A cluster is a natural association of 4-7 churches gathered around a common disciple-making mission. Every local church is expected to be in a cluster as an extension of its congregational life. Conference sponsored extension ministries (such as outreach ministries or Wesley Foundation campus ministries) can also be
part of a cluster. Clusters are a reflection of the connectional nature of the church and of our shared accountability to Christ for fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-2

The general purpose of clusters is to improve the effectiveness and health of our United Methodist ministry in the state of Florida as measured by our annual conference’s vision and mission statements and by Jesus’ Great Commission.

All the conference appointed clergy in the congregations of a cluster and laity in equal number will participate in the cluster leaders’ team. Extension pastors serving in the state may attend the cluster team for the church with which they associate.

The purpose of cluster teams can be summarized as “Drawing Together -- Seeking God’s Heart -- Touching our World.”

The first purpose of cluster teams is “Drawing Together” to “strengthen our horizontal connection” (Bishop Whitaker). Each congregation and every believer has their ministry from Jesus together with other congregations and believers. We are not called to be heroic lone rangers; we are called to be in ministry together.

Therefore, we need to share our struggles with one another, acknowledging that Jesus sends us out warning of the difficulties of ministry. We need to share with one another what we are learning, to look for ways to assist each other and to be open to the Spirit leading us to work collaboratively.

The second purpose of cluster teams is “Seeking God’s Heart,” recognizing as Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). In the day-to-day work of ministry, it is easy to forget the One who brings focus, guidance and power to our ministry. When Jesus gathered the disciples back together after sending them out in ministry (Luke 10), he reminded them of the Kingdom significance of what they were doing. We have a part to play in what God is doing to bring about God’s Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” We need to help one another stay focused on being about the Father’s ministry, not “our” ministry or “our church’s” ministry. And like the churches in Revelations 2-3, we need to listen to the Spirit’s fresh guidance for our ministry. Cluster teams will seek to discern God’s fresh leading for their congregations.

The final purpose of cluster teams is “Touching our World.” It is clear in Scripture that we are called not just to be faithful, but to be fruitful. “I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last” (John 15:16). As disciples we are sent out to impact our communities for Christ. We are sent out to make more and better disciples. We are sent out to alleviate suffering through justice ministries. While it is not assumed that all clusters will sense God’s leading to enter into a collaborative ministry, it is assumed that all congregations are called to effective ministry. The third purpose of cluster teams is to encourage fruitful ministry in the congregations of their cluster. This may involve mentoring or the sharing of learnings or best practices. This may also involve focusing upon a common resource (person, book, or tape) in order to discover how to be more effective leaders of fruitful ministries in our particular contexts.

Church leaders, lay and clergy, can now begin thinking about which churches they feel God is calling them to cluster. Clergy are expected to educate their members about clusters and to involve their leaders in decisions about cluster formation and the selection of lay participants. In order to insure that no church is left out, the district’s leadership council will have final authority to set the congregations in each cluster. All churches in the Florida Conference should be in a cluster by September 30, 2005.

Congregations may associate in a cluster for a variety of reasons. Some congregations may choose to cluster because they are simply geographically close. Congregations may also choose to cluster because of other commonalities. For example: they are of similar size, they are new congregations, they are targeting Hispanic persons, or they are targeting families with young children. A couple of “transforming” congregations could agree to mentor several “maintaining” or “declining” churches. The most effective and natural association of churches in a cluster may have a combination of these factors: the congregations are relatively proximate, share some significant commonalities and include transforming, maintaining and declining congregations.

Lay participants will be selected prayerfully by their congregation’s lay leadership committee and approved by their congregation’s administrative council. The selection of lay participants is crucial to the vitality of cluster teams and should reflect the expectations of all cluster team participants.

Because of the diversity in districts, district superintendents may choose to do this differently. In some districts, the district superintendent will be asking pastors to become cluster leaders. In other districts, cluster leaders will be chosen by the cluster team during their first or second meeting in consultation with the district superintendent. In most cases, cluster leaders will be elders; however, there may be situations were the best leader among a cluster team’s participants is a local pastor or a lay person. All clusters will be selected by October 31, 2005.

A cluster leader is a pastoral servant of the cluster team’s participants, purposes and processes. They help facilitate development of community among the participants and discernment of the fresh movement of the Holy Spirit. In some cases, a cluster leader may be able to play a mentoring role to less experienced church leaders.

Cluster leaders will receive their initial training in a 24 hour, overnight event in early Nov. 2005. They will receive a resource suggesting themes and material for each cluster meeting. Cluster leaders will be supervised by the district superintendent and will meet with her or him periodically for support and continued training. Cluster leaders will not be involved in appointment making.

Cluster teams are asked to meet a minimum of six times per year during the months of Jan., Mar., May, July, Sept. and Nov. Cluster teams may choose to meet more often than this, however, as they seek to be obedient to the leading of the Spirit.