A short introduction to the West Region of the Brethren Church
At our most recent Annual Celebration, we voted to confirm two candidates to the West RLT? One of the most obvious questions asked afterwards was, “What is the West RLT?” A great question and one I’m going to attempt to answer in this article. I might go pretty far into the weeds in answering question, but hang with me, because I hope it will give you a pretty good idea of what the West Regional Leadership Team is and what it does. So, let’s dive in…
What is the West RLT? The West RLT is the West Regional Leadership Team (RLT) of the Brethren Church. The West Region extends from Nebraska to California. It is the largest region geographically in the Brethren Church but also the one with the fewest churches with approximately 10-11 churches total. The West Region is one of five regions within the Brethren Church. The other regions are the Midwest, North Central, Northeast, and Southeast.
Who’s on the RLT? Each Regional Leadership Team is made of an equal number of Lay People and Pastors (Elders). For the West Regional Leadership Team, we have three Lay People and three Elders who each serve two-year terms and are limited to serving a max of three terms. In addition, the Regional Resource Coordinator of the Region, of which I am the one for the West also serves on the team. Currently, the West Regional Leadership Team includes the following Elders/Pastors: Paul Stanley- Stockton, CA, Emery Hurd-Cheyenne, WY, and Jim Miller- Gilbert, AZ and the following Lay People: Angie Laurie- Mulvane, KS, Randall Hartman- Tucson, AZ, and Justo Flores- Pasadena, CA.
What does the RLT do? The West Regional Leadership Team has some administrative responsibilities which include examining and preparing individuals pursuing ordination in the Brethren Church, as well as making sure the list of elders and churches within the region are accurate. The Team is also responsible for finding potential candidates to the RLT and holding regional elections, as well as acting as a connection point between the National Office of the Brethren Church and the Region making sure the Region knows what is happening together a regional budget, and this leads to the next area of responsibility of the RLT: Relational Connection. The RLT spends most of their time reaching out to churches, pastors, and lay leaders in the region. The RLT also plans regional gatherings for pastors and lay leaders. Our hope is to also have people from each church also be a part of these gatherings. Obviously, coordinating the logistics of these gathering are challenging because we are so geographically spread a part from each other.
I want to know more! If you love the details and the minutiae of this kind of stuff, fantastic! The Region actually has its own web page where you can read articles about what’s happening in the region, see the pictures of the RLT, and more. Just head on over to: https://www.brethrenchurch.org/west-region.