Facilitation Services and Donations
From time to time, members of the CMST team are requested to provide facilitation services for churches during times of communication-based conflicts. One or two facilitators can be available to consult with church leaders and then provide either zoom-based or in-person facilitated meetings with a view to rebuilding trust so the parties in conflict can heal past hurts and work together better with mutual agreements. Please know that our facilitators are not equipped to provide organizational health coaching and facilitation which other professional agencies might offer.
Generally, CMST facilitators do not come in to ‘fix’ things for churches in conflict; they come in to ‘hold space’ for hard but healing conversations, so that church leaders/members are empowered to resolve things themselves. With preparation meetings at the front end, facilitators ensure that subsequent joint dialogue meetings are safe and constructive to the end of building better bridges of trust and open communication. From time to time, they assist with written communications to other leaders and church members who can best be informed of the progress of a resolution process.
In addition to the facilitation of processes involving parties in conflict, CMST members can also serve as moderator-type facilitators for larger forum-based conversations when churches are dealing with divisive or sensitive issues.
As this work can be intensive, requiring a level of expertise and experience in the area of facilitation, Central Plains encourages churches who receive services to make periodic donations to CPMC with a designation toward the Conflict Management Support Team. These funds allow our team members to receive both stipends for their work and travel reimbursements. Suggested amounts can either be formalized at the outset, or discussed at the backend. Altogether, CPMC does not have a set aside budget for the work of CMST, and thus the financial support of benefitting churches is needed to sustain this important work.
If you have questions about appropriate amounts of giving or how to submit funds, please contact conference minister Susan Janzen at [email protected]
Generally, CMST facilitators do not come in to ‘fix’ things for churches in conflict; they come in to ‘hold space’ for hard but healing conversations, so that church leaders/members are empowered to resolve things themselves. With preparation meetings at the front end, facilitators ensure that subsequent joint dialogue meetings are safe and constructive to the end of building better bridges of trust and open communication. From time to time, they assist with written communications to other leaders and church members who can best be informed of the progress of a resolution process.
In addition to the facilitation of processes involving parties in conflict, CMST members can also serve as moderator-type facilitators for larger forum-based conversations when churches are dealing with divisive or sensitive issues.
As this work can be intensive, requiring a level of expertise and experience in the area of facilitation, Central Plains encourages churches who receive services to make periodic donations to CPMC with a designation toward the Conflict Management Support Team. These funds allow our team members to receive both stipends for their work and travel reimbursements. Suggested amounts can either be formalized at the outset, or discussed at the backend. Altogether, CPMC does not have a set aside budget for the work of CMST, and thus the financial support of benefitting churches is needed to sustain this important work.
If you have questions about appropriate amounts of giving or how to submit funds, please contact conference minister Susan Janzen at [email protected]