WINNIPEG, MAN.—The executive board and staff of the Canadian Conference met October 24-25, 2008 to review and discuss the strategic plan for Regenerate 21-01 (R21-01), including specific actions to implement in the new year.

“Accountability is important,” says David Wiebe, executive director for the conference. “All executive staff members were there to make presentations.” Included were reports from R21-01 director (Ewald Unruh), communications director (Cam Rowland) and CEO (John Wiebe). Dave Jackson (Healthy Churches) also led the board through a portion of ReFocusing, a two-phase revitalization process available to churches and leaders.

David Wiebe also addressed the critical success factors, including the maintenance of positive relationships between national and provincial structures, as part of the strategic plan for the conference’s overall operations. During the meeting, each province reported on the state of its relationships.

“We’ve been clarifying specifics with provincial staff this fall concerning implementation points in each province as we start Regenerate 21-01,” says Wiebe.

The conference will hire new staff to carry out the growing programs under the R21-01 umbrella. Top priority positions to be filled are coordinators for both Leadership Development and Donor Development.

Communication with pastors is another top priority, says Wiebe, since many have not had personal presentations like the Gathering 2008 delegates. Clustered meetings for information-sharing and feedback will take place in 2009 with participating pastors. Staff are also working toward integrating leadership development programs with MB Biblical Seminary.

The board approved forward progress in implementing the next stages of R21-01 and asked for a revised draft of the strategic plan for its January 2009 meeting.

—a Canadian Conference news release