You and listen deeply for the still, small voice that woos us, comforts us, and invites us to that place where we can live fully and wholly into the life that You desire for us.
We lay all this before You as the deep desire of our hearts and minds in the name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen.

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